It was a special weekend in Garden River First Nation as residents celebrated their very own Memorial Cup champion Lincoln Moore with a victory parade.
The 18-year-old Saginaw Spirit forward captured the coveted Canadian Hockey League trophy on home ice with his teammates back in June following a thrilling 4-3 win against the London Knights in the final.
Moore showed off his hardware and soaked in the ceremony with his fellow Garden River citizens during Saturday’s parade, which kicked off at 11 a.m. outside the administration building.
The parade passed by several notable parts of the area, including the “Indian Land Bridge,” before the procession concluded at the Recreation Centre around 1 p.m.
Following the parade, Moore signed autographs and participated in photo ops with attendees while several guest speakers offered their congratulations.
His proud mom Selena Belleau couldn’t help but get emotional during that memorable Saturday.
“I had to hold back tears on more than a few occasions,” she told SooToday. “It was very overwhelming to see the amount of support and everybody who came out to the road or participated in the parade. I was really proud of Lincoln and the community.”
Moore grew up playing hockey in Sault Ste. Marie and cheered for the Greyhounds like most young hockey players in the area do.
He competed with the Greyhounds AAA team for four years before he joined the Spirit in the 2022-23 season.
He amassed 13 points in 50 regular season games this season and recorded five assists in 11 appearances during the OHL playoffs.
As hockey fans in town will remember, Moore helped eliminate his childhood team when the Spirit downed the Greyhounds in an emotional back-and-forth second round series that went seven games.
“A lot of our family are season ticket holders for the Greyhounds,” Belleau said. “It almost felt like more pressure when he would come into town.”
While her son played most games, Belleau admitted her family was never 100 per cent sure if he would be in the lineup.
“It was a mix of emotions this season for sure,” she explained. “Not that he didn’t get a lot of playing time, but it was unpredictable if he was going to play in games or not. There were a few times where we went down to Saginaw, or even in the Sault, and he wasn’t in the lineup.”
“But they were a really deep team,” she added. “Saginaw had lots of NHL draft picks.”
While he didn’t average a ton of minutes in the Memorial Cup tournament, the Garden River product made it count when he was on the ice.
Moore scored a goal and had two assists as a fourth liner against the Moose Jaw Warriors during the semi-final game, which contributed to a big 7-1 win that sent his team to the final against the Knights.
“That was very emotional,” Belleau said. “To be on TSN — national television — I was just so happy for him. He put in the hard work and toughed it out mentally, even when he wasn’t sure if he was going to be in the lineup.”
Watching the Spirit score the first three goals in the final before surrendering the next three against London would make most Saginaw fans anxious.
Under the brightest lights in Canadian junior hockey, it’s difficult to imagine how the mom of a player competing in that situation was feeling.
But a late go-ahead tally by Saginaw with 21 seconds remaining — which secured the Spirit its first-ever Memorial Cup — is a memory that Moore’s family will never forget.
“The atmosphere, the arena — it was crazy,” Belleau recalled. “We were just trying to stay calm. The games Lincoln played, he always played great.”
Moore, who is the third of four kids in his family, will be turning 19 in September and is expected to return to the Spirit for the 2024-25 season.