Montreal Canadiens fans had something to cheer about on Saturday night despite the team’s slow start to the 2023 season, as the Grey Cup champion Montreal Alouettes were honoured ahead of puck-drop versus the Detroit Red Wings.
Veteran offensive lineman Kristian Matte led a strong contingent of Alouettes’ players that included the likes of safety Marc-Antoine Dequoy, defensive end Shawn Lemon, and Most Valuable Canadian Tyson Philpot, hoisting the trophy on the ice for a rousing ovation of ‘Ole Ole Ole’ from the Bell Centre crowd. Head coach Jason Maas and general manager Danny Maciocia were also in attendance.
The Alouettes defeated the heavily favoured Winnipeg Blue Bombers by a score of 28-24 to capture their first Grey Cup championship since 2010. Montreal overcame a ten-point halftime deficit to secure the win, which came on a 19-yard touchdown pass from Cody Fajardo to Philpot with 13 seconds remaining in the game.
8.9 million Canadians watched at least some part of the game, according to TSN, with the audience peaking at 5.2 million during the final minute. An audience of 752,600 watched on RDS, TSN’s French-language affiliate, giving the Grey Cup a 14.5 percent increase in viewership compared to the English-language rating from last year’s game.
The Alouettes’ eighth Grey Cup victory in franchise history has been met with enthusiasm throughout the province of Quebec, with thousands attending the championship parade down Boul de Maisonneuve. The club has sold more than 700 new season tickets in the two weeks since, building on a 2023 campaign that already saw a 16 percent growth in revenue.
The Canadiens last won the Stanley Cup in 1993. The team is currently in seventh place in the Atlantic Division through a quarter of the NHL season, posting a 10-11-2 record.
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