Memorial Cup final watch party in Hamilton on Wednesday

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Published June 28, 2022 at 9:45 pm

There will be a public gathering for hockey fans to cheer on the Hamilton Bulldogs in the Memorial Cup final.

A watch party will be held in the Albion ballroom at Hamilton Convention Centre tomorrow night (June 29) when the Bulldogs face the host Saint John Sea Dogs for the Canadian Hockey League title. The doors will open at 5 p.m., an hour before the 6 p.m. game.

A tweet from the Bulldogs noted that “space is limited.” There will be a bar and snacks will be sold.

The Bulldogs have won three do-or-done games in the last seven days to reach the final. Monday, they came from behind to defeat the Shawinigan Cataractes 4-3 in overtime in the semifinal, with Montreal Canadiens prospect Jan Mysak scoring the game-winning goal on a setup from Nathan Staios.

Friday, Hamilton held off the Edmonton Oil Kings, 4-2, in a round-robin game that was essentially an elimination contest. That win got Hamilton off the deck after starting the tournament with defeats against Saint John and Shawinigan.

Only one team — the 2009 Windsor Spitfires — has won the Memorial Cup after an 0-2 start in the event.

The Bulldogs also went seven games in the Ontario Hockey League final before winning their second J. Ross Robertson Cup in the last three completed seasons. Hamilton beat the Windsor Spitfires 6-1 in the winner-take-all game on June 22, in front of an OHL final-record crowd of 11,779 at FirstOntario Centre.

The Sea Dogs, a host team which had five weeks to prepare for the Memorial Cup after a first-round Quebec league playoff loss, earned a direct path to the final by finishing first in the round-robin. Saint John has not played since Saturday, when New York Islanders prospect William Dufour had a four-goal game against Shawinigan.

In the tournament opener on June 20, Saint John beat Hamilton 5-2.

Regardless of tomorrow night’s result, the city plans to hold a celebration for the Bulldogs in the Gore Park promenade on Thursday.

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