On Sunday afternoon, Chicago Blackhawks prospect Mackenzie Entwistle and the Guelph Storm topped the Ottawa 67’s, 8–3, in Game 6 of the OHL Final to win the J. Ross Robertson Cup as OHL Champions. Guelph came back from being down 0–2 in the series to win four straight games to capture their fourth J. Ross Robertson Cup in team history. For Entwistle, it marks back-to-back OHL Championships, having won with the Hamilton Bulldogs last season.
Mackenzie Entwistle wins back-to-back OHL Championships
The Guelph Storm were facing a team on a historical run as they went into Game 3 of the OHL Championship a week ago. Down 0–2 in the series to the Ottawa 67’s, a team that had yet to lose in the OHL Playoffs, winning 14 straight games and setting the OHL postseason record for most wins in a row to begin the OHL Playoffs. Guelph put an end to that streak with a Game 3 win, in which Blackhawks prospect Mackenzie Entwistle tallied two goals, and never looked back.
The Storm took Games 3 through 6 over Ottawa to capture their fourth J. Ross Robertson Cup in team history, capping it off with a commanding 8–3 win in Game 6 in front of their home crowd at the Sleeman Centre in Guelph, Ontario. The Storm trailed in each of their last three series leading up to their OHL Championship win.
For Entwistle, the win was extra special because it marked his second OHL Championship win in as many years, having won the 2018 J. Ross Robertson Cup with the Hamilton Bulldogs last season along with his teammate Jack Hanley. Speaking after the win, Entwistle talked about winning a second OHL Championship and getting a shot to play in the Memorial Cup a second time.
“For a player to have this experience twice and now go to Halifax and have another shot at the Memorial Cup, it’s truly special,” Entwistle said in an interview with the OHL. “I couldn’t ask for a better group of guys and I’m excited to get down there.”
Chicago Blackhawks prospect Mackenzie Entwistle lifts the J. Ross Robertson Cup. (Photograph courtesy of Terry Wilson/OHL Images)
Entwistle finished the OHL postseason with 21 points in 24 games, ranking fifth on the Storm in scoring. His 21 points (seven goals, 14 assists) sets his OHL career-high for postseason scoring, topping his 17 points in 21 games with Hamilton last season. In the OHL Championship series, Entwistle tallied two goals and four assists and only failed to record a point in Game 4.
Guelph now moves on to the Memorial Cup in Halifax, Nova Scotia, starting on May 16. The winners of the Western Hockey League, the Ontario Hockey League, the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League and the host city’s team play a round robin tournament with the top point-getting team advancing to the Final with the second and third-place teams playing a semifinal before reaching the Memorial Cup Final.
The Guelph Storm rush the ice after winning the Game 6 of the OHL Championship to win the J. Ross Robertson Cup. (Photograph courtesy of Terry Wilson/OHL Images)
Last season in the Memorial Cup hosted by the Regina Pats in Regina, Saskatchewan, Entwistle and the Hamilton Bulldogs lost to the host city Pats in the semifinal. Entwistle tallied one goal and one assist in four games at the 2018 Memorial Cup. Just one more spot in the 2019 Memorial Cup is left up for grabs with the WHL Final coming down to a Game 7 between the Vancouver Giants and Prince Albert Raiders. Already punching their tickets along with Entwistle and the Guelph Storm are the QMJHL champion Rouyn-Noranda Huskies and host city Halifax Mooseheads, who lost to Rouyn-Noranda in the QMJHL Final. Entwistle will be playing against fellow Blackhawks prospects Jake Ryczek and Alexis Gravel of the Mooseheads in the Memorial Cup.