MONDAY SPORTS PAGE: BROOKS 3-PEATS, MEM CUP FIELD SET

PORTAGE, MB – The Brooks Bandits have won the 2023 Centennial Cup, claiming Canada’s 51st National Junior A Championship with a 4-0 win over the Battlefords North Stars on Sunday at Stride Place.

With the win, Brooks become the first team to win three consecutive national titles. It claimed the 2019 championship on home ice, and made it back-to-back title last year in Estevan, Sask. The tournament was cancelled in 2020 and 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Overall, the Bandits have won a record 18 straight games at the tournament.

Hudson Malinoski (Saskatoon, Sask.) scored twice as part of a four-goal second period. Malinoski, Hunter Wallace (Oak Lake, Man.) and Heath Armstrong (Calgary, Alta.) scored goals in a span of 97 seconds midway through the second period to break open a scoreless game.

Ethan Barwick (St. Albert, Alta.) made 30 saves for his second-consecutive shutout; he stopped all 22 shots he faced in a 3-0 semifinal win over the Ottawa Jr. Senators on Saturday. Brooks is the first team to ever post shutouts in the semifinal and championship game, and Barwick – who won his third national title – closed the tournament by not allowing a goal in his final 153 minutes of action.

The Oakville Blades of the Ontario Junior Hockey League will play host to the 52nd edition of the National Junior A Championship in May 2024, with final dates and format still to be finalized.

HALIFAX – The Quebec Remparts are going to the Memorial Cup as Quebec Major Junior Hockey League champions.

The visiting Remparts pulled off a late comeback on Sunday to beat the Halifax Mooseheads 5-4 to win the best-of-seven QMJHL Championship Series in six games.

The Mooseheads were leading 4-3 with under three minutes left in the third period when Kassim Gaudet tied the game at 17:52 with an unassisted marker.

Then, with 59 seconds left in the third, Gaudet set up Pier-Olivier Roy for the winning goal.

Evan Nause, James Malatesta and Zachary Bolduc also scored for the Remparts, who trailed 3-1 with five minutes left in the second period. Theo Rochette chipped in with two assists.

Jack Martin. Alexandre Doucet, Josh Lawrence and Zachary L’Heureux scored for the Mooseheads, who were outshot 36-25. Jordan Dumais had three assists for Halifax.

The Remparts went 1-for-3 on the power play, while the Mooseheads were 0-for-1.

The Remparts will play the host Kamloops Blazers on Friday in the opening game of the four-team Memorial Cup championship in Kamloops, B.C.

PETERBOROUGH, Ont. – Tucker Robertson’s goal at 11:10 of the third period snapped a 1-1 deadlock and lifted the Peterborough Petes to a 2-1 Ontario Hockey League playoff victory over the visiting London Knights on Sunday.

Robertson, who also assisted on Avery Hayes’ opening goal, gave the Petes a 4-2 victory in the OHL’s best-of-seven Championship Series, and a berth in the 2023 Memorial Cup that starts Friday in Kamloops, B.C.

Hayes scored at 14:33 of the second period to give the Petes a 1-0 lead. Max McCue of the Knights tied the game at 7:59 of the third period, setting the stage for Robertson’s heroics.

The Knights pressed for the equalizer and had a number of chances in the final two minutes that were thwarted by Petes’ netminder Michael Simpson, later named the OHL playoffs MVP.

Robertson, who continually came through in the clutch throughout the series, was brimming with pride after the final buzzer.

“This city has been so amazing throughout the playoffs and all my three seasons here,” Robertson said. “It’s been incredible and I’m so proud to be able to help bring them a championship.”

The Petes outshot the Knights 37-36. The Knights went 0-for-4 on the power play, while the Petes were 0-for-3.

The game drew a record crowd of 4,101 at Peterborough Memorial Centre. It was the Petes first OHL title since 2006 and 10th overall.

The Petes first game at the Memorial Cup as OHL champions is Saturday against the Western Hockey League champion Seattle Thunderbirds.

(CJHLHockey.com, Canadian Press)

The eighth-seeded Miami Heat are one win away from a berth in the NBA Finals after crushing the visiting Boston Celtics 128-102 on Sunday night in the third game of the Eastern Conference finals. Gabe Vincent scored 29 points for the Heat and Duncan Robinson added 22. Jayson Tatum scored 14 and Jaylen Brown added 12 for the Celtics. The Heat lead the best-of-seven series 3-0. Game 4 is Tuesday.

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The Denver Nuggets are on the brink of the first NBA Finals trip in franchise history after winning the first three games of the Western Conference finals over the Los Angeles Lakers. The Nuggets can also make another bit of history with a win in Game 4 on Monday night in LA. Although this franchise has won 15 playoff series, Denver has never swept an opponent.

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The Toronto Blue Jays hit the road this week sitting last in the five-team American League East with a 25-22 record. The Jays were swept in a three-game series by the visiting Baltimore Orioles. The O’s scored five times in the top of the 11th inning Sunday to beat the Jays 8-3. Toronto opens a four-game series Monday against the major league-leading Tampa Bay Rays, who are 21-and-4 at home.

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Chandler Stephenson scored 72 seconds into overtime on Sunday to give the Vegas Golden Knights a 3-2 win over the visiting Dallas Stars. The Knights lead the best-of-seven Western Conference final 2-0. Vegas won the first game 4-3 in overtime. In the Eastern Conference final, the Florida Panthers will be aiming to go up 3-0 in their series with a win Monday against the visiting Carolina Hurricanes. The Panthers won the first three games of the series on the road, both in overtime.

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Canadian Corey Conners and Brooks Koepka of Florida both had the same dream when the final round of the PGA Championship got underway Sunday. But Koepka had his materialize by closing with a 67 at Oak Hill and winning his third PGA Championship by two strokes over Scottie Scheffler and Viktor Hovland. Conners, of Listowel, Ontario, had a rough day and finished in a tie for 12th place.

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The BC Lions celebrated the Victoria Day long weekend by signing defensive lineman Jonathan Kongbo. The six-foot-five, 266-pound Kongbo played two games last year for the NFL’s Denver Broncos. He was selected fifth overall in the 2019 CFL draft by the Winnipeg Blue Bombers and eventually won Grey Cups in 2019 and 2021 with the Bombers, both times beating the Hamilton Tiger-Cats. The Lions also released 2-time Grey Cup champion defensive end Shawn Lemon.