OHL news and notes

The Ontario Hockey League off-season is five days old, but that doesn’t mean it hasn’t been busy.

While player signings in recent days have somewhat dominated the headlines, team personnel have also made the news, including a longtime OHL coach inking a contract extension.

Though the organization has a new general manager in place in Spencer Hyman, the Brantford Bulldogs will have a familiar face on the bench under contract until 2028.

The team announced on Friday that coach Jay McKee has signed a contract extension that will take him through the 2027-28 OHL season.

McKee was reportedly in the mix as a potential candidate to fill the vacant head coach position with the NHL’s Philadelphia Flyers, a job that eventually went to Rick Tocchet.

Hyman called the Bulldogs “incredibly lucky and fortunate” that McKee signed the three-year contract extension.

A former NHL defenceman with over 800 games under his belt, McKee’s coaching career began as an assistant at Niagara University in 2010-11 before he joined the American Hockey League’s Rochester Americans as an assistant for one season (2011-12).

The following year, McKee joined the OHL’s Erie Otters as an assistant coach. He was then hired by the Rangers in 2015, spending one season as an associate coach before taking over the head coach position in 2015-16. McKee stayed in Kitchener until he was let go 21 games into the 2019-20 season.

McKee was hired by the Bulldogs in the summer of 2021 and won an OHL title with the organization in his first season.

With an opening for a new head coach, the Niagara IceDogs announced this week that Frank Evola has been hired by the organization as its new general manager.

Evola joins the team after a nine-year run with the Windsor Spitfires that included holding the role of director of scouting and hockey operations.

Prior to joining the Spitfires, Evola played an integral role in the Oshawa Generals 2015 OHL championship during his nine years with the Eastern Conference team.

SIGNING ON THE DOTTED LINE

The past week has seen a number of players with NCAA commitments sign with OHL teams.

On Friday, the North Bay Battalion announced that 18-year-old defenceman Brandt Harper has signed with the organization.

The Tampa, Fla. native spent the 2024-25 season with the United States Hockey League’s Des Moines Buccaneers and has a commitment to the University of Michigan for the 2026-27 season.

On Thursday, the aforementioned Bulldogs signed a second generation player in forward Caleb Malhotra.

Malhotra, who is committed to Boston University for the 2026-27 season, spend the 2024-25 season with the British Columbia Hockey League’s Chilliwack Chiefs.

Malhotra was originally drafted by Kingston Frontenacs initially in the opening round of the 2024 draft before his rights were traded to Brantford in September 2024.

Malhotra is the son of former OHL star and longtime NHLer Manny.

The Bulldogs have also signed American forward Cooper Dennis, who has a commitment to Michigan for the fall of 2026.

A pair of teammates with the USHL’s Chicago Steel signed with OHL clubs this week as well.

Defenceman Callum Croskery, a Boston College commit for 2027-28 has signed with the Soo Greyhounds after being selected by the team in the second round of the 2024 draft.

Forward Adam Valentini, who was drafted by the Brampton Steelheads in the opening round of the 2024 draft has signed with the Kitchener Rangers. The Rangers acquired Valentini’s rights in a trade last fall. Valentini is committed to Michigan and is slated to begin there in the fall of 2026.

The Erie Otters looked to free agency and signed Northern Michigan University commit Luc Plante.

Plante spent the 2024-25 season with the North American Hockey League’s Fairbanks IceDogs.

Meanwhile, the Sarnia Sting have signed second round pick Sarvir Jaworski.

Jaworski, drafted earlier this spring, is from Iowa and spent the 2024-25 season with Detroit Little Caesars.

2025 Memorial Cup: Knighted - London captures Memorial Cup title

Photo courtesy Vincent Ethier/CHL

The London Knights are Memorial Cup champions.

A year after losing in the tournament final on a late-minute goal against the Saginaw Spirit, the Knights skated to a 4-1 win over the Western Hockey League’s Medicine Hat Tigers on Sunday night in the tournament final in Rimouski, Que.

London opened the scoring 11:21 into the game as Jacob Julien beat Medicine Hat goaltender Harrison Meneghin with a backhand on a breakaway after a great pass from defenceman Henry Brzustewicz.

Easton Cowan made it a 2-0 game 3:13 into the second period as he went to the net and redirected a pass from Sam O’Reilly past Meneghin.

Just 1:40 later, Denver Barkey beat Meneghin with a backhand glove side on a breakaway to make it a 3-1 game.

Barkey picked up his second goal of the night at 12:08 of the second period as he beat Meneghin with a shot from the top of the left circle high glove side through traffic.

Medicine Hat got on the board at – of the third period as Gavin McKenna stepped in from the top of the right faceoff circle and beat London goaltender Austin Elliott glove side to make it a 4-1 game.

Sam Dickinson assisted on three goals for the Knights in the victory.

Elliott stopped 31 shots while Meneghin made 20 saves for the Tigers.

Lineups

London
Denver Barkey-Sam O’Reilly-Easton Cowan
Jesse Nurmi-Jacob Julien-Landon Sim
Blake Montgomery-William Nicholl-Kasper Halttunen
Rene Van Bommel-Evan Van Gorp-Noah Read
Sam Dickinson-Henry Brzustewicz
Jared Woolley-Oliver Bonk
Adoni Fimis-Cam Allen
Austin Elliott
Aleksei Medvedev

Scratches – Ryder Boulton, Noah Aboflan, Logan Hawery, Liam Spencer, P.J. Fagan II

Medicine Hat
Gavin McKenna-Oasiz Wiesblatt-Ryder Ritchie
Andrew Basha-Cayden Lindstrom-Hunter St. Martin
Mathew Ward-Misha Volotovskii-Ethan Neutens
Marcus Pacheco-Schaeffer Gordon-Carroll-Liam Ruck
Tanner Molendyk-Veeti Vaisanen
Jonas Woo-Bryce Pickford
Niikopekka Muhonen-Josh Van Mulligen
Harrison Meneghin
Jodan Switzer

Scratches – Kadon McCann, Tyson Moss, Carter Cunningham, Marcus Ruck

Tournament Results

Round Robin
May 23 – Medicine Hat 5, Rimouski 4
May 24 – London 3, Moncton 2 (OT)
May 25 – London 3, Rimouski 1
May 26 – Medicine Hat 3, Moncton 1
May 27 – Medicine Hat 3, London 1
May 28 – Moncton 6, Rimouski 2

Semifinal
May 30 – London 5, Moncton 2

2025 Memorial Cup: Knights off to second consecutive final

Photo courtesy Vincent Ethier/CHL

After losing in the tournament final a year ago in Saginaw, Mich., the London Knights are getting a second chance.

The Knights went 2-1 in Memorial Cup round robin play this week in Rimouski, Que., the Ontario Hockey League champions picked up a 5-2 win over the Monton Wildcats Friday night in semifinal play.

The Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League champions got into the semifinal after beating the host team, the Rimouski Oceanic on Wednesday night in the final game of the round robin.

"All around I thought that was our best game of the tournament so far,” London forward Easton Cowan said. “We had a really good first, kind of laid back in the second but our third was probably our best period of the tournament so far.

“We had everyone scoring today, got lots of depth and it was a huge win for us.”

London opened the scoring early on in the game as Landon Sim scored on a wraparound after Oliver Bonk’s initial shot from the high slot missed the net just over four minutes into the contest.

Despite being heavily outshot in the opening period, the Wildcats would tie the game late in the period as Caleb Desnoyer capitalized on a Moncton power play with 1:40 to go. Desnoyer found himself in the left circle and beat Knights goaltender Austin Elliott with a shot through some traffic glove side.

London took a 2-1 lead in the second period as Denver Barkey beat Moncton goaltender Mathis Rousseau from the right faceoff circle on a one-timer after taking a cross-slot pass from  Cowan at 5:24.

Just over two minutes later, the Wildcats tied the game at two as Dyllan Gill beat Elliot t on the power play with a shot from the high slot through traffic at 7:40.

The Knights made it a 3-2 game 3:35 into the third period when Blake Montgomery went to the net and redirected a pass from Sam Dickinson on the right win past Rousseau.

London extended the lead to 4-2 at 13:11 when Jesse Nurmi went to the net and took a pass from Jacob Julien on a faceoff win and beat Rousseau.

Cowan made it a 5-2 game with 1:49 to go after getting the puck from Barkey and scoring an empty net goal shorthanded.

Cowan and Barkey had a goal and an assist each for the Knights while Julien assisted on two goals for London.

Elliott stopped 21 shots in the victory.

Rousseau stopped 32 shots for Moncton.

Lineups

London
Denver Barkey-Sam O’Reilly-Easton Cowan
Jesse Nurmi-Jacob Julien-Landon Sim
Blake Montgomery-William Nicholl-Kasper Halttunen
Rene Van Bommel-Evan Van Gorp-Noah Read
Sam Dickinson-Henry Brzustewicz
Jared Woolley-Oliver Bonk
Adoni Fimis-Cam Allen
Austin Elliott
Aleksei Medvedev

Scratches – Ryder Boulton (suspended – game 1 of 1), Noah Aboflan, Logan Hawery, Liam Spencer, P.J. Fagan II

Moncton
Caleb Desnoyers-Julius Sumpf-Preston Lounsbury
Juraj Pekarcik-Markus Vidicek-Alex Mercier
Maxime Cote-Gabe Smith-Vincent Collard
Pier-Etienne Cloutier-Simon Binkley-Logan Crosby
Etienne Morin-Dylan MacKinnon
Loke Johansson-Dyllan Gill
Adam Fortier-Gendron-Natan Grenier
Mathis Rousseau
Rudy Guimond

Scratches – Simon Mullen, Riley Sampson, Cooper Cormier

Tournament Results

Round Robin
May 23 – Medicine Hat 5, Rimouski 4
May 24 – London 3, Moncton 2 (OT)
May 25 – London 3, Rimouski 1
May 26 – Medicine Hat 3, Moncton 1
May 27 – Medicine Hat 3, London 1
May 28 – Moncton 6, Rimouski 2

2025 Memorial Cup: Wildcats grab semifinal berth

Round robin action at the 2025 Memorial Cup between the Moncton Wildcats and Rimouski Oeanic.
Photo courtesy Vincent Ethier/CHL

The Moncton Wildcats are off the semifinal play at the 2025 Memorial Cup.

After struggling out of the gate, the Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League champs rebounded to grab a 6-2 win over the Rimouski Oceanic in the final game of the round robin to stay alive in the event.

The loss ends the season for the tournament host.

Moncton coach Gardiner MacDougall called his team “atrocious” in the opening period before getting better in the second period.

MacDougall credited Wildcats goaltender Mathis Rousseau in the game, especially in the opening period.

Rimouski coach Joel Perreault said he had one message for his club following the season-ending loss.

“I want them to take that, when you stick with one another and you believe in what you can do as a group, you can do anything,” Perreault said.

Moncton opened the scoring as Julius Sumpf got into open ice and took a pass from Juraj Pekarcik and beat Rimouski goaltender Mathis Langevin stick side at 7:39 of the opening period.

The Oceanic tied the game at one as Mael St. Denis beat Mathis Rousseau with a backhand from the slot glove side off a rebound after the Moncton goaltender stopped Maxime Coursol initially at 13:27.

Rimouski took the lead as Mathieu Cataford redirected a backdoor pass from Olivier Theberge past Rousseau with 2:49 to go in the opening period.

Early in the second period, Pekarcik tied the game for the Wildcats as he deflected a Dylan MacKinnon point shot past Langevin 1:27 into the frame.

Moncton took the lead at 4:05 as Gabe Smith beat Langevin from the slot after Preston Lounsbury’s initial shot missed the net before deflecting off the end boards and back into the slot.

Moncton took a 4-2 lead as Etienne Morin beat Langevin with a shot from the top of the left faceoff circle glove side 4:02 into the third period.

Empty net goals by Smith with 1:48 to go and Alex Mercier with 59 seconds left, sealed the win for the Wildcats.

Smith finished the night with two goals and two assists for Moncton while Mercier, Stumpf, and Pekarcik had one of each.

Lounsbury assisted on a pair of goals.

Rousseau stopped 32 shots in the victory for Moncton while Langevin stopped 27 shots for the Oceanic.

With the win Moncton will face the London Knights (Ontario Hockey League) in semifinal play on Friday night with the winner of that game moving on to the tournament final on Sunday against Medicine Hat.

Prior to Wednesday’s game between the Wildcats and Oceanic, the Canadian Hockey League announced that London Knights forward Ryder Boulton has been suspended for one game and will miss the semifinal.

Boulton was suspended for a warmup violation against the Medicine Hat Tigers on Tuesday night.

The suspension comes after the Knights were fined for a warmup violation in their opening game of the tournament.

The Tigers have also been fined for a warmup violation on Tuesday night.

Lineups

Moncton
Juraj Pekarcik-Caleb Desnoyers-Julius Sumpf
Maxime Cote-Markus Vidicek-Alex Mercier
Preston Lounsbury-Gabe Smith-Vincent Collard
Pier-Etienne Cloutier-Simon Binkley-Logan Crosby
Etienne Morin-Dylan MacKinnon
Loke Johansson-Dyllan Gill
Adam Fortier-Gendron-Natan Grenier
Mathis Rousseau
Rudy Guimond

Scratches – Simon Mullen, Riley Sampson, Cooper Cormier

Rimouski
Eriks Mateiko-Mathieu Cataford-Mael Lavigne
onathan Fauchon-Jacob Mathieu- Alexandre Blais
Mathys Dube-Mael St. Denis-Maxime Coursol
Lou Levesque-Thomas Belzile-Dominic Pilote
Jack Martin-Pier-Olivier Roy
Anthony Pare-Basile Sansonnens
Olivier Theberge-Luke Coughlin
Mathis Langevin
William Lacelle

Scratches – Spencer Gill, Connor Sturgeon, Loic Francour, Anthony Gaudet, Logan Roop

Tournament Results

Round Robin
May 23 – Medicine Hat 5, Rimouski 4
May 24 – London 3, Moncton 2 (OT)
May 25 – London 3, Rimouski 1
May 26 – Medicine Hat 3, Moncton 1
May 27 – Medicine Hat 3, London 1

2025 Memorial Cup: Tigers off to tournament final, Knights off to semifinal

Photo courtesy Vincent Ethier/CHL

The Medicine Hat Tigers will have a few days off before returning to action at the 2025 Memorial Cup in Rimouski, Que.

The Western Hockey League club will play on the final day of the Canadian Hockey League season after earning a spot in the tournament final on Tuesday night.

The Tigers earned the championship game berth thanks to a 3-1 win over the Ontario Hockey League-champion London Knights in a game that wasn’t easy.

Tigers coach Willie Desjardins said he felt the Knights “probably outplayed us tonight.”

“They started quick,” Desjardins added saying the difference in the game was Medicine Hat goaltender Harrison Meneghin.

“He was the difference for us,” Desjardins said. “He was outstanding in net for us. Maybe a bit more than outstanding.”

Knights coach Dale Hunter called the game “a battle.”

Hunter also spoke of Medicine Hat’s depth coming through after the Tigers top players were held at bay offensively.

“We all have out top end guys and they can’t do it every night,” Hunter said. “It takes a role player to come up.”

The Knights got on the board first as Kasper Halttunen deflected a point shot from Sam Dickinson past Meneghin 3:34 into the contest.

Medicine Hat got on the board in the second period after a point shot from Tanner Molendyck deflected to Ethan Neutens at the bottom of the left circle and the latter beat Knights goaltender Austin Elliott at 5:11.

Mathew Ward made it a 2-1 game 1:17 into the third period as he grabbed a loose puck after coming out from behind the net and wrapped the puck past Elliott.

Ryder Ritchie capped off the scoring with an empty net goal with 11 seconds to go.

Meneghin made 35 saves for the Tigers while Elliot stopped 26 for the Knights.

The Knights will play the winner of Wednesday’s round robin finale between the Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League clubs.

The host Rimouski Oceanic and QMJHL-champions, the Moncton Wildcats are set to play on Wednesday. The winner moves into the semifinal while the loser has their tournament come to an end.

Both teams enter Wednesday’s game with 0-2 records.

Lineups

Medicine Hat
Gavin McKenna-Oasiz Wiesblatt-Ryder Ritchie
Andrew Basha-Cayden Lindstrom-Hunter St. Martin
Mathew Ward-Misha Volotovskii-Ethan Neutens
Marcus Pacheco-Schaeffer Gordon-Carroll-Liam Ruck
Tanner Molendyk-Veeti Vaisanen
Jonas Woo-Bryce Pickford
Niikopekka Muhonen-Josh Van Mulligen
Harrison Meneghin
Jodan Switzer

Scratches – Kadon McCann, Tyson Moss, Carter Cunningham, Marcus Ruck

London
Easton Cowan-Sam O’Reilly-Blake Montgomery
Denver Barkey-Jacob Julien-Landon Sim
Jesse Nurmi-William Nicholl-Kasper Halttunen
Ryder Boulton-Evan Van Gorp-Noah Read
Sam Dickinson-Henry Brzustewicz
Jared Woolley-Oliver Bonk
Adoni Fimis-Cam Allen
Austin Elliott
Aleksei Medvedev

Scratches – Rene Van Bommel, Noah Aboflan, Logan Hawery, Liam Spencer, P.J. Fagan II

Tournament Results

Round Robin
May 23 – Medicine Hat 5, Rimouski 4
May 24 – London 3, Moncton 2 (OT)
May 25 – London 3, Rimouski 1
May 26 – Medicine Hat 3, Moncton 1

2025 Memorial Cup: Tigers move to within a win of championship game berth

The Medicine Hat Tigers improved to 2-0 on Monday at the 2025 Memorial Cup in Rimouski, Que.
Photo courtesy Vincent Ethier/CHL

Regardless of it being the biggest tournament of the season for the team, Monday’s game result at the 2025 Memorial Cup in Rimouski, Que. took a backseat for the Moncton Wildcats.

Moncton coach Gardiner MacDougall told reporters after Moncton’s 3-1 loss to the Medicine Hat Tigers that his son Taylor, the general manager of the club, received news that his father-in-law died earlier in the day after arriving in Rimouski.

MacDougall called it “the hardest game I’ve ever had to coach.”

The elder MacDougall said that his son received the news about 20 minutes before puck drop and he found out about five minutes before the game.

“Pat Buckley was an unbelievable sportsman,” MacDougall said. “A top-notch golfer. A former university hockey player. He was a second father to Taylor.”

Speaking to the media after the game, Medicine Hat coach Willie Desjardins began by saying “I’d like to pass along our condolences to the MacDougall family. That’s a terrible way to have to go into a game. You can’t say words for how hard that would be.”

The Tigers were pleased with the way they started the game, but Desjardin said there were times when Moncton made things tough.

Desjardins also said “our team played well and we’re certainly happy to get the win.

For the Wildcats, the opening minutes of the contest saw the Tigers take it to the Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League champs.

“The first seven minutes, we were on our heels,” MacDougall said. “We adapted and got out of the period down one. Our goaltender (Mathis Rousseau) was our best player.”

“We fed into how they want to play,” MacDougall added. “Full credit to (Medicine Hat’s) victory.”

Medicine Hat opened the scoring as Ryder Ritchie beat Moncton goaltender Mathis Rousseau on a cross-slot pass from Oasiz Wiesblatt 4:24 into the game. The goal came moments after Tigers forward Gavin McKenna missed the net on a breakaway.

Ritchie picked up his second goal of the night, and third of the tournament midway through the second period to make it a 2-0 game. Ritchie beat Rousseau high short side on a one-timer from the right faceoff circle off a pass from Andrew Basha on the power play at 9:42.

In the third period, Dyllan Gill got Moncton on the board 31 seconds into the frame as his shot from the right point hit blueliner Tanner Molendyk and deflected past Harrison Meneghin to make it a 2-1 game.

McKenna sealed the win with 7.3 seconds to go, scoring on an empty net to make it 3-1 Medicine Hat.

Ritchie finished the night with two goals and an assist for the Tigers while McKenna had one of each.

Meneghin stopped 21 shots in the victory.

Rousseau made 38 saves for Moncton.

Medicine Hat will take a record of 2-0 into their final round robin game, which is Tuesday night against the London Knights. The Knights sit at 2-0.

Moncton will face the host team, the Rimouski Oceanic, on Wednesday night to wrap up round robin play. Moncton has a record of 0-2 while the Oceanic are also 0-2 heading into the game.

Lineups

Medicine Hat
Gavin McKenna-Oasiz Wiesblatt-Ryder Ritchie
Andrew Basha-Cayden Lindstrom-Hunter St. Martin
Mathew Ward-Misha Volotovskii-Ethan Neutens
Kadon McCann-Schaeffer Gordon-Carroll-Liam Ruck
Tanner Molendyk-Veeti Vaisanen
Jonas Woo-Bryce Pickford
Niikopekka Muhonen-Josh Van Mulligen
Harrison Meneghin
Jodan Switzer

Scratches – Tyson Moss, Carter Cunningham, Marcus Ruck, Marcus Pacheco

Moncton
Juraj Pekarcik-Caleb Desnoyers-Julius Sumpf
Maxime Cote-Markus Vidicek-Alex Mercier
Preston Lounsbury-Gabe Smith-Vincent Collard
Pier-Etienne Cloutier-Simon Binkley-Logan Crosby
Etienne Morin-Dylan MacKinnon
Loke Johansson-Dyllan Gill
Adam Fortier-Gendron-Natan Grenier
Mathis Rousseau
Rudy Guimond 

Scratches – Simon Mullen, Riley Sampson, Cooper Cormier

Tournament Results

Round Robin
May 23 – Medicine Hat 5, Rimouski 4
May 24 – London 3, Moncton 2 (OT)
May 25 – London 3, Rimouski 1

2025 Memorial Cup: Knights remain unbeaten

Jacob Julien scored the winner as the London Knights beat the Rimouski Oceanic on Sunday at the 2025 Memorial Cup.
Photo courtesy Vincent Ethier/CHL

The Ontario Hockey League’s London Knights are in the driver’s seat through three days at the 2025 Memorial Cup in Rimouski, Que.

Just 24 hours after opening the tournament with an overtime win, the Knights knocked off the host team, the Rimouski Oceanic, by a 3-1 margin to improve to 2-0 on Sunday evening at Sun Life Financial Coliseum.

“That was two strong teams going at it,” Knights forward Jacob Julien said. “Both played really well defensively and offensively, and we were fortunate enough to come out on top.”

The Knights didn’t make things easy on the Oceanic, but the host team found ways to get some chances in the setback.

“They have big D and they’re good at boxing out,” Rimouski coach Joel Perreault said of the Knights. “You have to earn your space on the ice, and we did a good job with that. We had a lot of shifts where we were buzzing and a couple of shots where their goalie (Austin Elliott) made some really big saves.”

After the teams skated through a scoreless opening period, Rimouski opened the scoring 2:14 into the second period as Eriks Matieko banked in a loose puck off a London player after Mathieu Cataford drove the net initially, but lost control of the puck.

The Knights tied the game midway through the period as defenceman Henry Brzustewicz got the puck, skated into the right faceoff circle, and beat Rimouski goaltender Mathis Langevin stick side to make it a 1-1 game at 9:47.

The Knights took the lead with 5:07 to go as Jacob Julien finished off a three-way passing play by going to the net and redirecting a pass from Kasper Halttunen in the right faceoff circle past Langevin.

Easton Cowan sealed the London victory, scoring into an empty net with 1:52 to go in regulation time.

Cowan had a goal and an assist for London while Elliott stopped 28 shots in the victory.

Langevin made 33 saves in the setback as the host team drops to 0-2.

The Knights are off on Monday before taking on the Medicine Hat Tigers on Tuesday night in the final round robin game for both clubs.

Rimouski will have two days off before facing the Moncton Wildcats on Wednesday in the final game of the round robin.

Monton and Medicine Hat are set to meet on Monday night.

Lineups

London
Easton Cowan-Sam O’Reilly-Blake Montgomery
Denver Barkey-Jacob Julien-Landon Sim
Jesse Nurmi-William Nicholl-Kasper Halttunen
Ryder Boulton-Evan Van Gorp-Noah Read
Sam Dickinson-Henry Brzustewicz
Jared Woolley-Oliver Bonk
Adoni Fimis-Cam Allen
Austin Elliott
Aleksei Medvedev

Scratches – Rene Van Bommel, Noah Aboflan, Logan Hawery, Liam Spencer, P.J. Fagan II

Rimouski
Eriks Mateiko-Mathieu Cataford-Mael Lavigne
Jonathan Fauchon-Jacob Mathieu- Alexandre Blais
Mathys Dube-Mael St. Denis-Maxime Coursol
Lou Levesque-Thomas Belzile-Dominic Pilote
Jack Martin-Pier-Olivier Roy
Anthony Pare-Basile Sansonnens
Olivier Theberge-Luke Coughlan
Mathis Langevin
William Lacelle

Tournament Results

Round Robin
May 23 – Medicine Hat 5, Rimouski 4
May 24 – London 3, Moncton 2 (OT)

2025 Memorial Cup: Knights look for redemption after 2024 heartbreak

London Knights forward Sam O'Reilly celebrates a goal in London's opening game of the 2025 Memorial Cup in Rimouski, Que. 
Photo courtesy Vincent Ethier/CHL

Looking for redemption this year, the London Knights kicked off the 2025 Memorial Cup on Saturday night.

The Ontario Hockey League champions, who lost in the final a year ago in Saginaw, grabbed a 3-2 overtime victory Saturday over the Moncton Wildcats, champions of the Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League at the Sun Life Financial Coliseum in Rimouski, Que.

Sam O’Reilly scored the winner for the Knights just over four minutes into overtime to give London the victory.

O’Reilly went to the net and redirected a pass from Easton Cowan on the right wing past Moncton goaltender Mathis Rousseau at 4:23 of the extra period with the teams playing 3-on-3.

The teams traded goals through the opening 40 minutes before playing through a scoreless third period en route to the extra frame.

O’Reilly opened the scoring for the Knights 91 seconds into the contest as he tipped a Sam Dickinson point shot past Moncton goaltender Mathis Rousseau.

Moncton would tie the game just over five minutes later as Etienne Morin beat Knights goaltender Austin Elliott with a point shot that hit a body on the way through traffic.

Just over five minutes into the second period, the Knights made it a 2-1 game as Kasper Halttunen beat Rousseau with a one-timer from the left faceoff circle off a pass from Cowan on the power play.

Dyllan Gill made it a 2-2 game at 12:22 of the second period when he beat Elliott on the power play with a point shot through a screen by Gabe Smith in tight.

Knights coach Dale Hunter called the win “a head-fought game.”

Happy with the win, O’Reilly said he felt the Knights “could have been sharper.”

The loss was a tough one for the Wildcats.

“Obviously a heartbreaker now, but rarely do you get a loss at this tournament and it’s a bit of a confidence boost for your group,” said Moncton coach Gardiner McDougall.

“This game tonight will make us better,” McDougall added. “It was like a heavyweight fight. Both teams had some big shots and both teams defended those big shots. (London) had some big chances in overtime and unfortunately we gave up one too many.”

Cowan had a pair of assists for the Knights in the victory while Elliott stopped 27 shots.

Rousseau made 45 saves in the setback for Moncton.

Alex Mercier assisted on both Wildcats goals.

The Knights will be back in action Sunday night when they face the host Rimouski Oceanic, who are coming off a loss last night against the Western Hockey League’s Medicine Hat Tigers.

Moncton will have a day off before playing on Monday night against Medicine Hat.

Lineups

London
Easton Cowan-Sam O’Reilly-Blake Montgomery
Denver Barkey-Jacob Julien-Landon Sim
Jesse Nurmi-William Nicholl-Kasper Halttunen
Ryder Boulton-Evan Van Gorp-Noah Read
Sam Dickinson-Henry Brzustewicz
Jared Woolley-Oliver Bonk
Adoni Fimis-Cam Allen
Austin Elliott
Aleksei Medvedev

Scratches – Rene Van Bommel, Noah Aboflan, Logan Hawery, Liam Spencer, P.J. Fagan II

Monton
Juraj Pekarcik-Caleb Desnoyers-Julius Sumpf
Maxime Cote-Markus Vidicek-Alex Mercier
Preston Lounsbury-Gabe Smith-Vincent Collard
Pier-Etienne Cloutier-Riley Sampson-Logan Crosby
Etienne Morin-Dylan MacKinnon
Loke Johansson-Dyllan Gill
Adam Fortier-Gendron-Natan Grenier
Mathis Rousseau
Rudy Guimond

Scratches – Simon Mullen, Simon Binkley, Cooper Cormier

Tournament Results

Round Robin

May 23 – Medicine Hat 5, Rimouski 4

2025 Memorial Cup: WHL champs open tournament with day one victory

Action from the opening game of the 2025 Memorial Cup between the Rimouski Oceanic and Medicine Hat Tigers/Photo courtesy Vincent Ethier/CHL

The Western Hockey League champions got off to the start they needed Friday night at the Sun Life Financial Coliseum.

Playing in the opening game of the 2025 Memorial Cup in Rimouski, Que., it was a late goal from Hunter St. Martin on a redirection that gave the Medicine Hat Tigers a 5-4 win over the host Rimouski Oceanic. 

In a game that saw them give up three power play goals to the home side in four man advantage opportunities, it was a late goal that helped the Tigers avoid falling behind the eight ball early on in the tournament with a loss.

Medicine Hat opened the scoring just under 14 minutes into the contest as Ryde Ritchie scored on a rebound after Gavin McKenna hit the crossbar initially on the play.

The tournament host got the game on even terms in the final minute of the period as Mael Langevin beat Tigers goaltender Harrison Meneghin with a tap in off a back-door pass from Alexandre Blais with 20 seconds to go in the frame.

Midway through period two, Rimouski took a 2-1 lead at Marl St. Denis took a pass in the right faceoff circle from Blais and beat Meneghin short side at 10:43.

Just under six minutes later, the Western League champs tied the game at two as Bryce Pickford beat Langevin from the top of the right faceoff circle to give the Medicine Hat blueliner goals in nine consecutive games. The power play marker came at 16:18.

Rimouski would take a 3-2 lead into the dressing room after two periods as Jacob Mathieu redirected a Matieu

The Tigers tied the game at three 68 seconds into the third period as Pickford scored his second of the night, beating Langevin from the top of the left faceoff circle.

McKenna made it 4-3 Medicine Hat at 5:16 as he took a breakaway pass from Oasiz Wiesblatt and beat Langevin high stick side.

With the Oceanic on the power play, Jonathan Fauchon tied the game as he beat Meneghin with a one-timer from the top of the left circle short side after a pass from Mathieu Cataford at 13:04.

Medicine Hat took a 5-4 lead with 2:41 to go in the third as Hunter St. Martin went to the net and redirected a pass from Tanner Molendyk past Langevin.

In addition to the two-goal night for Pickford, McKenna and St. Martin had a goal and an assist each.

Wiesblatt assisted on three goals for the Tigers while Molendyk had a pair of helpers.

Meneghin stopped 20 shots for Medicine Hat.

Blais. Cataford, and Pier-Olivier Roy assisted on two goals each for Rimouski.

Langevin made 33 saves.

On day two of the tournament on Saturday, the Ontario Hockey League’s London Knights will take on the Quebec Maritimes Hockey League’s Moncton Wildcats.

Lineups

Rimouski
Eriks Mateiko-Mathieu Cataford-Mael Lavigne
Jonathan Fauchon-Jacob Mathieu-Dominic Pilote
Alexandre Blais-Mael St. Denis-Maxime Coursol
Lou Levesque-Mathys Dube-Thomas Belzile
Pier-Olivier Roy-Luke Coughlan
Jack Martin-Basile Sansonnens
Olivier Theberge-Anthony Pare
Mathis Langevin
William Lacelle

Medicine Hat
Gavin McKenna-Oasiz Wiesblatt-Ryder Ritchie
Andrew Basha-Mathew Ward-Hunter St. Martin
Kadon McCann-Misha Volotovskii-Marcus Pacheco
Ethan Neutens-Shaeffer Gordon-Carroll-Liam Ruck
Tanner Molendyk-Veeti Väisänen
Jonas Woo-Bryce Pickford
Niilopekka Muhonen-Josh Van Mulligen
Harrison Meneghin
Jordan Switzer

Memorial Cup: Last-minute heroics lift Spirit to national championship

SAGINAW, MICH – What looked like potentially a foregone conclusion turned into some late-game dramatics.

The 2024 Memorial Cup final came down to the final minute and it was Josh Bloom that was the hero as the Saginaw Spirit beat the London Knights 4-3 to capture the first tournament title in franchise history.

The Spirit looked to be in control throughout the opening two periods, taking a 3-1 lead into the final 20 minutes and outshooting the high-scoring Knights by a 24-6 margin.

The Knights turned the tide some in the third period, scoring goals just under three minutes apart to turn a 3-1 deficit into a 3-3 tie and setting the stage for Bloom’s final minute heroics.

Saginaw opened the scoring midway through the opening period as Owen Beck won a faceoff deep in the London zone and grabbed a loose puck before beating Knights goaltender Michael Simpson in traffic at 9:07.

Beck added to the lead on the power play after a major penalty to London’s Landon Sim. Beck beat Simpson high stick side from the right circle on a one-timer after a feed from Josh Bloom at 19:16.

Saginaw made it a 3-0 game at 7:47 of the second period as Joey Willis grabbed a London turnover just outside the Knights line and proceeded to beat Simpson high glove on a breakaway.

The Knights finally got on the board midway through the second period as Kasper Halttunen beat Spirit goaltender Andrew Oke with a shot from the left circle high shirt side at 9:45.

London cut into the lead further at 7:48 of the third period as Easton Cowan took a pass from Sam Dickinson and beat Oke from the top of the right circle through traffic.

The Knights then tied the game as Dickinson took a pass from Max McCue on an odd-man rush and beat Oke from the left circle short side at 10:16 to knot the gam up at three.

Bloom then scored the game winner with 21.7 seconds to go in regulation time. After Jorian Donovan intercepted a clearing attempt near the London blueline and was stopped initially by Simpson before Bloom poked in the loose puck during a scramble.

Bloom finished the night with a goal and two assists to pace the Spirit offensively while Willis added one of each in addition to the two-goal night from Beck, who was named the tournament MVP.

Oke made 10 saves for Saginaw.

Cowan had a goal and two assists for the Knights. Dickinson chipped in with a goal and an assist for London. Oliver Bonk assisted on a pair of goals.

Simpson made 27 saves.

Game Notes

Lines

London
Denver Barkey-Jacob Julien-Ruslan Gazizov
Max McCue-Sam O’Reilly-Easton Cowan
Landon Sim-Kaleb Lawrence-Kasper Halttunen
Evan Van Gorp-William Nicholl-Sawyer Boulton
Isaiah George-Jackson Edward
Sam Dickinson-Oliver Bonk
Jared Woolley-Henry Brzustewicz
Michael Simpson
Owen Willmore

Saginaw
Josh Bloom-Owen Beck-Alex Christopoulos
Joey Willis-Matyas Sapovaliv-Calem Mangone
Michael Misa-Hunter Haight-Nic Sima
Sebastien Gervais-Ethan Hay-Lincoln Moore
Jorian Donovan-James Guo
Braden Hache-Zayne Parekh
Rodwin Dionicio-Will Bishop
Andrew Oke
Nolan Lalonde 

Scratches

London – Ryder Boulton, Noah Jenken, Alec Leonard (injury), Kaeden Johnston

Saginaw – Kaleb Papineau, Josh Glavin, Graydon Jones, Carson Harmer, Liam Storch, P.J. Forgione, Jacob Cloutier, Aidan Castle

Previous Coverage

Saginaw vs. Moose Jaw - May 24, 2024
Drummondville vs. London - May 25, 2024
Drummondville vs. Saginaw – May 26, 2024
Moose Jaw vs. London  – May 27, 2024
Moose Jaw vs. Drummondville – May 28, 2024
London vs. Saginaw – May 29, 2024
Saginaw vs. Moose Jaw – May 31, 2024