Dauphin, Man., mayor wins Stanley Cup bet, gets to keep his perogies

Allen Dowhan gets to keep his perogies.

The mayor of Dauphin, Man., is the victor in a delicious wager with his counterpart in Summerside, P.E.I., thanks to the Washington Capitals' Stanley Cup win over the Vegas Golden Knights.

"The coach of the Las Vegas team [Gerard Gallant] was born and raised in Summerside. And the coach of the Washington Capitals, Barry Trotz, was born and raised in Dauphin. So it was a battle of the coaches of small communities," explained Dowhan.

Now, he's headed to P.E.I. for some island hospitality — and a lobster dinner.

The whole thing started when a few Dauphin residents prodded Dowhan into making some sort of bet with Summerside Mayor Bill Martin over the outcome of the Stanley Cup final. Dowhan initially laughed it off, but then he decided to make the call to his Summerside counterpart.

"He called me the next morning. And then we … ironed out the details of the bet."

Those details included a trip to the counterpart's community and a dinner featuring the best local food for the winner. Had Vegas won the cup, Summerside's mayor would have been treated to a tour of Dauphin, a city of about 8,500 that's 250 kilometres northwest of Winnipeg, and a perogy dinner.

Perogies or seafood?

7 years ago

Duration 0:51

Mayors of Stanley Cup coaches' hometowns make wager for food, flights.

Since he won the bet, Dowhan will instead be visiting Summerside. As for dinner? 

"I know I'm going to eat lobster," laughed Dowhan. "Whether it'll be at a restaurant or a public event, I don't know."

Dowhan stopped taking in the Stanley Cup final games after Washington lost the first one, believing he was jinxing the team by watching.

"I'm a very superstitious guy."

He found out he won the bet after a Thursday night meeting. When he left the meeting, the Capitals were down 3-2. When he got home, the score was tied up. When he checked online, with 29 seconds left in the game, the Capitals were up 4-3.

Martin was very gracious when he called with congratulations, Dowhan said.

"I'm feeling very excited. My wife and I have been to P.E.I. twice. It's a beautiful place in the summertime."

Dowhan is unsure when he will be going, but he said he may bring a treat with him anyway.

"I think since we won, I'm going to take some perogies and cabbage rolls and sausage and some hemp products that we make here to P.E.I."