Several hundred fans greeted the Peterborough Petes as they returned home Saturday from the Memorial Cup championship in Kamloops, B.C.
At the Peterborough Airport, cheers rang out as the players exited the plane onto the tarmac. They posed for a team photo with the crowd before thanking the fans for their support outside the airport lobby.
The Petes, champions of the Ontario Hockey League, fell 4-1 to the Western Hockey League’s Seattle Thunderbirds in the Memorial Cup semifinal on Friday night after earning a thrilling overtime win on Thursday in a tiebreaker game against the host Kamloops Blazers.
The Quebec Remparts captured the championship on Sunday with a 5-0 win over Seattle. Of note, the Petes were the only team to beat the Remparts during the four-team tournament with a must-win victory in their third game to force the tiebreaker against the Blazers.
Petes captain Shawn Spearing, with his jaw still wired shut after breaking it in Game 7 of the OHL final against the North Bay Battalion last month, thanked the fans for their support throughout the season, which spanned 101 games from the OHL regular season, playoffs and Memorial Cup tournament.
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“On behalf of the boys we want to thank you for coming out today and for your support all season,” said Spearing. “Obviously we didn’t reach our ultimate goal of a Memorial Cup but at the end of the day, we are still OHL champions. That’s all thanks to you guys. I think we have the best fans in the league. I can’t wait to see them run it back again one day.”
A TV interview Spearing conducted during the first intermission went viral when he called Thunderbirds’ captain Lucas Ciona a “loser.”
Petes president Dave Pogue says the fans’ support pushed them throughout the season, which marked the first time in franchise history the team played hockey in the month of June.
“The groundswell of support that we all felt throughout the playoffs, throughout the season, drove us to this championship,” said Pogue. “I think a lot of people outside our circle may have doubted us. But inside we knew this was going to happen all along.
“One hundred and one games throughout the season they endured, got to the second last game you can possibly get to and the first time the Peterborough Petes have ever played in the month of June. We have written history.”
Petes general manager Mike Oke also thanked the fans for the “warm welcome,” calling the team an “outstanding group” who had an “outstanding season” and “terrific playoff and Memorial Cup.”
“Not only did we do a terrific job representing ourselves and the Ontario Hockey League, but more importantly, I think we did a great job representing the City of Peterborough,” said Oke.
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