Click here for photos of the 2018 OHL Cup Powered by Under Armour Championship Final.

A goal and three assists from Isaac Macleod helped lead the Toronto Jr. Canadiens to a 5-1 victory over the Vaughan Kings in the OHL Cup Powered by Under Armour Championship Final.

Defense wins championships? Seems a little antiquated. More accurate: depth wins championships. The Jr. Canadiens came into the game with contributions from both the front lines to the back end. Each game saw a different group of players step up, and this time it was forward Isaac MacLeod who was the offensive catalyst. Less than three minutes into the game, Macleod burst through the neutral zone, beating the Kings D before ripping it five-hole past Marco Constantini.

“Seeing the poke check coming I just put it in,” said an elated MacLeod post-game. “After that our line especially got going and rolling, it was just a snowball going down the hill”.

And get going they did, as the lead was quickly extended on a Ryan Tverberg rebound goal from a MacLeod shot. And if that wasn’t enough, the Canadiens’ tripled the score before the period was over when MacLeod fed Liam Kennedy. 

The Kings had all the chances in the second, gifted with a succession of powerplays to try and even the score. Cole Perfetti’s soft hands on a five on three got Vaughan on the board, and a potential comeback seemed to be a possibility.

Perfetti’s lone goal would be all the Kings would get, as the Jr. Canadiens snuffed out any scoring chances in the third. Dylan Robinson and Shawn Spearing put the game to bed with goals of their own, and that was enough to crown a deep Jr. Canadiens team that came together at the most important time of the year.

“I’ve always believed in this group to do great things,” said head coach Daniel Sisca, who knew that his team, winners of the prestigious Marlies holiday classic tournament, had the personnel capable of winning the Clubs first OHL Cup since 2008.

Amidst all the skill on display by the Jr. Canadiens, it cannot be ignored how important goaltender Sami Molu’s performance was for the winning side.

“He’s just steady, he gives us a chance to win every night, that’s the most important thing and that’s what you need to have in goaltending,” stated Sisca. “He was in the Marlies tournament, great throughout this whole year, great throughout this whole tournament, he stepped up when he had to step up and it was good to see”.

Game MVPs: Cole Perfetti (Kings), Isaac Macleod (Jr. Canadiens)