by Dan Carle
Dundas, ON – Right winger Shane Conacher scored with 2:19 remaining in overtime on his 30th birthday late Wednesday night to send the host Dundas Real McCoys to a 3-2 win over Stoney Creek and return to the final of the Allan Cup.
“It was a successful birthday,” said Conacher, a distant relative of the famous bloodline that includes Lionel, Charlie and Roy Conacher.
“I just kind of swatted at it and it went in.”
The Real McCoys finished the round-robin 3-0 and can repeat as Canadian men’s AAA senior hockey champion with a win Saturday, 3:00 p.m. at JL Grightmire Arena in Dundas.
The semi-final between Stoney Creek and the South Shore Breakers of St. John’s will be played Friday night.
Third-string goalie Dylan de Melo made 38 saves for Dundas and has not lost as a first-time starter at the Allan Cup. Brad Bonello and Slater Doggett, off a pass from Conacher, also scored for the Real McCoys.
“A win is a win. They don’t ask how just how many,” said Dundas captain Simon Mangos, 44, a baritone-voiced defenceman who did not play because he was in Ottawa coaching his daughter’s high school volleyball team at provincials.
“I was getting updates the whole game. I had guys in the stands and in the room give me updates,” said Mangos, who plans to play in Saturday’s final.
“As soon as the buzzer goes, you become a parent again.”
For the Tigers, winners of the Robertson Cup as champion of Allan Cup Hockey, starting back-up goaltender Tymen Edelkoort was a planned move.
“It was only his second or third game this year,” said Daniel Svedin, 41, the Tigers starting goaltender and team co-owner.
“He played great and was all excited.”
Svedin said the Tigers are undaunted after losing three top players to injury and will be ready for the semi-final.
“It is showing the guys that everything is possible,” he said.
Mangos is seeking his third and second consecutive Allan Cup.
“Kind of still shows you still have something,” said Mangos.
“We are still competitors at heart and every time we go out we want to win.”
AJ Whiffen stopped 41 shots for the first tournament shutout earlier Wednesday in a 2-0 win over Innisfail to finish the round-robin 2-1. The Eagles finished 0-3.
“It is a nice accomplishment but it is not our goal,” said Whiffen, 34, who was in the net last season for Clarenville in a 5-3 loss to Dundas at the 2023 final.
“Southern Shore were able to pick up five players. Luckily I was one of those guys that they picked up,” said Whiffen.
“We came close to winning it last year. I am really focused on getting the big one.”
Whiffen lives in Grand Falls – Windsor in central Newfoundland with a population of around 14,000.
Getting around suburban Hamilton is an adventure.
“It’s a bigger place than back home,” said Whiffen.
“Not used to the traffic and stuff up here. No doubt. I wouldn’t be driving up here.”
The Allan Cup has been contested since 1909 after a donated trophy from Sir. Montagu Allan of Montreal.
2024 Allan Cup
SEMI-FINAL South Shore Breakers v. Stoney Creek Tigers
Friday, 7:30 p.m.
FINAL Dundas v. semi-final winner
Saturday, 3:00 p.m.
JL Grightmire Arena, Dundas
About Allan Cup Hockey (ACH) and the Allan Cup
Allan Cup Hockey (ACH), formerly Major League Hockey until 2011, is the top tier Canadian senior ice hockey league in the province of Ontario. Founded in 1990, as the Southwestern Senior “A” Hockey League, the ACH is a member of the Ontario Hockey Association and Hockey Canada. The ACH’s champion contends for the Allan Cup each year.
The Allan Cup is the trophy awarded annually to the senior ice hockey champions of Canada. It was donated by Sir Montagu Allan of Ravenscrag, Montreal, and has been competed for since 1909. The current champions are the Dundas Real McCoys, who captured the 2023 Allan Cup in Dundas, Ontario.
More about the Allan Cup Challenge
The 2024 Allan Cup Challenge goes from April 20-27 at the J.L. Grightmire Market Street Arena in Dundas, ON. For more information and to purchase tickets click here
