Gryphins Capture First Allan Cup Championship

For the third consecutive year, the hosts of the Allan Cup Challenge have made the finals, this year that is the Wentworth Gryphins against the Clarenville Caribous who also have been part of the last three finals. Clarenville entered the contest as the top ranked team in the tournament with the Gryphins ranked third.

The game got underway with both teams feeling each other out a bit, but it was Clairenville who struck first. Ryan Semple sent a shot in toward the Gryphins net that went wide, Travis Randell picked up the puck, brought it out front and slid it across the crease to Kevin Reid who tapped it in at the 8:13 mark. Adam Dawe then put the Caribous up 2-0 converting on a breakaway after taking the pass from Chad Earle.

In the latter stages of the opening period Wentworth started to push back and get on the board when Alex Hutchings broke into the zone and took the puck below the goal line and slung it out to the slow where he found Cory Conacher for his tournament leading sixth goal. Then with just over two minutes to go, Conacher was along the boards and returned the favour to Hutchings who evened the score at two.

The break didn’t change much as the Gryphins came out hot, scoring two goals 40 seconds apart. The first came when Elijah Roberts went inside out and danced around a Caribous defender to put it past the netminder at 1:21 of the second period. Then Remy Giftopoulos would collect an Eric Diodati rebound and stuff it through the five-hole to put Wentworth up 4-2.

Just over six minutes in, the Caribous were awarded a seven-minute power play when Wentworth’s Darroll Powe was assessed a minor for interference and a major for attempt to injure, but it was the Gryphins who picked up a fifth goal as Hutchings out raced the Clarenville defense, picked up the loose puck and scored on the five-hole.

Wentworth took full control of the game as they scored again on the same penalty kill as Conacher made it 6-2 on a breakaway goal with 9:07 left in the middle stanza. However, the scoring didn’t end there as the flood gates opened and Reid Yochim, Matt MacLeod and Giftopolous scored in the final 6:32 and making it nine unanswered.

The third period would be a quiet one with the game pretty much out of reach, but the Caribous would score three times thanks to Kyle Robinson and Dawe who scored a pair in the period to complete the hat trick.

Joseph Murdaca earned his fourth victory of the Allan Cup Challenge, making 34 saves. AJ Whiffen took the loss, allowing six goals on 27 shots over 31 of play. Mark Power played the remaining 29 minutes, stopping three goals on ten shots.

Following the game, the OHA and Allan Cup Tournament committee handed out the tournament All-Star Team and MVP awards.

2025 Allan Cup Challenge All-Star Team
Forwards: Nathan Kelly (Caribous), Garrett Meurs (81’s), Cory Conacher (Gryphins)
Defenceman: Elijah Roberts (Gryphins), Brett Flemming (Gryphins)
Goaltender: Joseph Murdaca (Gryphins)
MVP: Cory Conacher (Gryphins) 5 GP, 7 Goals, 2 Assists,1PPG, 2 SHG

The 2025 Allan Cup Committee would like to thank all the teams that participated in this year’s even. They would also like to thank the Wentworth Gryphins, their volunteers and sponsors that helped to make this another memorable event,

The 2026 Allan Cup Challenge will be headed to Conception Bay South, Newfoundland and Labrador, hosted by the Conception Bay Blues of the Avalon East Senior Hockey League. Games will be played at the Conception Bay South Arena.

About Allan Cup Hockey (ACH) and the Allan Cup
Allan Cup Hockey (ACH), formerly Major League Hockey until 2011, is the top tier Canadian senior ice hockey league in the province of Ontario. Founded in 1990, as the Southwestern Senior “A” Hockey League, the ACH is a member of the Ontario Hockey Association and Hockey Canada. The ACH’s champion contends for the Allan Cup each year.

The Allan Cup is the trophy awarded annually to the senior ice hockey champions of Canada. It was donated by Sir Montagu Allan of Ravenscrag, Montreal, and has been competed for since 1909. The previous champions were the Dundas Real McCoys, who captured the 2023 and 2024 Allan Cup in Dundas, Ontario.

Follow the Allan Cup Hockey League social media on Facebook, X (formerly Twitter), Instagram, and now Bluesky.

For more information contact Allan Cup Hockey Commissioner Rick Richardson at 905-328-4727 or email: rickystar911@outlook.com