By Craig Beauchemin

Former AAA Star reflects on Memorial Cup experience

May 31, 2016 | 5:00 PM

The 2015-16 season ended one game earlier than Rylan Toth wanted it to.

Toth’s Red Deer Rebels were eliminated in the semi-finals of the 2016 Memorial Cup by the Quebec Major Junior League’s Rouyn-Noranda Huskies 3-1, May 27. Former Battlefords AAA Star, Toth said he expected a high level of competition at the tournament.

“All three teams that we played were champions so they were such good teams,” he said. “(Rebels head coach) Brent (Sutter) said before the tournament every game we play would be like a game seven and that’s kind of what it felt like, but maybe even amped up a bit more. It was the most fun I’ve ever had playing hockey.”

The four representatives in this year’s cup were the Rebels, Huskies, London Knights of the Ontario Hockey League and Brandon Wheat Kings from the Western Hockey League. The Knights won the championship Sunday, May 30, 3-2 in overtime over the Huskies.

After going 2-1 in the preliminary round with wins over the Rouyn-Noranda and Brandon, the Rebels faced off against the Huskies in a game which saw Toth finish with 24 saves in a 3-1 loss. At the other end of the rink Huskies’ goalie Chase Marchand stood on his head, stealing the game with 36 saves.

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“They’re a good team. I think we played our hearts out from start to finish in that game and gave them all they could handle,” Toth said. “It was a good game and I’m pretty proud of how our team did. We felt like we could have been in the final, but we left it all out there.”

The Saskatoon native went to the final between London and Rouyn-Noranda, saying it was tough to watch, but it was interesting to get a fans perspective on the game.

Despite their season coming to a disappointing end, Toth said the fan support received throughout the week was unlike anything he had ever seen.

“It was phenomenal. You always hear about how good your fans are, but this tournament really showed it,” Toth explained. “The buzz around the city was just amazing. Even at the end of the game when we lost out every fan was on their feet giving us a standing ovation.”

Through his first two seasons with the Rebels Toth has posted a 54-33-10 record with a 2.77 goals against average and a .908 save percentage, to go along with six shutouts. He has one year of junior eligibility left.

Toth was invited to Calgary Flames prospects camp after going undrafted into the NHL last year, but said he hasn’t been contacted by any teams about a camp invite this year just yet. Toth plans to relax for a few weeks at home before preparing for his final junior year.

cjnbsports@jpbg.ca

Twitter: @craig_beauch