by Dan Carle
Dundas, ON – The Allan Cup is staying in Dundas.
Behind 33 saves from MVP backup Ryan de Melo, the Real McCoys earned consecutive Allan Cups at home after cruising to a 6-1 win over the South Shore Breakers Saturday afternoon in the 2024 tournament final.
Slater Doggett, Jake Goldberg, Cam Fergus, Nathan Longpre, Igor Gongalsky, and Mackenzie Wood scored for Dundas, which earned back-to-back championships and the third national senior men’s AAA title in team history.
“Having my chance to shine here,” said de Melo, named tournament MVP and all-star goaltender.
The 33-year-old winemaker was pressed into action after the Real McCoys lost all-star starter Mike Mole and backup Dan Davies to injury.
“It’s like we’re all playing pro again,” smiled de Melo.
AJ Whiffen withstood 41 shots for the St. John’s-based Breakers, who were gassed having concluded a 4-1 semi-final win over Robertson Cup champion Stoney Creek just 17 hours before the 3 p.m. start.
Ryan Dawson’s wrist shot broke through for the Breakers and ended de Melo’s shutout bid with just over three minutes left in the third.
The Real McCoys had two days off after going 3-0 in the round-robin and led 2-0 after the first period – Doggett from a near-impossible angle and Goldberg at 19:26 on a Dundas power play for the game-winner.
The Real McCoys poured it on minutes into the four-goal second. Fergus followed up on a rush for a tap-in off a bouncing puck, and Longpre beat a screened Whiffen before Gongalsky and Wood also scored for 6-0 lead.
“We just kept hemming them in, shift after shift,” said forward Phil Brewer, 34, a tournament all-star for the Real McCoys whose two infant children were in the stands.
“It kind of just puts a smile on your face.”
Earlier in the week, Whiffen, a carpenter from Grand Falls-Windsor, stopped 41 shots in a 2-0 win over Innisfail for the only shutout of the tournament.
The Real McCoys become the first repeat Allan Cup champions since the Warroad Lakers of Minnesota won the last of three-straight in 1996.
Dundas defeated Clarenville of Newfoundland in the 2023 final at J.L. Grightmire Arena.
Ontario has earned a Canadian record 51 Allan Cups.
The trophy was donated in 1909 by Montagu Allan and has been won by 10 provinces, one territory and two U.S. states since 1909.
The game was broadcast nationally on CHCH TV with Rod Black and Rick Vaive on the call using crews from local Cable-14.
Vaive had praise for Don Robertson, Dundas owner, general manager and assistant coach who brought the Allan Cup back and pulled together a four-team tournament last season after a three-season break due to COVID.
“I call him the keeper of the Cup,” said Vaive on the broadcast. “He gets to keep his Cup.”
The 2025 Allan Cup will be played in Innisfail, Alberta.
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
