Garden River First Nation member captures Memorial Cup with Saginaw Spirit
By Sam Laskaris
SAGINAW, MI – A Garden River First Nation member is among those who have captured the top prize in Canadian junior hockey circles.
Lincoln Moore and his Saginaw Spirit teammates captured the Memorial Cup, annually awarded to the Canadian Hockey League champions, on June 2.
The Michigan-based Spirit, which competes in the Ontario Hockey League (OHL), hosted the four-team Memorial Cup tournament.
As the host, the Saginaw club earned an automatic berth into the season-ending tourney.
Saginaw edged the OHL champion London Knights 4-3 in the championship final. The Spirit scored the game-winning goal in the final minute of play in the third period.
The Western Hockey League champion Moose Jaw Warriors and the Drummondville Voltigeurs, the Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League champs, also participated in the tournament.
“Any time you get a chance to host, I feel you’ve got a good chance to win it,” said Moore, who was in his second season with the Spirit.
Moore, an 18-year-old right winger, played in 50 regular season games this season and collected 13 points (five goals and eight assists). He then earned five assists in 11 playoff contests.
And in his five appearances at the Memorial Cup, Moore was credited with one goal and two assists.
Most people felt that the Knights were the favourites to capture the Memorial Cup.
London had defeated Saginaw 4-2 in its best-of-seven OHL Western Conference semi-final series.
London also doubled the Spirit 4-2 in their round-robin tilt at the Memorial Cup.
“I wouldn’t say it was a shock,” Moore said of the fact his club prevailed when it mattered most in the Memorial Cup final. “We had beaten them before. We knew we could play with them.”
The Spirit had built up a 3-0 lead in the second period in the championship final. London did score once in the middle period to trail by a pair heading into the third period.
The Knights then ensured an entertaining finish once they deadlocked the contest at 3-3 by scoring the first two goals of the final period.
Moore felt home-ice advantage proved to be somewhat of a difference maker.
“I think it came into play a lot,” he said. “The fans were on our side.”
Moore added it was an advantage for the Spirit as they were able to sleep in their own beds and be accustomed to their routines throughout the tournament instead of living out of a hotel.
Saginaw’s round-robin loss against London ended up being the team’s lone setback at the tournament.
The Spirit registered a pair of one-goal victories in its two other round-robin tilts, 5-4 over Moose Jaw, and 4-3 against Drummondville.
Saginaw then earned a berth into the final by thumping the Warriors 7-1 in their semi-final matchup.
London had advanced directly to the final by winning all three of its round-robin games.
Moore is expected to return to the Spirit for the 2024-25 campaign. He would also have one additional season of OHL eligibility after that as an overager.
Squads in the league can only dress a maximum of three overagers in a game.