Dundas Real McCoys capture the Allan Cup

Dundas Real McCoys capture the Allan Cup

Among his many words of wisdom, Don Cherry maintains that a 2-0 lead is the hardest to protect in hockey.

The Clarenville (Nfld.) Caribous and Hamilton Kilty B’s found that out on Sunday as their respective hockey seasons came to a close.

Trailing 2-0 at the end of the second period, the Dundas Real McCoys splurged for five goals in the third to defeat the Caribous 5-3 and win the Allan Cup, the 1909 trophy emblematic of senior hockey in Canada.

That game was barely over when the Kilty B’s took a similar 2-0 lead into the final frame of their OHA Junior B playoff game with Leamington at the Dave Andreychuk Mountain Arena.

The visiting Flyers, from Ontario’s Sun Belt not far from Windsor, duplicated the Dundas feat with five third-period goals to win 5-2.

Leamington now advances to the Sutherland Cup final against the Stratford Warriors.

That leaves it up to the Glanbrook Rangers to carry the Bay Area banner forward in Junior C competition. The Rangers are behind the Wellesley Applejacks 2-1 in their best-of-seven OHA quarterfinal series. The teams play in Wellesley, near Waterloo, Tuesday night and back in Glanbrook on Wednesday night.

Saturday’s game at the Grightmire Arena was a replay of the 2014 Allan Cup final, also held in Dundas. The Real McCoys won that one 3-2 in overtime.

Goalie Mike Mole named MVP

Amazingly Dundas goalie Mike Mole, now 40, was named MVP in both tournaments, nine years apart. Real McCoys captain Brad Bonello and MacKenzie Wood tied for the scoring lead with 10 points apiece in five games.

To win the cup, Dundas had to play five games in six days with a roster made up heavily of players beyond the age of 35. The Real McCoys had only 17.5 hours rest from the time they ousted the Hamilton Steelers 7-4 in Friday night’s semifinal and the start of the championship game at 3:30 p.m. Saturday afternoon.

The tournament was organized through the efforts of Dundas President and General Manager Don Robertson with his hard-working team of volunteers.

Robertson was the recipient of the OHA Gold Stick Award in 2020 for his outstanding service to senior hockey.