There was no doubt in Owen MacDonald’s mind that his team, the London Knights, would win the Memorial Cup.
The team trailed the Rouyn-Noranda Huskies 2-1 in the last five minutes of the final game on May 29. But a goal from teammate Christian Dvorak at 15:49 took the battle into overtime, where Knights winger Matthew Tkachuk scored the game winning goal almost eight minutes in.
The bench went wild.
“It was pretty crazy. When we scored there, it was a pretty big celebration – everyone jumped off the bench,” said MacDonald, an Elora native who has played for the Knights since 2012.
“It was a special moment and it was a moment that none of us will forget.”
Though trailing late in the game, MacDonald had no reason to doubt his team would win the Memorial Cup as the top junior team in the Canadian Hockey League.
After all, the Knights hadn’t lost a game since April 1 – a span of 17 games.
The Knights swept though the Ontario Hockey League (OHL) playoffs then grabbed the OHL championship. The team then headed to Red Deer to battle the hometown Rebels as well as the top teams from the Québec Major Junior Hockey League and the Western Hockey League.
The Knights didn’t lose a single game.
“There was no doubt in our minds as a team that we were going to come back and win the game and that’s what we did,” said MacDonald, who called hoisting the Memorial Cup a “special moment.”
His parents, godmother and girlfriend were all in Red Deer to celebrate after the momentous victory.
“It was nice to celebrate with them and the team, it was a pretty big celebration,” he said.
MacDonald added he was honoured to play with the friends he has grown up with on the team.
“To win it with my best friends, especially the guys that I’ve been here since I was 16 with … (Mitch) Marner and Dvorak and (Chandler) Yakimomicz, it’s pretty special to share with them.”
MacDonald and the Knights travelled back to London on May 30, arriving to a sea of people cheering them on.
“We got a police escort all the way through the city and downtown; we got to Victoria park, it was pretty cool, there was tons of people there,” said MacDonald.
“The city takes great pride in the London Knights and it’s pretty cool to see fans pulling over and honking out the window when they’re driving.”
MacDonald, who turned 20 a few days before winning the Memorial Cup in his fourth season, expects to be back with the Knights next year, playing as an over-ager.
This summer he will return home to play with the Elora Mohawks Jr. B lacrosse team.
