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Winnipeg Jets fans lament 'really rough' end to Stanley Cup dream but commend team for this year's run

After losing to the Dallas Stars the Winnipeg Jets are out of the run for the Stanley Cup, riddling fans with sorrow, who are also commending the team's performance and holding out hope for the next season.

More than $55K in donations raised in recognition of Mark Scheifele's dad's passing before Game 6

CBC News ·
Hockey players lineup on the ice while wearing gear.
Winnipeg Jets' Connor Hellebuyck and Mark Scheifele join the hand shake line after their loss in overtime to the Dallas Stars in Game 6 of a second-round NHL hockey playoff series in Dallas. (Gareth Patterson/The Associated Press)

It's the end of the road for a hockey dream — for this season, at least.

A power-play goal shot by Dallas Stars defenceman Thomas Harley sealed the fate of the Winnipeg Jets 1:33 into overtime on Saturday.

The Stars moved to the NHL's Western Conference final after defeating Winnipeg 2-1 in Game 6 of the second-round NHL hockey playoff — capping the Jet's run for the Stanley Cup after a franchise-record regular season.

"I'll get over it in a couple of days. That's why it's the long weekend. But it's rough, it's really rough," said Matthew Lacey.

He was one of dozens of fans who watched what turned out to be the last Jet's game this season at the Canada Life Centre's jumbotron. 

It was "so close, so close," he said, but "[Mark] Scheifele's got a good one at least."

The team's forward scored the Jet's lone goal of the game just hours after the unexpected death of his father.

"Scheifele really wanted to win it for his dad," said Jets fan Kianna Ritchot. "I lost my dad, and I know how much it hurts, and you could tell how much he wanted to do it."

Three women wear white and blue jerseys with a red and silver emblem featuring an airplane in the centre
Winnipeg Jets fans Dayna Laviolette, right, and Kianna Ritchot, centre, said they were sad to see the team lose, but commend forward Mark Scheifele for playing just hours after the death of his father. (CBC)

"I know his dad was smiling down on him and proud of him."  

The True North Youth Foundation said it has received an "organic outpouring of support" from both Jets and Stars fans donating in recognition of Scheifele's loss. 

More than $55,000 had been raised by Sunday with a $5,500 donation coming from the Dallas Stars organization.

The funds will be used to "meaningfully impact youth in our community in honour of the Scheifele family," True North said in a statement, with planning still underway. 

Man with dark hair and dark glasses wears a navy blue jersey
Ani Kalia says he is 'deeply saddened' by the Winnipeg Jets loss to the Dallas Stars in Game 6 of their second-round playoff series but he's holding out hope the Jets will bring the Stanley Cup home to Winnipeg in 2026. (CBC)

"It's commendable he was still playing after that tragedy, that loss, and he was the only goal. It's amazing," fan Ani Kalia said.  

It was disappointing to see the Jets capped their run for the Stanley Cup without a single victory on the road, Kalia said, but "we're still proud of them," he said.

"Next year, 2026, the Stanley Cup comes home," Kalia said.

Jets fan Kevin Mazak is also looking ahead for the next season, keeping his fingers crossed so Scheifele and defenceman Josh Morrissey — who suffered an upper-body injury in the final game of the  playoffs first-round  — can come back well and help the team "pick things up where we left off this year."

"They made it past the first round, they slayed the demons that they had," Mazak said. "We still believe."

With files from Gavin Axelrod, the Associated Press and the Canadian Press

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