COCAGNE, N.B.: The Antigonish AA Munro Junior Bulldogs came up on the short end in the semi-final game at the Don Johnson Memorial Cup, losing to the Moncton Vitos 5-1.
After an astonishing regular season in which Antigonish only lost one game, the Nova Scotian powerhouse ended their 2021-22 season on three straight losses.
Ben MacLellan was the lone Bulldog to put the puck past a red hot Jeremie Leblanc at the 5:14 mark of the third period.
In their opening game of the round robin tournament, Antigonish came out on top of the Vitos in a 6-3 victory. Jordan Etheridge put the black and yellow on the board first halfway through the first period, William Fitzsimmons put the dogs up by two, followed by another goal off the stick of Ethan Twolan.
Fitzsimmons finished the game with one goal and two assists.
After the Vitos scored three goals and tied the game up at 3-3, Sam Mattie put a pair of goals past the Vitos net minder less than two minutes apart, putting Antigonish up by two. With less than a minute left on the clock, Darren Waterman scored an empty net goal.
The Bulldogs’ second game of the tournament was a little less back-and-forth, as they handed the Mount Pearl Junior Blades a 4-0 loss.
Jake MacDonald opened the scoring for the Bulldogs in the first period, followed by an even strength and a power play goal by Sam Mattie, Craig Landry rounded out the scoring for Antigonish in their second straight win of the tournament.
On April 29, the Bulldogs played two games, in which they came up short both times, first a 3-1 loss to the A&S Scrap Metal Metros in which MacDonald was the only one to score. That was followed up with a 4-1 defeat at the hands of the Kent Koyotes; Samuel Macneil opened the scoring for the Bulldogs halfway through the opening stanza, however the Koyotes went on to score four unanswered goals.
During the Don Johnson Cup 2022 Awards Banquet, both goaltender Cody MacEachern and defenceman Ryan MacLellan were named to the tournament’s All-Star Team.