Six Nations, Ont., celebrates as local player Brandon Montour hoists the Stanley Cup

With less than a minute left in Game 7 of the Stanley Cup final Monday night, the Edmonton Oilers dumped the puck deep into the Florida Panthers' zone and chased it. 

Up 2-1, Panthers players rushed in, leading to a scuffle along the boards. About 2,000 kilometres away in Six Nations of the Grand River, Ont. — where Panthers defenceman Brandon Montour partly grew up — his family and community members at a watch party counted down. 

"The whole crowd there was counting down '4-3-2,' and the whole time, [I was thinking] 'no way,'" Montour's aunt Jaime Montour told CBC's Metro Morning after the game. "It was fantastic."

There have been similar parties there since Game 4 — when Florida led the series 3-0 — with the specific goal of cheering on Montour. The win means a lot for Six Nations, community members say, and they're proud of Montour.

On Tuesday morning, Jaime said the result was still sinking in. The Panthers won the series 4-3 in Sunrise, Fla., a franchise first for the team.

"When they won, I jumped up. And I jumped up so fast that I got one of those head rushes and then I had to sit down," she said. "There were people crying. I was not alone when it came to that."

Jaime said she "choked" when she saw her nephew hoist the Stanley Cup. 

"Brandon, you have no idea the impact that he is doing for First Nations people," she said. "No clue how big it is for them. To inspire a community, not just this community, but other communities in Canada," she said.

Unable to sleep after the game, Jaime said she scrolled through social media and saw multiple posts about him inspiring other Indigenous people. 

"It's giving hope," she said. "So many members of the community are going through hard times and this brought them together."