Noteworthy hockey players participated in what will be the biggest games of some of their lives, and it wasn’t in either Game 7. The Oshawa Generals bested the Kelowna Rockets 2-1 early in OT to win the 2015 Memorial Cup on Sunday.
Anthony Cirelli scored both of Oshawa’s goals, which was quite a feat if you judge it by this tidbit:
Unbelievable! Anthony Cirelli, passed over in two OHL drafts, gets the OT winner for Oshawa
— Ryan Kennedy (@THNRyanKennedy) June 1, 2015
Cirelli is the 67th ranked North American skater (up from a midterm rank of 88th), according to Central Scouting’s listings. That indicates that he might face an uphill battle as far as managing an NHL career. As you can see, for some players, this is as good as it gets:
Biggest moment of their lives? Of the 8 players that previously scored an OT goal in the #MemorialCup Final, none of them scored an NHL goal
— Sportsnet Stats (@SNstats) June 1, 2015
The contest almost went to overtime, but a high-stick goal was waved off.
And we're off to OT. It was this close. #MemorialCup pic.twitter.com/gXjkGi7VXA
— John Grigg (@John_Grigg) June 1, 2015
This marks the fifth time Oshawa has claimed a Memorial Cup title, according to Sportsnet’s Jeff Marek. He points out that this night serves as a last hurrah for the building in which the game was played, too:
What a scene here in Quebec. The last hockey game ever at Le Colisee. pic.twitter.com/DL1yTrR613
— Jeff Marek (@JeffMarek) June 1, 2015
Whatever the future may hold for the players involved in the Memorial Cup (Leon Draisaitl won the tournament MVP, and he obviously has a future with the Edmonton Oilers), it seemed like a special night.
Congratulations, @Drat_29! https://t.co/eK0TuTVUqZ
— Edmonton Oilers (@EdmontonOilers) June 1, 2015