by Kathy K., Associate Editor, All Habs Hockey Magazine

MONTREAL, QC—It was a highly-anticipated top prospects showdown at the finals of the 2013 MasterCard Memorial Cup, where Nathan MacKinnon and Jonathan Drouin stole the show and collected ten points (including a MacKinnon hat trick) between them on the way to a 6-4 win over Seth Jones and the Portland Winterhawks.

Of course, the game was not lacking in its own brand of drama, as the Winterhawks took the form of the defeated semi-finalist London Knights and attempted to mount not one, but two comebacks.

Konrad Abeltshauser opened the scoring at 6:31 of the first period while Portland’s Brendan Leipsic was off serving a hooking minor. Under two minutes later, MacKinnon got on the board with his first of the game and Martin Frk’s tally gave the Mooseheads a nice, comfortable lead. At this point, Drouin already had three assists.

Portland got into penalty trouble again in the second frame as winger Oliver Bjorkstrand got called for slashing around the mid-mark of the period and the Mooseheads’ powerplay was given another opportunity to shine. Nicholas Petan would have none of that, however, scoring a shorthanded goal from WHL playoffs’ top scorer Ty Rattie.  Not to be outdone, the two Winterhawks then teamed up to set up Seth Jones to narrow the margin to a single goal, providing some food for thought to the Mooseheads as they headed to their dressing room.

The mental tug-of-war continued as the rink tilted both ways in the third. MacKinnon’s second of the game, followed by Abeltshauser’s second of the game, appeared to put the game to rest. But the Winterhawks indeed stormed back a second time with goals by Leipsic and Rattie.

It was the empty-netter scored by number 22 with 22 seconds left in the game that dug up the seed of doubt before it grew any roots. MacKinnon, later named the MVP of the tournament as well as taking home the title of top scorer, was later quoted as saying, “I might not score a bigger goal in my life.” [CBC.ca]

The 2013 MasterCard Memorial Cup was the first-ever Canadian Hockey League championship won by the Halifax Mooseheads.  Their last appearance dates back to 2000, where they were the host team. The champions that year were the Rimouski Océanic, who beat the Barrie Colts 6-2 in the championship game.

2013 MasterCard Memorial Cup Awards:

Stafford Smythe Memorial Trophy (Most Valuable Player) – Nathan MacKinnon (Halifax Mooseheads)

Ed Chynoweth Trophy (Top Scorer) – Nathan MacKinnon (Halifax Mooseheads)

George Parsons Trophy (Most Sportsmanlike Player) – Bo Horvat (London Knights)

Hap Emms Memorial Trophy (Outstanding Goaltender) – Andrey Makarov (Saskatoon Blades)

2013 MasterCard Memorial Cup All-Stars:

Goaltender – Zachary Fucale (Halifax Mooseheads)

Defence – Derrick Pouliot (Portland Winterhawks)

Defence – Konrad Abeltshauser (Halifax Mooseheads)

Forward – Nathan MacKinnon (Halifax Mooseheads)

Forward – Martin Frk (Halifax Mooseheads)

Forward – Ty Rattie (Portland Winterhawks)