It was quite fitting a nail biter of a series came down to the final minutes to decide.
Camden Daigle capped off a third period comeback for the Seaforth Centenaires, scoring with 2:20 remaining in the third period to send the home crowd into a frenzy.
Sean Chisholm added an empty netter with 34-seconds remaining to give Seaforth a 5-3 victory over the Ripley Wolves to capture the Paxton Trophy in six games.
Ripley jumped out to a 2-0 lead by the midway point of the second period, courtesy goals by Dan Nicoloff and Garrett Meurs.
As they have done all series long, Seaforth battled back.
Kyle Stanbury cut the Ripley lead to one with 4:49 remaining in the second, with Ray Huether drawing them even early in the third period.
Ethan Skinner put Ripley ahead again with 11:03 remaining in the third, but Seaforth was not to be denied.
Centenaires captain Reuben Smith evened the score on the power play with just under six minutes to play, setting up the heroics from Daigle and Chisholm, capping off a four-goal third period for Seaforth.
It was an appropriate finish for Seaforth, who scored 11 goals in the third period throughout the series.
Five of the six games in the series were decided by one goal (excluding empty netters) and two games went to overtime, in what was truly a classic championship series for the Paxton Trophy.
Daigle’s game winner also claimed the “AA” Playoff leading scorer honours, scoring 31 points (16 goals, 15 assists) in 21 games.
Meurs lead the Wolves in playoff scoring with 30 points (14G, 16A) in 22 games.
South Conference regular season MVP Alex Hutcheson started all 22 games for Seaforth in the playoffs, posting a record of 16-6, with a 2.47 G.A.A., .918 save percentage and one shutout (Game 1 vs Ripley).
As the 2025-26 comes to its conclusion, the Ontario Elite Hockey League thanks the players, coaches, executive, volunteers and officials who make it possible to put such an entertaining product on the ice.
The 2026-27 season is just five months away!
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