William Dufour leads host Saint John to Memorial Cup final

Jun 25, 2022, 4:17 AM | Updated: 5:28 pm
Members of the Saint John Sea Dogs celebrate a win over the Shawinigan Cataractes in a Memorial Cup...

Members of the Saint John Sea Dogs celebrate a win over the Shawinigan Cataractes in a Memorial Cup hockey game Saturday, June 25, 2022, in Saint John, New Brunswick. (Darren Calabrese/The Canadian Press via AP)

(Darren Calabrese/The Canadian Press via AP)

              Members of the Saint John Sea Dogs celebrate a win over the Shawinigan Cataractes in a Memorial Cup hockey game Saturday, June 25, 2022, in Saint John, New Brunswick. (Darren Calabrese/The Canadian Press via AP)
            
              Saint John Sea Dogs William Dufour, right, celebrates with teammates following the team's win over the Shawinigan Cataractes in a Memorial Cup hockey game Saturday, June 25, 2022, in Saint John, New Brunswick. (Darren Calabrese/The Canadian Press via AP)
            
              Saint John Sea Dogs celebrate a win over the Shawinigan Cataractes in a Memorial Cup hockey game Saturday, June 25, 2022, in Saint John, New Brunswick. (Darren Calabrese/The Canadian Press via AP)
            
              Saint John Sea Dogs' William Dufour, right, celebrates his fourth goal against the Shawinigan Cataractes, during the third period of a Memorial Cup hockey game Saturday, June 25, 2022, in Saint John, New Brunswick. (Darren Calabrese/The Canadian Press via AP)
            
              Saint John Sea Dogs' Jeremie Poirier reacts after scoring against the Shawinigan Cataractes during the second period of a Memorial Cup hockey game Saturday, June 25, 2022, in Saint John, New Brunswick. (Darren Calabrese/The Canadian Press via AP)
            
              Saint John Sea Dogs' William Dufour celebrates his third goal against the Shawinigan Cataractes, during the second period of a Memorial Cup hockey game Saturday, June 25, 2022, in Saint John, New Brunswick. (Darren Calabrese/The Canadian Press via AP)
            
              Shawinigan Cataractes, from left to right, Charles Beaudoin, Mavrik Bourque, Zachary Massicotte, and Loris Rafanomezantsoa celebrate a goal in front of Saint John Sea Dogs goaltender Nikolas Hurtubise during the first period of a Memorial Cup hockey game in Saint John, New Brunswick, Saturday, June 25, 2022. (Darren Calabrese/The Canadian Press via AP)
            
              Shawinigan Cataractes' William Veillette, left, celebrates a goal against the Saint John Sea Dogs with teammate Pierrick Dube during the first period of a Memorial Cup hockey game in Saint John, New Brunswick, Saturday, June 25, 2022. (Darren Calabrese/The Canadian Press via AP)
            
              Shawinigan Cataractes, from left to right, Isaac Menard, Loris Rafanomezantsoa, Charles Beaudoin, and Olivier Nadeau celebrate a goal against the Saint John Sea Dogs in the first period of a Memorial Cup hockey game in Saint John, New Brunswick, Saturday, June 25, 2022. (Darren Calabrese/The Canadian Press via AP)
            
              Shawinigan Cataractes goaltender Antoine Coulombe, center, makes a save as teammates Mavrik Bourque, right, Olivier Nadeau, left, and Angus Booth clear the rebound from Saint John Sea Dogs' Raivis Kristians Ansons during the first period of a Memorial Cup hockey game in Saint John, New Brunswick, Saturday, June 25, 2022. (Darren Calabrese/The Canadian Press via AP)

SAINT JOHN, New Brunswick (AP) — William Dufour scored four times in a 19:55 span and the host Saint John Sea Dogs advanced to the Memorial Cup championship game, beating Quebec Major Junior Hockey League rival Shawinigan Cataractes 5-3 on Saturday.

“To finish my (junior) career like this is so great,” Dufour said. “We have one more game to win. We’re just going to go for it.”

QMJHL campion Shawinigan will face Ontario Hockey League winner Hamilton on Monday night in the semifinal, with the winner advancing to face Saint John in the final Wednesday night.

Dufour erased Shawinigan’s 3-0 lead with a natural hat trick in the second, scoring at 2:02, 2:23 and 8:38. Jeremie Poirier gave the Sea Dogs the lead on a power play with 5:48 left in the period, and Dufour struck again at 1:57 of the third.

The 6-foot-3 Dufour, selected in the fifth round of the 2020 draft by the New York Islanders, was the MVP of the QMJHL this season after scoring 56 goals and finishing with 116 points in the regular season.

Loris Rafanomezantsoa opened the scoring for Shawinigan at 49 seconds, Olivier Nadeau made it 2-0 with 5:27 left in the period and William Veillette connected with 43 seconds to go.

Nikolas Hurtubise made 26 saves for Saint John. The Sea Dogs had two victories and an overtime loss in round-robin play.

Canceled the last two years because of the COVID-19 pandemic, the event features the winners of the three major junior leagues and the host team.

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William Dufour leads host Saint John to Memorial Cup final