Junior B goalie Hayden Jeffery backstops Niagara to ‘fairy-tale’ win over OHL powerhouse London
ST. CATHARINES, Ontario (AP) — Long after his Niagara Ice Dogs teammates and coaches had left, Hayden Jeffery lingered with his family and friends high up in the Meridian Centre stands relishing one of the most triumphant moments of his young career.
His hair had dried after being drenched by his water bottle-spraying teammates in the mob scene of a postgame dressing room celebration. Dressed only in his red Ice Dogs Hockey T-shirt and shorts, Jeffery seemed immune to the chill inside the rink.
“To be honest, I just remember the win. Like I don’t even remember what happened,” the 18-year-old said, referring to the closing minutes of his 40-save outing in a 6-4 win over the London Knights on Saturday night.
It was the unlikeliest of wins secured by one of the unlikeliest of players, a spindly 6-foot-1, 168-pound Junior B goalie making his second career Ontario Hockey League start for a team on a 12-game skid and missing its starter and backup to injuries.
And the opponent presented an even higher degree of difficulty. The Knights entered with a Canadian Hockey League-leading 48-8-2 record and a lineup featuring 13 NHL draft picks, including four first-rounders.
“I’ll tell you this, I don’t know if that was written on the bingo card tonight,” Ice Dogs coach Ben Boudreau said, laughing.
“That’s an unbelievable fairy-tale moment for him to get his first win against all these world junior guys, top-ranked team in Canada,” added Boudreau, whose father Bruce coached 1,087 NHL games, played in 141 more and now serves as an Ice Dogs senior adviser. “You couldn’t have asked for a better story.”
Jeffery didn’t look out of place 4:13 in when he kicked out his right pad to stop a slap shot from Toronto Maple Leafs prospect Easton Cowan (selected 28th overall in the 2023 NHL draft).
Some 30 seconds later, Jeffery lunged to his right to stop a one-timer from Blake Montgomery (fourth-round selection of the Senators in 2024).
Though the Knights scored first and led 2-1 through 20 minutes on goals from Denver Barkey (third round, 2023, Flyers) and Sam Dickinson (No. 11 overall, 2024, Sharks), Niagara never relinquished the lead after a two-goal second period.
Jeffery stopped 21 of 23 shots in the third, including Montgomery’s tip-in chance in front.
Niagara’s Kevin He capped his hat trick with an empty-netter with 67 seconds left to seal the win.
He, selected by Winnipeg in the fourth round in June, grew up north of Toronto is the first Chinese-born player to sign an NHL contract.
“I’m still kind of speechless,” Kevin He said. “The celebration was pretty big, and we’re all really happy for Jeffery for stepping in against the No. 1 team and all their guys.”
The Ice Dogs had gone 0-9-3 and were outscored by a combined 72-29 since a 6-3 win over Erie on Jan. 26. The skid dropped Niagara to sixth in the Eastern Conference standings, with the top eight teams qualifying for the playoffs and three weeks left in the season.
Jeffery learned he would start the night before after stopping 23 shots in the St. Catharines Falcons’ 6-3 win over Hamilton to improve his Junior B record to 23-8-2.
On Wednesday, in his first career start with the Ice Dogs, Jeffery made 23 saves in a 5-1 loss at Owen Sound. It was his second appearance after allowing four goals on 20 shots during a 29-minute mop-up role in a 9-3 loss to Erie in November.
“How could you not want to see him again?” Boudreau said, when asked if Jeffery might get another start. “I don’t know why he’s playing in Junior B. He looks every day like an OHL goaltender.”
From nearby Grimsby, Jeffery was overlooked by OHL teams as a 16-year-old, before finally being selected by Niagara in the second round of the Under-18 draft — considered an afterthought for most teams.
He’s not sure what’s in store ahead, while knowing this was an outing he’ll never forget.
“It means the world,” Jeffery said. “I think the biggest thing was just believing that I can play at this level. And now, I believe I can get wins in this league.”
The interview over, still in his T-shirt and shorts, Jeffery returned to chat with a group of friends in a near-empty arena, not wanting the night to end.
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