The 2022 Centennial Cup, presented by Tim Hortons was the Canadian Junior Hockey League (CJHL) championship for the 2021–22 season and the 50th Canadian junior A ice hockey national championship, played at Affinity Place in Estevan, Saskatchewan from May 18 to 29, 2022. It was the first year the event has been played since 2019. as the COVID-19 pandemic had caused the cancellation of the 2020 and 2021 championships, and also the first since its name reverted to the Centennial Cup. The Brooks Bandits defeated the Pickering Panthers in the championship game to win the national title.
Format
In 2022, the Centennial Cup moved to a 10-team format, including the champions from each of the 9 leagues that make up the CJHL, and the host team, thus eliminating the intervening regional contests for the ANAVET Cup, the Fred Page Cup and the Doyle Cup.[1] Since the Estevan Bruins had a guaranteed berth as the host team, the qualifying berth for the SJHL champions was awarded to the second place Flin Flon Bombers.[2]
The format consisted of a 4-game round-robin with two groups of five teams, followed by a six-team single-elimination play-off.[3]
Qualifying teams
As a result of scheduling conflicts arising from the COVID-19 pandemic, all regional championships were cancelled by Hockey Canada and all nine CJHL league champions and the host team, Estevan Bruins, participated in the tournament, the first time this format had ever been used.[4]
The Estevan Bruins, despite having a bye to the national championship tournament, finished the regular season in 1st place overall in the SJHL regular season, and went on to win the league championship Canalta Cup.[6][7]
The Flin Flon Bombers, after finishing the regular season in 5th place overall, reached the final round of the playoffs and lost game 7 to the Estevan Bruins.[8]
^ abWillberg, David (16 May 2022). "The field is set for the Centennial Cup in Estevan". sasktoday.ca. Harvard Media. Retrieved 28 July 2024. The top three teams from each pool will advance to the playoff round. The top seed gets a direct bye to the semifinal, while the second and third place teams move onto the quarter-finals.