Timberwolves set to open play at Centennial Cup
Miramichi opens the Centennial Cup on Thursday evening against the Melfort Mustangs of Saskatchewan
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That third-period comeback for the ages, the on-ice championship celebrations and parade through the streets will never skate too deep in the memory banks of the 2023-24 Miramichi Timberwolves.
But the remarkable run for the first time Maritime Junior Hockey League champions takes on a new chapter on Thursday in Oakville, Ont., where the Timberwolves open the 10-team Centennial Cup in pursuit of the Canadian Junior A hockey title.
Miramichi opens the event Thursday at 8:30 p.m. ADT with a date against the Melfort Mustangs of the Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League. From there, they will play the host Oakville Blades on Friday, the Sioux Lookout Bombers on Sunday and the Winkler Flyers next Tuesday. All games are at 8:30 p.m. ADT.
The Timberwolves defeated the Summerside Western Capitals 4-2 in the Maritime final, capping the organization’s first title with a 5-4 victory at the Miramichi Civic Centre last Thursday after trailing 4-2 entering the final period.
Playoff most valuable player Jack Flanagan of Saint John was stellar throughout the post-season with an 11-2 record and the anchor of the title.
The team delighted its fans with a parade through the streets of Miramichi on Saturday and after a quick trip to Truro, N.S., en route to the nationals, they made the final trek toward Oakville on Tuesday.
It starts with the feature game Thursday against Melfort, who were second overall in the SJHL at 38-14-3-1 and then took a long playoff route, downing Estavan and Humboldt in seven games in the first two playoff rounds and then claiming the SJHL title with a 4-2 triumph over Flin Flon in the final.
Oakville was fourth in the western conference of the Ontario Junior Hockey League with a 32-20-1-3 record before defeating the Buffalo Jr. Sabres in the opening round and falling to Collingwood in the second round.
Sioux Lookout went 35-10-2-2 en route to second place overall in the Superior International Junior Hockey League and then went 12-1 in the playoffs in dispatching Fort Frances, then Thunder Bay and finally Kam River to win the title.
Winkler went 42-11-2-3 to take second spot in the Manitoba Junior Hockey League and then they went 12-3 in the post-season with wins over Portage, Virden and Steinback to win the Manitoba crowd.
The two three teams in each pool advance to next week’s playoff round.
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