Eagles look to continue magical run against Patriots

The Centennial Cup held its “sorting hat” ceremony on Wednesday (May 13), revealing each team’s next opponent and game time as the tournament in Summerside, P.E.I., prepares to move from preliminary play into the knockout stages.

The Canmore Eagles pulled out the Toronto Patriots as their quarterfinal opponent in a game to be played at 1 p.m. MT on Friday. Canmore, the Alberta Junior Hockey League champions, finished second in Pool A with three wins – one in overtime – and one loss. Toronto, the Ontario Junior Hockey League champions, finished third in Pool B, starting with two convincing wins, then suffering two losses.

“I think we just keep on going,” said Eagles GM/Head Coach Andrew Milne, who got to pick the starting time as the team with the most points among all quarterfinalists. “We will continue to take it one day at a time and see where we get.”

Playoff bound teams had to wait until the completion of the final preliminary game on Wednesday to find out their opponent.

The “sorting hat’s” other quarterfinal features the host Summerside Western Capitals, third in Pool A, taking on the Truro Bearcats, the Maritime Junior Hockey League champions, second in Pool B.

The Manitoba Junior Hockey League Niverville Nighthawks and Quebec Junior Hockey League’s Collège Français de Longueuil have byes into Saturday’s semifinal clashes as a result of Wednesday’s games.

Niverville finished the preliminary round with four wins – one coming in overtime – and the best overall record with 11 points. A result that means the Nighthawks get to choose their Saturday start time and will meet the winner of Truro and Summerside at either 1 p.m. MT

CF de Longueuil, which finished with three wins and one loss for nine points will take on the winner of Canmore and Toronto in Saturday’s 4:30 p.m. MT clash.

The preliminary draw handed the Eagles two days to rest up for the Patriots.

“Our team needs a rest, and we will take these next two days as cool as we can and then prepare and focus to be ready right from the start,” Eagles forward Will Lutic said following Tuesday’s loss to Niverville, which cost the team first place.

Lutic is not worried about the team having lost a game: “We talked about 10 minutes, tossed it, and got right back to it for the next game. It’s a good reset for us. With the two days off, we will be ready for the quarterfinals.

“We are getting our chances. We are getting our looks. We just have to stay positive. We just have to keep that up. Things will go our way if we keep doing what we are doing.”

Toronto dominated its first two games, scoring 15 goals: wins of 8-3 over the Greater Sudbury Cubs (Northern Ontario Junior Hockey League) and 7-2 over the Flin Flon Bombers. The Patriots then struggled in their next two games, allowing 13 goals: losses of 6-1 to Truro and 7-4 to CF de Longueuil.

The loss to CF de Longueuil on Wednesday cost the Patriots top spot in Pool B.

Milne believes his team is up for the challenge of playing three games in three days – which is now required to bring the Centennial Cup back to Alberta: the Calgary Canucks won it last year.

“We played a lot of three-in-three this year. We did it on purpose,” said Milne. “The idea that we are doing it in a national championship, I don’t think you need much more motivation. I think, if we get to Sunday, it will be pretty easy to get the guys to play as hard as they have to play with the Centennial Cup on the line.”

Hopefully, there is still real magic for the Eagles to summon. Their 2026 playoff run of 15 wins and just four losses has never seen them fall twice in a row, and that enchanted momentum feels very much alive as championship weekend approaches.

Wednesday games:

CF de Longueuil had scored just six goals in its previous three games but eclipsed that in its final preliminary game.

For CF de Longueuil, Isiah Parent had two goals and one assist, and Mathieu Derome had two goals. A four-goal third period blew open the game as the QJHL champions built a 5-1 lead en route to claiming top spot in the pool.

For Toronto, Cole Cooksey had a two-goal game and now has 10 points (6G-4A).

Hayden Wheddon had two goals and two assists in leading the Nighthawks to their fourth win in the preliminary round while teammate Adam Vigfusson scored once and assisted on three goals for a competition leading 11 points (7G-4A). Dawson Zeller’s second goal of the game, at 16:27 of the third period, snapped a 6-6 tie.

Mavrick Brunet scored once and had two assists for the Nationals to lead his team with 10 points (3G-7A).

Truro may have lost the game, but they survived to win the final playoff spot in the competition, taking second place in Pool B.

The Bombers, who took a 3-0 lead and pulled the goaltender with 4½ minutes left in the third period, needed to win by at least five goals to get to the quarterfinal round of the competition and came up short, but denied the Bearcats first place in the pool.

OVERTIME: All games are being streamed as pay-per-view on HNLive.ca, with Sunday’s championship game also available on TSN+. … Patrinos Steak House & Pub is hosting all-ages watch parties throughout the Centennial Cup to bring Canmore Eagles’ fans together to cheer on and celebrate the team.

(RW-OTW-OTL-RL—Pts)

Pool A: 1. x-Niverville (3-1-0-0—11), 2. y-Canmore (2-1-0-1—8), y-3. Summerside (2-0-1-1—7), 4. Rockland (1-0-1-2—4), 5. Thunder Bay (0-0-0-4—0).

Pool B: x-1. CF de Longueuil (3-0-0-1—9), y-2. Truro (2-0-0-2—6), y-3. Toronto (2-0-0-2—6), 4. Flin Flon (2-0-0-2—6), 5. Greater Sudbury (1-0-0-3—3).

x-semifinal place

y-quarterfinal place

(All times MT)

Friday, May 15: Toronto vs Canmore, 1 p.m.; Summerside vs Truro, 4:30 p.m.

Saturday, May 16: Semifinal No. 1, 1 p.m.; Semifinal No. 2, 4:30 p.m.

Sunday: May 17: Championship Game, 4 p.m.

May 13: CF de Longueuil 7 Toronto 4; Rockland 6 Niverville 7; Truro1 Flin Flon 3

May 12: Greater Sudbury 1 CF de Longueuil 3; Niverville 6 Canmore 4; Thunder Bay 3 Summerside 4

May 11:  Flin Flon 6 Greater Sudbury 4; Rockland 8 Thunder Bay 2; Toronto 1 Truro 6

May 10: Truro 2 CF de Longueuil 1; Summerside 1 Canmore 5

May 9: Thunder Bay 2 Niverville 7; Flin Flon 2 Toronto 7; Summerside 4 Rockland 2

May 8: Flin Flon 0 CF de Longueuil 1; Canmore 3 Thunder Bay 2; Greater Sudbury 4 Truro 1

May 7: Greater Sudbury 3 Toronto 8; Rockland 2 Canmore 3 (OT); Niverville 5 Summerside 4 (OT)