The gold medal games of the 2022 Centennial Cup in Estevan, Saskatchewan and the 2022 World Men’s Hockey Championship in Tampere, Finland took place on Sunday. The Brooks Bandits won their third Centennial Cup in franchise history after previously winning in 2013 and 2019. Finland, meanwhile won their fourth gold medal in the history of the World Men’s Hockey Championship, and first in Finland. In the gold medal game in Tampere, Finland beat Canada 4-3 in overtime. Team Canada won their 16th silver medal and 52nd medal overall.
In the Centennial Cup final, also known as the Canadian Junior Hockey League Championship, the Bandits defeated the Pickering Panthers 4-1. The Panthers had a 1-0 lead entering the third period before the Bandits scored four times. Aiden Fink of Calgary, Alberta and Devin Phillips scored within 14 seconds of each other to give the Bandits a 2-1 lead. Then Ryan McAllister of London, Ontario scored the next two Bandits goals to give Brooks a 4-1 win.
McAllister had a remarkable season for Brooks in 2021-22. In 60 regular season games, he had 57 goals and 82 assists for 139 points. He was the Alberta Junior Hockey League Most Valuable Player and then the Canadian Junior Hockey League Most Valuable Player. McAllister his set to play next year at Western Michigan University.
