CONCEPTION BAY SOUTH, NL — The Clarenville Ford Caribous are your 2026 Allan Cup champions.

Backed by a dominant three-goal second period and a stellar performance from goaltender AJ Whiffen, the Caribous defeated the Stoney Creek Tigers 6-3 on Saturday, April 25, at the CBS Arena to claim Canadian senior hockey's ultimate prize.

Defenceman James Melindy was the offensive catalyst for Clarenville, factoring into three goals (two goals, one assist) to help pace his club to the championship.

Game Recap

1st Period: Tigers Strike First

The Tigers came out hungry in the opening frame, outshooting Clarenville 12-8 (based on game totals and flow). Stoney Creek opened the scoring at the 10:11 mark when Kyle Essery found the back of the net, assisted by Camron Sault and M. Ruberto, giving the Tigers a 1-0 lead heading into the first intermission.

2nd Period: Caribous Take Control

The middle frame belonged entirely to the Caribous, who erupted for three unanswered goals in a span of just under five minutes.

05:37 – Joel Bishop got Clarenville on the board, burying a feed from E. White to tie the game 1-1.
09:33 – James Melindy gave the Caribous their first lead of the night with his first of the game, set up by White and Bishop.
10:25 – Less than a minute later, Liam Leonard extended the lead to 3-1, with assists going to B. Shute and K. Robinson.

3rd Period: Back-and-Forth to the Finish

The final 20 minutes saw an explosion of offense with five combined goals. Stoney Creek's Camron Sault cut the deficit to 3-2 at 10:30 with an unassisted marker. However, the Caribous quickly responded on the power play at 13:28, as Melindy netted his second of the game (assisted by J. Escott and R. Dawson) to restore the two-goal cushion.

Adam Dawe added an unassisted insurance goal at 17:00 to make it 5-2. The Tigers showed some late life with an unassisted goal by Darren McCormick at 17:41, but Ryan Dawson officially put the game out of reach, scoring at 19:53 to seal the 6-3 victory and the championship.

Tale of the Tape & Goaltending

Shots on Goal: Tigers 36 | Caribous 35
Power Plays: Clarenville capitalized on a crucial 3rd-period power play (Melindy), while holding the Tigers scoreless on their man advantages.

AJ Whiffen was a rock in the crease for the Caribous. He played the full 60 minutes, turning aside 33 of the 36 shots he faced to earn a .917 save percentage and the championship win.

At the other end of the ice, Tigers goaltender Matt Sagrott had a very busy night. Despite the scoreboard and unusual stat-sheet quirks (crediting him with 20 minutes of ice time and 2 goals against), the official tracking showed him making an impressive 33 saves on 35 recorded shots for a .943 save percentage in his time on the ice.

Ultimately, Clarenville’s offensive depth and second-period surge proved to be too much, allowing the Caribous to hoist the historic Allan Cup in front of a Newfoundland crowd.