The 7 most important Hamilton sports moments in 2015

2015 was a year in Hamilton sports that can be chalked down to wins and losses.

The city saw numerous champions emerge, but it also lost some major staples in the sporting world the Bulldogs moved, a century-old hockeystore closed shop for good, and an infamous 93-yard pass shattered any dreams of a Grey Cup.

Read on to find out where those heartbreaks fall in the top 7 moments in Hamilton sports for 2015.

7. Darnell Nurse named MVP of World Junior championship game

Just six days into 2015, Hamilton's Darnell Nurse was named MVP of the World Junior HockeyChampionships' final gameafter leading Team Canada to the gold medal.

Nurse, who currently plays for the Edmonton Oilers, finished the tournament with a goal, 10 shots and a +8 rating, but it was his shutdown defensive play that set Nurse apart in the finals and the rest of the tournament. The six-foot-fourdefencemanwasn't on the ice for an even-strength goal against in any of Canada's seven games.

READ MORE:World Juniors: Hamilton's Darnell Nurse named player of gold medal game

"I don't know if there will ever be anything that feels better than how I feel right now," Nurse said after the game. "This is an incredible feeling, and I'm so fortunate to have had the opportunity to play in this team."

Nurse finished the rest of the year with his junior team, the Sault St. Marie Greyhounds, and after a brief stint with Edmonton's affiliate team in the AHL, he's become a staple of the Oilers' blueline. He'll finish 2015 with at least 7 points in 30 games with the big club this season.

6. Bulldogs out, Bulldogs in

The Bulldogs left and returned to Hamilton in the offseason, albeit in a different league.

Back in March, Bulldogs owner Michael Andlauer announced that he was selling the AHL Bulldogs to the Montreal Canadiens at the end of the season. In the same press conference, Andlauer said he had purchased the Ontario Hockey League's Belleville Bulls with the intention of bringing OHL hockey back to Hamilton.

• READ MORE:Hamilton Bulldogs sell AHL franchise, buy the OHL Belleville Bulls

The Bulls became the Bulldogs and played their home games at the First Ontario Centre. They've averaged 3,052 people in attendance for home games, which would put Hamilton in the bottom third of attendance based on last year's numbers. The Bulldogs currently sit last in their division at 13-17-3.

5. Kenesky's closes

A staple of Hamilton hockey supplies for over a century, Kenesky's sports store announced it would close its doors for good prior to the New Year.

"Every day was a success, seeing the hundred years was awesome especially all the kids who have worked for me and went on to do amazing things," said the shop's co-owner Joel Hulsman. "It's been the best 48 years of my life."

• READ MORE:Kenesky's sports to close at the end of December after 100 years

Kenesky's rose to prominence in the early 70s when every single NHL goaltender at one time wore Kenesky-made goalie pads. Since then, many of the city's greats have shopped at the store, including Edmonton Oiler Darnell Nurse and current Toronto Marlie Ray Emery, who even worked for the store at one point.

Hulsman said the store, which was bought by Tim Horton's co-founder Ron Joyce back in July, will likely be turned into a multi-storey medical centre.

4. Zach Collaros Injury

The Hamilton Tiger-Cats were leading the CFL's east division with an 8-3 record behind quarterback Zach Collaros' league-leading 3,376 passing yards and 25 touchdown passes. Ticat fans had high hopes for the team'sfirst Grey Cup championship in over 15 years.

That storyline took a turn, however, when Collaros tore his anterior crucial ligament against the Edmonton Eskimos in late September and was sidelined for the rest of the season.

• READ MORE:Zach Collaros, Tiger-Cats quarterback, out for season with torn ACL

The Ticats went on to lose five of their remaining seven games, quarterbacked by backup pivots Jeff Matthews, Jacory Harris and Jeremiah Masoli.

Collaros, meanwhile, might not be ready for the start of the 2016 season.

3. Ticats semi-final

Collaros' early season success was still enough to carry the Ticats to a second place finish, and Jeremiah Masoli played well enough to beat the Toronto Argonauts in the first round of the playoffs.

Hamilton next faced the Ottawa Redblacks in the semi-finals. The Ticats, down late, managed to tie the game at 28-28, giving the ball back to Ottawa with the clock winding down.

Then this happened

• READ MORE:Redblacks stun Ticats with late TD, advance to Grey Cup

RedblacksQuarterback HenryBurristossed a 93-yard TDpass to Greg Ellinson both former Ticats to put Ottawa up 35-28. That's how it ended. Ottawa advanced to the Grey Cup and the Ticatsseason was over.

2. Kia Nurse

DarnellNurse made our top 7 list of sports stories in Hamilton this year and he was still only second best in his family.

Kia Nurse,who plays basketball for the University of Connecticut and represented Canada at the Pan Am Games, was a two-time champion this year.

In the NCAA championship in April, Nurse had 9 points and 3 rebounds in a 63-53 victory over Notre Dame. She helped UConnwin its third straight title in her first year at the school.

• READ MORE:Kia Nurse wins NCAA basketball championship
• READ MORE:Hamilton's Kia Nurse on fans, her family, and making basketball history

Nurse then brought her winning ways back to Canada in July, leading Team Canadato its first-ever gold medal in basketball at thePan Am Games.

Nurse posted a team-best 33 points in an 81-73 victory over the U.S. in the finals, including two late free throws to seal the win. The sold out crowd at Ryerson University's Mattamy Athletic Centre chanted "M-V-P!" as Nurse dropped those two shots.

1. Pan Am Games

No sports event in Hamilton, or the rest of Canada, had such a widespread effect on so many people as the Pan Am Games good or bad.

The two-and-a-half-week event held sports all across the country, but Hamilton hosted a number of the soccer games at the newly constructed Tim HortonsField. The $145-millionstadium's completion came a year later than the initial deadline, and delays even put the games in jeopardy for Hamilton.

• READ MORE:Pan Am Games meant 'a special summer' for Hamilton
• READ MORE:Hamilton's Pan Am stadium is finally finished

Organizers sold roughly two-thirds of the total tickets available for the 18 soccer events, and surrounding business owners said they saw very little economic benefit from games.Still, Mayor Fred Eisenberger said the games were a success.

"It lived up to and even surpassed hopes," he said. "I really do think it was a very special summer for us."

Let us know what your list looks like and what 2015 Hamilton sports moments we overlooked. Drop us a comment below or tweet us @CBCHamilton.