Latest news with #MemorialCups
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
Former Habs Prospect Moves From Finland To Germany
Canadian center Peter Abbandonato, 27, has signed a one-year contract with ERC Ingolstadt, the DEL club announced on Monday. Last season, his first playing in Europe, Abbandonato led Finnish Liiga club Jukurit with 51 points in 61 games. 'Peter has already impressed in the minor leagues in North America and has also showcased his skills in his first season in Europe,' said Ingolstadt sports director Tim Regan. 'He has a good understanding of the game and strong skating skills. He is primarily used as a center, but can also play on the wings, which gives us even more versatility.' 'I'd been in contact with Tim for some time, and we had very good discussions; however, the opportunity to return to the AHL also presented itself,' said Abbandonato. 'Ultimately, it was important to me to carefully consider my options and make the best decision. After intensive discussions, I chose Ingolstadt, because I think the conditions here are right for success.' Born in Laval, Que., Abbandonato played junior hockey for the QMJHL's Rouyn-Noranda Huskies and took part in two Memorial Cups. In 2018-19, he recorded 111 points in 68 regular-season games, followed by 32 points in 21 post-season games as the Huskies won the Memorial Cup. Undrafted, Abbandonato has spent the past five seasons in the minor-league systems of the Tampa Bay Lightning, Montreal Canadiens, Carolina Hurricanes and Pittsburgh Penguins. He has recorded 123 points in 214 AHL games and 51 points in 49 ECHL games. Abbandonato's 6-Point Game Gives Jukurit Lead In Finnish Playout Series With just 12 regulation wins in 60 games, Jukurit Mikkeli finished last in the 16-team Finnish Liiga. The team is now in the midst of a best-of-seven playout series with the 15th-place Lahti Pelicans, with the loser facing a relegation series against the winner of the second-tier Mestis. Highlights of Abbandonato's season in Finland included a four-point effort in the team's season-opening 7-3 victory and a six-point game in a play-out series against the Lahti Pelicans, in which Jukurit successfully avoided relegation. 'First and foremost, I would describe myself as an offensive playmaker, but it's also important to me to be a reliable player in all zones,' Abbandonato described. He joins an Ingolstadt team that finished first in last year's DEL regular season but was eliminated by Kölner Haie in the semifinals. Thanks to that first-place finish, however, Ingolstadt has qualified for the Champions Hockey League in 2025-26. The team's roster also includes ex-NHLers Riley Barber, Kenny Agostino and Morgan Ellis. Photo © Jamie Germano / USA TODAY NETWORK. Ex-Hab, Canadian Olympian Signs Contract Extension In Germany ERC Ingolstadt finished first in the DEL regular season and, with the playoffs about to start, announced on Friday that an important piece of this year's team will be returning in 2025-26, in the form of Canadian defenseman Morgan Ellis.
Yahoo
10-07-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
London Knights' owner named Team Canada's head coach at 2026 World Juniors championship
Dale Hunter is owner and head coach of the London Knights and last month, led the team to its third Memorial Cup victory. (Isha Bhargava/CBC - image credit) The long-time owner of the London Knights has been named head coach of Canada's national junior hockey team for an international championship next year, Hockey Canada announced on Thursday. Dale Hunter will lead the Canadian team to the 2026 International Ice Hockey Federation World Junior Championship, and his brother Mark Hunter will serve as a member of the team's management group, when it's held in Switzerland in May 2026 Advertisement "Dale's resume speaks for itself: three Memorial Cups, three OHL Coach of the Year awards and two international gold medals," Alan Millar, general manager of the team's program of excellence, said in a news release. "His passion for this program runs deep, and we feel he is the best candidate to lead us to a gold medal in Minnesota." This is the second time the London Knights' bench boss has been roped as the national team's head coach. He previously served in the role for the 2020 world junior hockey championship in the Czech Republic, where the team won a gold medal. Hunter has won multiple national and provincial coaching honours, and most recently, led the London Knights to their third Memorial Cup victory last month, after beating the Medicine Hat Tigers 4-1. Advertisement Hunter has coached the Knights in the Ontario Hockey League (OHL) for 24 straight seasons since 2001 and has served in various roles for the franchise. Dale Hunter will be head coach of Team Canada at the 2026 World Junior Championships, this is his second time serving in this role after leading the national team to a gold medal win in 2020. (Nathan Denette/Canadian Press) In his role on the management group, Mark will assist the team's executives with all hockey operations-related matters, including supporting player evaluations and the selection process. "Mark led Canada to a World Juniors gold medal in 2020 and has built one of the premier franchises in the Canadian Hockey League, with unparalleled on-ice success and player advancement," said Scott Salmond, senior vice-president of high performance and hockey operations. Advertisement "Alan and Mark provide a stable backbone for our National Junior Team and I'm confident they will build a staff and roster that Canadians can be proud of come December." Team Canada's juniors will start preparing for the 2026 championship at the World Junior summer showcase in Minnesota from July 27 to Aug. 2. They will join Finland, Sweden and the United States.
Yahoo
10-07-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Gold Medallist Dale Hunter To Coach Canada's 2026 World Juniors Team
Three-time Memorial Cup champion Dale Hunter is back to coach Canada's world junior team. Hockey Canada announced Hunter will coach the Canadians at the 2026 World Junior Championship in Minnesota. His brother, Mark Hunter, joins the management group. Advertisement Hockey Canada's new Program of Excellence GM, Alan Miller, selected the Hunters after the 2025 Canadian world junior team lost in the quarterfinal for the second straight year. 'The first order of business for myself and (senior VP of high performance and hockey operations Scott Salmond) was to find the best coach possible to lead our national junior team,' Millar said in a news release. 'Dale's resume speaks for itself: three Memorial Cups, three OHL Coach of the Year awards and two international gold medals. His passion for this program runs deep, and we feel he is the best candidate to lead us to a gold medal in Minnesota.' Dale Hunter has coached the OHL's London Knights since 2001, except for when he replaced Washington Capitals coach Bruce Boudreau midway through the 2011-12 season. This past season, he joined Hockey Hall of Famer Brian Kilrea as the only coaches in CHL history to record 1,000 wins. Mark Hunter has owned the Knights since 2000, serving as the vice-president of hockey operations during that time and GM since 2018. He worked with the Toronto Maple Leafs as director of player personnel, then assistant GM, from the 2014-15 season to 2017-18. Dale Hunter (Vincent Ethier/CHL) The Hunters' Knights won their first Memorial Cup championship since 2016 in May after losing in the 2024 final. They're back-to-back OHL playoff champions as well, winning five in total under Dale Hunter and six under Mark Hunter. Advertisement Hunter was GM of Canada's world junior team in 2020, when they won gold during the summer in Edmonton. Dale Hunter was the coach; it was his second gold medal coaching Canada, with his first coming on the 2014 Hlinka Gretzky Cup U-18 squad. 'Mark led Canada to a World Juniors gold medal in 2020 and has built one of the premier franchises in the Canadian Hockey League, with unparalleled on-ice success and player advancement,' said Salmond. 'Alan and Mark provide a stable backbone for our National Junior Team, and I'm confident they will build a staff and roster that Canadians can be proud of come December.' Canada, Finland, Sweden and the United States will play in the World Junior Summer Showcase on July 27 to Aug. 2 in Minneapolis, Minn. Canada will have an intrasquad game on July 29 before facing Finland on July 30. They'll then take on Sweden on Aug. 1 and the Americans on Aug. 2. Get the latest news and trending stories by following The Hockey News on Google News and by subscribing to The Hockey News newsletter here. And share your thoughts by commenting below the article on
Hamilton Spectator
31-05-2025
- Sport
- Hamilton Spectator
London Knights return to Memorial Cup final with 5-2 win over Moncton Wildcats
RIMOUSKI - The London Knights are going back to the Memorial Cup final. Blake Montgomery scored the winner 3:35 into the third period to lift the Knights past the Moncton Wildcats 5-2 in the tournament's semifinal Friday. London will take on the Medicine Hat Tigers in Sunday's battle for the top prize in Canadian junior hockey. Denver Barkey — with an assist — Landon Sim and Jesse Nurmi also scored, while Austin Elliott made 21 saves for the Knights, who lost 4-3 to the Saginaw Spirit in last year's final. Easton Cowan had an empty-net goal and added an assist, and Jacob Julien provided two helpers. The Knights fell short of clinching a spot in this year's championship game earlier in the tournament with a 3-1 loss to the Tigers in their round-robin finale. London has lost twice consecutively only once in its past 120 games — including playoffs and Memorial Cups — dating back to March 1, 2024. It's a fifth Memorial Cup final appearance for the Ontario Hockey League champions. Only the Peterborough Petes and Kitchener Rangers have more with six apiece. Caleb Desnoyers had a goal and an assist while Dyllan Gill also scored for Moncton. Mathis Rousseau stopped 32 shots. The Wildcats, who also fell 3-2 in overtime to London in their tournament opener, beat the host Rimouski Oceanic 6-2 in the final-round robin game Wednesday to reach the semifinal. Montgomery gave London a 3-2 lead early in the third when Sam Dickinson beat Moncton's Etienne Morin wide and set up the Ottawa Senators prospect, who'd snuck in behind Gill to score his first of the tournament. Nurmi converted a centring feed from Julien to double the lead with 6:49 remaining. Julien knocked the puck between Markus Vidicek's legs off a faceoff to set up Nurmi. The Wildcats jumped on a power play with 4:36 left — and eventually pulled the goalie for an extra attacker — but couldn't cut into the lead before Cowan made it 5-2 with 1:49 remaining. The Knights swarmed the Wildcats in the first period and dominated shot count 18-5 after 20 minutes, but London struggled to hold the lead — and stay out of the penalty box. Sim opened the scoring with a wraparound 4:07 into the game. He picked up a bouncing puck off the end boards after Oliver Bonk missed the net before quickly swinging around the net to give London the early lead. Moncton's Etienne Morin fired a one-timer off the crossbar on a power play midway through the frame. Desnoyers later equalized on the man-advantage, ripping a wrist shot from the left circle through Elliott at 18:20 after Sim took an interference penalty. The Knights went ahead again 5:24 into the second period when Barkey hammered a slick feed from Cowan into a gaping net after the Knights skated circles around the Wildcats in the offensive zone. Jesse Nurmi, however, took a slashing penalty 22 seconds later, leading to Gill's third goal of the tournament. Gill took a pass from Desnoyers and picked his spot with a shot off the post and in past a screened Elliott at 7:40. The Knights finally jumped on the power play with nine minutes left in the second. Cowan, who had seven shots on goal, nearly scored off a dangerous give-and-go with Dickinson but couldn't solve Rousseau once again. Moncton almost took its first lead late in the period when Gill's point shot deflected twice before bouncing off the post. This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 30, 2025. Error! Sorry, there was an error processing your request. There was a problem with the recaptcha. Please try again. You may unsubscribe at any time. By signing up, you agree to our terms of use and privacy policy . This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google privacy policy and terms of service apply. Want more of the latest from us? Sign up for more at our newsletter page .
Toronto Star
31-05-2025
- Sport
- Toronto Star
London Knights return to Memorial Cup final with 5-2 win over Moncton Wildcats
RIMOUSKI - The London Knights are going back to the Memorial Cup final. Blake Montgomery scored the winner 3:35 into the third period to lift the Knights past the Moncton Wildcats 5-2 in the tournament's semifinal Friday. London will take on the Medicine Hat Tigers in Sunday's battle for the top prize in Canadian junior hockey. Denver Barkey — with an assist — Landon Sim and Jesse Nurmi also scored, while Austin Elliott made 21 saves for the Knights, who lost 4-3 to the Saginaw Spirit in last year's final. ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW Easton Cowan had an empty-net goal and added an assist, and Jacob Julien provided two helpers. The Knights fell short of clinching a spot in this year's championship game earlier in the tournament with a 3-1 loss to the Tigers in their round-robin finale. London has lost twice consecutively only once in its past 120 games — including playoffs and Memorial Cups — dating back to March 1, 2024. It's a fifth Memorial Cup final appearance for the Ontario Hockey League champions. Only the Peterborough Petes and Kitchener Rangers have more with six apiece. Caleb Desnoyers had a goal and an assist while Dyllan Gill also scored for Moncton. Mathis Rousseau stopped 32 shots. The Wildcats, who also fell 3-2 in overtime to London in their tournament opener, beat the host Rimouski Oceanic 6-2 in the final-round robin game Wednesday to reach the semifinal. ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW Montgomery gave London a 3-2 lead early in the third when Sam Dickinson beat Moncton's Etienne Morin wide and set up the Ottawa Senators prospect, who'd snuck in behind Gill to score his first of the tournament. Nurmi converted a centring feed from Julien to double the lead with 6:49 remaining. Julien knocked the puck between Markus Vidicek's legs off a faceoff to set up Nurmi. The Wildcats jumped on a power play with 4:36 left — and eventually pulled the goalie for an extra attacker — but couldn't cut into the lead before Cowan made it 5-2 with 1:49 remaining. The Knights swarmed the Wildcats in the first period and dominated shot count 18-5 after 20 minutes, but London struggled to hold the lead — and stay out of the penalty box. Sim opened the scoring with a wraparound 4:07 into the game. He picked up a bouncing puck off the end boards after Oliver Bonk missed the net before quickly swinging around the net to give London the early lead. Moncton's Etienne Morin fired a one-timer off the crossbar on a power play midway through the frame. ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW Desnoyers later equalized on the man-advantage, ripping a wrist shot from the left circle through Elliott at 18:20 after Sim took an interference penalty. The Knights went ahead again 5:24 into the second period when Barkey hammered a slick feed from Cowan into a gaping net after the Knights skated circles around the Wildcats in the offensive zone. Jesse Nurmi, however, took a slashing penalty 22 seconds later, leading to Gill's third goal of the tournament. Gill took a pass from Desnoyers and picked his spot with a shot off the post and in past a screened Elliott at 7:40. The Knights finally jumped on the power play with nine minutes left in the second. Cowan, who had seven shots on goal, nearly scored off a dangerous give-and-go with Dickinson but couldn't solve Rousseau once again. Moncton almost took its first lead late in the period when Gill's point shot deflected twice before bouncing off the post. This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 30, 2025.
