Memorial Cup: Knights win sets up OHL showdown for championship game spot

SAGINAW, MICH – It's going to be a battle of Ontario to determine one of two spots in the Memorial Cup final.

Thanks to a 5-4 win over the Western Hockey League champion Moose Jaw Warriors on Monday night, the London Knights remain unbeaten at the 10-day event.

The Ontario Hockey League champions will face the Saginaw Spirit, host team of the tournament to conclude the round robin with the winner earning a spot directly in Sunday's tournament final.

For London coach Dale Hunter, a 2-0 record is great, but the veteran bench boss told reporters following Monday’s win that “there’s always room for improvement.”

“It’s two games, it’s two good teams that we played, and it’s a battle,” Hunter added. “It’s all been tight games. That’s what this tournament is. It’s the best of the best.”

Warriors coach Mark O'Leary said there was "a lot to like" in the game despite the loss.

“Certainly, we were looking for a better start and we got that,” O’Leary added. “Not just results-wise, but we talk about a good start is getting into our game in a hurry and playing with that energy and enthusiasm and structure without the puck.”

O’Leary added that the difference in the game was partly Moose Jaw’s inability to capitalize on opportunities offensively.

“Overall, (London) did a better job of that,” O’Leary said.

Moose Jaw opened the scoring as Denton Mateychuk took a short pass as the trailer on the play from Atley Calvert and beat London goaltender Michael Simpson high stick side 3:39 into the game.

The Knights got in the board as Ruslan Gazizov forced a turnover and then took a pass in the slot from Jacob Julien and beat Jackson Unger glove side at 11:58.

London took the lead at 17:50 as Sam Dickenson took a pass from Denver Barkey and beat Unger high stick side.

Moose Jaw tied the game just over seven minutes into the second period as Ethan Semeniuk scored on a rebound after Aidan Ziprick's initial shot was stopped by Simpson at 7:01.

Sam O'Reilly gave the Knights a 3-2 lead as he cut in from the left faceoff circle and beat Unger high stick side from in tight at 9:02.

London made it a 4-2 game just as a Knights penalty expired. Landon Sim beat Unger from the left circle high stick side at 12:47.

Kasper Halttunen extended the lead to 5-2 with a power play goal, beating Unger high glove from the high slot at 16:14.

Off the ensuing faceoff, Semeniuk picked up his second of the day as he dumped the puck in on goal from just outside the blueline and it shorthanded past Simpson to make it a 5-3 game six seconds later.

With just under four minutes to go in regulation time, Martin Rysavy banged in a loose puck during a scramble in the London crease to make it a one-goal game late.

O'Reilly finished the night with a goal and an assist for London while Barkey and Easton Cowan assisted on two goals each in the victory.

Simpson made 26 saves.

Unger made 23 saves.

With the win, the Knights are guaranteed at worst a spot in Friday's semifinal with a 2-0 record.

Moose Jaw falls to 0-2 with the loss and needs a win on Tuesday to remain alive in the tournament and get into the semifinal game.

Moose Jaw will wrap up their round robin schedule on Tuesday night when they face the Quebec Maritime Junior Hockey League’s Drummondville Voltigeurs while London faces the host-Saginaw Spirit in the tournament’s final round robin game on Wednesday night.

The winner of Wednesday’s game between the Spirit and Knights will finish 3-0 and earn a spot directly in the final on Sunday.

The loser of the game will play in Friday's semifinal against the winner of the Moose Jaw/Drummondville game.

Game Notes

Lines

Moose Jaw
Matthew Savoie-Brayden Yager-Jagger Firkus
Lynden Lakovic-Brayden Schuurman-Atley Calvert
Martin Rysavy-Ethan Semeniuk-Rilen Kovacevic
Pavel McKenzie-Owen Berge-Ethan Hughes
Denton Mateychuk-Kalem Parker
Lucas Brenton-Cosmo Wilson
Aiden Ziprik-Vojtech Port
Jackson Unger
Dimitri Fortin

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 

Scratches

Moose Jaw – Evan May, Landen McFadden, Noah Degenstein, Brady Ness, Connor Schmidt, Max Finley

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

Previous Coverage

Saginaw vs. Moose Jaw - May 24, 2024
Drummondville vs. London - May 25, 2024
Drummondville vs. Saginaw – May 26, 2024