Gryphins Season Comes To An End In Quarterfinals

Special teams played a big part in Thursday night's Allan Cup Challenge quarterfinal between the defending Allan Cup Champion Wentworth Gryphins and tournament hosts Conception Bay Blues. The Blues would get a pair of power play goals in the opening period, which was enough to end Wentworth's season by a final score of 2-1.

The first period saw both teams come out flying, getting off a flurry of shots at both ends of the ice, but the netminders were standing tall in the crease. It was the Conception Bay Blues who broke the ice at 9:08 of the period when Kris Hodge received a pass from behind the net and snapped it in on the power play. Nearly three minutes later, again with the man advantage, Niklas Lindstrom rifled a high shot from the point that found the top corner, giving the Blues a two-goal lead. Wentworth had a couple of good chances to get on the board in the latter stages of the period but were denied.

The second period saw Conception Bay get into penalty trouble. Just over four minutes into the frame, a Gryphins player was pulled down after picking the pocket of Kyle McGrath and walking in alone, resulting in a penalty shot. Matt MacLeod took the penalty shot but it went wide of the net. Moments later, Wentworth picked up their first power play of the game and had some good chances, but were unable to get on the board. That changed at the 6:45 mark when Reid Yochim skated down the boards, cut around the Blues defence and fired a shot through the goalie's five-hole to make it a one-goal game.

It remained 2-1 in favour of Conception Bay as the teams headed into a pivotal third period. The Gryphins kept the pressure on the Blues, searching for the equalizer. Their best chance came about eight minutes in, and it came while shorthanded — Wentworth broke in on a two-on-one with Kyle Lewis chipping the puck to Riley MacRae, but Andrew Rose made a spectacular save on what looked like a sure goal. The defending Allan Cup Champions were unable to find the tying goal as Rose stymied them down the stretch, sending the Gryphins home with a 2-1 defeat to close out their 2025-26 season.

Rose picked up the win for the Blues, turning aside 35 of 36 shots on the night. For the Gryphins, Joe Murdaca turned in another stellar performance, stopping 30 of 32 shots, but would take the loss.

While it was not the ending the Gryphins were hoping for, they showed their grit and determination throughout the tournament and battled right to the final whistle. Wentworth, along with the fans who made the trip, represented the ACHL and their community with pride. We congratulate them on a phenomenal season, including capturing their second consecutive Robertson Cup Championship.

Conception Bay will now advance to face the Clarenville Caribous in Friday's semifinal, with puck drop at 7:30 p.m. local time (6:00 p.m. Eastern). The winner will move on to face the Stoney Creek Tigers in the Allan Cup Final on Saturday at 4:30 p.m. local time (3:00 p.m. Eastern). The championship game will be broadcast on CHCH TV across Canada and worldwide online on AO Live.

Rod Black returns this year to call the Allan Cup semifinal and championship games. During Friday night's semifinal, Black will be joined in the booth by Dundas Real McCoys owner Don Robertson for colour commentary. For Saturday's championship game, former NHLer Terry Ryan will join Black to provide his insight.

All games can be streamed through AO Live.

Fans can stay up-to-date with all the scores, stats and news on the 2026 Allan Cup website.

Scoring
1^st Period
Blues – Kris Hodge (1), unassisted | 9:08 PPG
Blues – Nicklas Lindstrom (1), Nathan Kelly, Zachary Moody | 12:03 PPG

2^nd Period
Gryphins – Reid Yochim (1), Eric Diodati | 6:45

3^rd Period
No Scoring

Upcoming Schedule
Playoffs (Eastern Time)
Friday, April 24
GM 9 – Conception Bay vs Clarenville – 6:00pm

Saturday, April 25
GM 10 – Winner GM9 vs Stoney Creek – 3:00pm

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

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