SAINT JOHN, N.B. — The Wheaton Cup is staying on Prince Edward Island.
The Hunter’s Ale House Mudmen defeated the Saint John Trojans 42-13 Saturday in the Maritime division two final in the Port City to repeat as Maritime champs. The Mudmen defeated the Moncton Black Tide to win the 2018 championship at UPEI.
“It’s pretty exciting,” said Phil Gallant, who played on both teams.
This year’s championship squad had a few returnees from last year but was boosted by a group of young, fit players that showed their mettle in the finale.
“A lot of these young players stepped into our team and stepped up,” Gallant said. “It was awesome they could experience that victory. . .
“We’re really proud to see so many young guys (on the team) . . . It just shows the future of what we have moving forward is going to be absolutely amazing.”
The young core includes David Sato, who graduated from Bluefield High School in the spring. He had two tries in the final and was named the man of the match.
“We gave him the nickname The Future during the game because he was just running down the sidelines scoring tries,” Gallant said.
Saturday’s game was played in cold, snowy conditions, resulting in players having a tough time getting their footing.
“You couldn't over-pursue because it was like a skating rink out there. Our cleats were just full of snow and mud,” Gallant said.
The Mudmen won the Nova Scotia league title about six weeks ago. They continued to practise and some guys played for the UPEI Panthers club team. The Mudmen’s timing was a bit off to begin the championship game, but the visitors managed to hold a 10-8 halftime lead.
The Island squad took advantage of its fitness in the second half to wear down the home side.
To make the victory more special, the Trojans began the season as a division one squad before New Brunswick merged their two leagues. New Brunswick officials decided to send the team that lost its final to the second division Maritime championship.
While some people may have thought the Trojans held the advantage, the Mudmen were not among that group.
“We knew we were a strong team,” Gallant said. “We really put a lot of emphasis on defence and we knew we had speed and we can score, and it was just a matter of shutting them down. . .
“They learned very quickly they weren’t getting anything on us. Every time they touched the ball, we were just swarming them.”
With the final game complete, the Mudmen now have time to rest and heal any injuries, but it won’t be long before they get together to start training for a three-peat.
