Calgary Canucks OT hero Jason Abramoff remembers his 1995 Centennial Cup victory.

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Jason Abramoff remembers it like it was yesterday.

The biggest goal of his hockey career was giving the Calgary Canucks the 1995 Centennial Cup championship.

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Head down…

From extra time…

at the age of 21.

“I was lucky to get that shot,” said Abramoff, recalling the Alberta Minor Hockey League team's huge role in the Canucks' 5-4 OT win over the Ontario host Gloucester Rangers to capture their only Canadian Junior Hockey League title.

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“Honestly, it was a pass from Mitch Ferguson and I got a one-timer from the point,” Abramov, now 50, continued. “I didn't even see him come in. My head is down. My only hope is to get it online and not block it. That's all I thought. I remember watching the reruns and feeling like I knew what I was doing.

“But it was an unbelievable feeling. For a while I was in a daze. I don't even know how to explain it when I hear people get excited. Time seemed to stand still. I'm crazy. I didn't know what to think, what to say, what to do…”

The current Canucks hope to feel the same way Sunday in Oakville, Ont., at the 2024 Centennial Cup.

After finishing second in Pool A, the AJHL champions head into the playoffs looking to make it three straight for their second national title.

It begins Friday at the Sixteen Mile Sports Complex (5:30 p.m.) with the Canucks (2-1-1-0) against the Manitoba Junior Hockey League champion Winkler Flyers (2-0-0-2). HockeyCanada.ca).

And, hopefully, it ends in glory — just like Abramoff and the 1995 Canucks enjoyed — after Sunday's finale (1 p.m., TSN).

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“The goal of the Centennial Cup was a once-in-a-lifetime thing,” said Abramoff, who celebrated the current run and is still deeply involved with the Canucks, including as an assistant coach under legendary head man Don Phelps. several seasons. “It's one of those things where you don't plan for it, but you think about it — whether you're playing street hockey or pond hockey as a kid, score the winning goal in overtime.

“Fortunately, I was one of the lucky guys to have that dream come true.”

The Canucks are the defending national champions in the AJHL Finals

Indeed, it was very interesting in 1995.

“I still remember when we were at a training camp in the village field, where some guys came back. We've got some good young guys coming in, and a couple of veterans talking about how the year is going to go and being excited about this and that, maybe Dion Wandler saying, 'What are we talking about the regular season?' for? We're going to the Centenary Cup this year.' We all laughed about it.”

The Canucks had a successful regular season, finishing second in the AJHL with a 36-20-0 record.

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In the playoffs, they defeated the Bonnyville Pontiacs 4-1 in a rough first-round series, then went the distance before edging the Fort McMurray Oil Barons 4-3. Western Hockey League.

“At that time,” said Abramov, “we thought: 'What do you know? Maybe we have a chance'”.

So it was a 4-1 showdown with the defending champion Olds Grizzlies in the AJHL Finals.

“We were ready to play them,” Abramoff continued. “Maybe they underestimated us a little bit, but we beat them in five games. We thought, 'Wow, we beat one of the best teams in the country – the reigning national champions.' We were flying high – confident going to Chilliwack for the BC-Alberta finals.”

Against the host Chilliwack Chiefs in the Doyle Cup, the Canucks stunned the BCHL champions in Game 1.

“But we were shocked in Game 2 and it opened up a little bit for us,” Abrahoff recalled. “We got a little excited from the AJHL finals and beat the Chiefs in the first game.”

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After three games, the Canucks lost the series 3-1.

“Eoin Colquhoun scored a goal in overtime in Game 5 to give us a good impression and we won the next two and went on to the Centenary Cup,” continued Abramoff. “Even then, that BC league was always one of the strongest leagues in Canada. And so we knew we had our hands full. And Chilliwack had a lot of top-level talent on that team. But we stuck with it.

“That's been our team's mantra all year. We didn't have superstars. We had good players, but we didn't have one guy who could go through everything, or we didn't have one great defender. We were a real team.

“We played for each other. We kissed each other. We fought for each other and for each other. One of the things that always makes me happy and proud is when we go out to eat or whatever after playing on a Sunday night. It wouldn't be a group of guys or two or three guys. It would happen to everyone. We were close. We were tight. That's what made it special.”

The natives started with a defeat

What made it even more special was that it was next to the Centenary Cup.

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In Gloucester, now part of Ottawa, the Canucks were defeated by Quebec's Joliet Nationals in Game 1 — only to find out the LHJAAAQ champions were playing a player the CJHL deemed at least one illegal player.

Thus, the Calgary club lost.

“It was very depressing in the room after the Quebec hit,” Abramoff said. “So this news put a little juice in our sails. We finished 3-1 in the round robin (only losing to the Winnipeg South Blues of the MJHL).

Their reward was the defending USHL champion Thunder Bay Flyers in the semifinals, from whom the Canucks took the lead on Scott Wagner's late goal.

The home team “Rangers” reached the final.

“We're in the finals, and you know, I think there's a lot of nerves,” Abramoff said. “And we thought we played well, but we got down – we couldn't find the back of the net and it was 4-2 with about five minutes left.”

But Kyle Edwards scored – on an assist from Abramoff – and Trevor Murray tried to tie it in the final minute, sending the Canucks to open the bench.

It took a while, nearly all of 10 minutes of overtime, but Abramoff's chance to shine arrived and he buried his score at the 9:13 mark.

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The timing of the goal made the moment even more memorable because Abramoff wore the No. 9 shirt and the final — his birthday, mind you — took place on May 13.

“As fate would have it, it was my turn to get my 15 minutes of fame,” added Abramoff, now a regional manager for Flair Airlines and a scout for the AJHL's Okotoks Oilers. “But in hockey, this is the pinnacle of my career. There is no doubt about it. I knew I wasn't going to the NHL.

“Afterwards, I did an interview and said, 'This is going to be the closest I'll ever get to a Stanley Cup, because the Centennial Cup is like the Stanley Cup.' It was the highlight of my hockey career.

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