Sault hockey fans have plenty to cheer for in Game 7 showdown

No matter which team wins the Stanley Cup tonight, there will be no shortage of Sault storylines.

Both teams hitting the ice for what should be an epic Game 7 — the Edmonton Oilers and the Florida Panthers — have some local connections.

Panthers’ head coach Paul Maurice is a local product and a member of Sault Ste. Marie’s Hockey Hall of Fame. Drafted by the Philadelphia Flyers in 1985, he went on to be much more successful behind the bench than on it — eventually becoming the youngest person in NHL history to coach 1,000 games.

On Maurice’s roster for the Stanley Cup is former Soo Greyhounds star Nick Cousins, who tallied 102 goals and 189 assists for the red and white between 2009 and 2013. 

On the Edmonton side of the ice are two other ex-Hounds, including Oilers defenceman — and popular former Soo captain — Darnell Nurse, who played his entire junior career in the Sault.

Behind him on the bench is one-time Hound and four-time Stanley cup champion Paul Coffey, now an assistant coach in Edmonton.

Game 7 starts at 8 p.m.