2019 Allan Cup

The 2019 Allan Cup is the men's Senior AAA hockey championship of Canada.

The tournament was held at the Gary Moe Auto Group Sportsplex in Lacombe, Alberta and was hosted by the Lacombe Generals of Allan Cup Hockey West. The host selection was announced on January 17, 2018.

Six teams (the host plus five qualifiers) qualified for the tournament that was held in April of 2019.

Discussion had began to change the format of the tournament but according to the press release from Hockey Alberta, the same format will be used as has been used over the past 15 or so years.

New Brunswick
The Elsipogtog Hawks won the 2017-18 North East Senior Hockey League Season playoffs and earned the right to represent the province in the 2019 Atlantic Region Allan Cup Qualifier. The team opted out of playing for the Allan Cup this year. A new team, the Haut-Madawaska Panthers, who are the defending champions of the Circuit de Hockey Senior Roger-Lizotte were announced as being the provincial representative and likely Atlantic Regional qualifier for the Allan Cup. As a result of Newfoundland withdrawing from qualifying the Haut-Madawaska Panthers qualified for the Allan Cup tournament

Newfoundland and Labrador
Senior level ice hockey on the island of Newfoundland has in turmoil in 2017-18 and 2018-19. The province asked the defending Herder Memorial Trophy runner-up, the Clarenville Caribous to decline to participate in the 2018 Atlantic Region Allan Cup Qualifier after the Harbour Grace Cee Bee Stars who won the Herder announced they did not want to participate in Allan Cup qualifying. ''The winner of the 2018 Herder Memorial Trophy, the Clarenville Caribous would represent the province in the 2019 Atlantic Region Allan Cup Qualifier but as of the August 1 deadline the team has not been committed to participate by either the team or Hockey Newfoundland and Labrador. The team is registered for Senior AAA but have not yet confirmed their participation in qualifying for the Allan Cup. In late November it would be announced that no team will be participating in Allan Cup qualifying this year.''

Nova Scotia
No teams from Nova Scotia have announced they would be participating at the Senior AAA level for 2018-19.

Prince Edward Island
No teams from Prince Edward Island have announced they would be participating at the Senior AAA level for 2018-19.

Quebec (East) Region
The Quebec region has not had any teams commit to the Senior AAA level and attempt to compete for the Allan Cup since 2008. The Laval Senior A Hockey League has been the highest level Senior league in the province but has yet to have any teams announce their intent to participate in Allan Cup qualifying. The Outaouais Senior A Hockey League begins play with the 2018-19 season. The league has stated it would like to compete for the Allan Cup within the first couple of years and eventually host the tournament sometime in the not to distant future. The Ligue Nord-Américaine de Hockey is a semi-professional league and its teams are ineligible for Allan Cup play.

Ontario Hockey Association
The only registered Senior AAA teams in the OHA region are the four active members of Allan Cup Hockey (Dundas Real McCoys, Hamilton Steelhawks, Stoney Creek Generals, and Whitby Dunlops). The league champion traditionally advances to provincial playoffs first against any other qualifying teams in the Ontario Hockey Federation (which also includes Hockey Eastern Ontario) and then against the Hockey Northwestern Ontario champion in the Renwick Cup and the region's spot in the Allan Cup. During the off-season the Brantford Blast owner announced he put the team up for sale and the team will be out for the 2018-19 season. The winner of the league playoffs, the Stoney Creek Generals advance to the 2019 Allan Cup.

Hockey Northwestern Ontario
No teams from the Hockey Northwestern Ontario region have announced they would be participating at the Senior AAA level for 2018-19.

Manitoba
The Ile des Chenes North Stars, Norway House Bruins, Ste. Anne Aces, and South East Prairie Thunder are confirmed as playing at the Senior AAA level for 2018-19.

The Ile des Chenes North Stars withdrew in mid-January. Norway House and Ste. Anne meet in a best-of-three over the Feb 16-18 weekend in Ste-Anne. The winner will play South East is a best-of-three series for the provincial championship and a spot in the Rathgaber Cup.

It was decided that the unused Quebec spot would go to the Western Region and thus the Pattison Cup champions, the South East Prairie Thunder advance to the 2019 Allan Cup

Saskatchewan
The Rosetown Redwings are the only announced team so far at the Senior AAA level for 2018-19

The Bethune Bulldogs have announced they are not participating at the Senior AAA level for 2018-19.

As a result of the Quebec spot being awarded to the Western region, the Rosetown Redwings advance to the 2019 Allan Cup.

Alberta
The Lacombe Generals qualify for the 2019 Allan Cup as the host team.

The other three Alberta-based members of the newly renamed Allan Cup Hockey West (formerly the Chinook Hockey League) are all registered at the Senior AAA level for 2018-19. A fifth member of the league the Rosetown Red Wings are participating in the league playoffs which would have created the need for a separate set of playoffs for the provincial championship and a spot in the McKenzie Cup against the British Columbia representative. The provincial playoffs usually are a two round best-of seven tournament with the champion taking the unused Eastern region spot. But with the withdrawal of the Kelowna Sparta from the Allan Cup in early January '''a seperate playoff between the Innisfail Eagles and the Stony Plain Eagles will be held for the Pacific Region spot in the 2019 Allan Cup. The Innisfail Eagles won the series to qualify for the Allan Cup.'''

British Columbia
The Kelowna Sparta were announced as being registered in late August. They would have been the Pacific region representative but were announced as not participating in the event in early January 2019.

note: traditionally, teams from the Yukon have played under the sanctioning of the British Columbia Amateur Hockey Association and there are no teams are registered for this year.

Qualified Teams

 * Rosetown Redwings (Saskatchewan)
 * Haut-Madawaska Panthers (Atlantic representative)
 * South East Prairie Thunder (Manitoba Champion)
 * Lacombe Generals (host)
 * Stoney Creek Generals (Central-Allan Cup Hockey playoff champion)
 * Innisfail Eagles (Alberta representative)

Schedule/Results
With the exception of the final, whenever the host team is scheduled to play they will play in the later game (8PM local time) and the other game will be played at 4PM local time even if the schedule dictates otherwise.

April 8

 * Rosetown Redwings defeated Innisfail Eagles 4-3
 * South East Prairie Thunder defeated Lacombe Generals 4-2

April 9

 * Stoney Creek Generals defeated Innisfail Eagles 4-1
 * Lacombe Generals defeated Haut-Madawaska Panthers 6-2

April 10

 * Stoney Creek Generals defeated Rosetown Redwings 6-3
 * Haut-Madawaska Panthers defeated South East Prairie Thunder 4-1

Tie-Breaking Procedure
These steps are used to determine home team and match-ups in playoff rounds and breaking ties within division.
 * 1) Most points
 * 2) Winner of head to head game (if applicable)
 * 3) Best goal ratio (GF/(GF+GA)
 * 4) Fewest goals against
 * 5) First goal scored in head to head
 * 6) Fastest goal scored in round robin competition
 * 7) Least penalty minutes (head to head)
 * 8) Coin toss

April 11 (Quarterfinals)

 * Rosetown Redwings defeated South East Prairie Thunder 4-2
 * Innisfail Eagles defeated Haut-Madawaska Panthers 5-1

April 12 (Semifinals)
Semifinal match-ups are based on if winning quarterfinal teams are from the same division then the higher seeded quarterfinal winning team will play the lower seeded division winner and the lower seeded quarterfinal winning team playing the higher seeded division winner. If the quarterfinal winning teams are from different divisions then the quarterfinal winners would place the champion of the other division in the round robin.


 * Innisfail Eagles defeated Stoney Creek Generals 3-2
 * Lacombe Generals defeated Rosetown Redwings 3-1

April 13 (Final)

 * Lacombe Generals defeated Innisfail Eagles 5-2