The Memorial Cup semifinal features the Moncton Wildcats and London Knights in what should be an exciting battle to see who will face the Medicine Hat Tigers in the final.
The QMJHL-champion Wildcats beat the Rimouski Oceanic in the final game of the round-robin Wednesday night, which negated the chance of seeing a tournament host win in back-to-back years.
Let’s first look at the semifinal, each team’s path to victory and how they stack up against the WHL champions, Medicine Hat.
London Knights vs. Moncton Wildcats
Friday, May 30, 7 p.m. ET
Despite being a rematch of the only overtime game at the Memorial Cup, the pressure is on London to win once again.
The first matchup was tight through two periods before the Knights really started to control the pace of play. They dominated the third period but couldn’t find twine as Mathis Rousseau was phenomenal in the final frame of regulation. London eventually beat him in overtime, winning the game 3-2, but by the end of it, London seemed like the better team on that night.
Beating a team twice at a short tournament like this is difficult, though. Just ask the Knights that failed to defeat Saginaw a second time last year, which cost them the Memorial Cup.
The Wildcats know what London will throw at them now, and if they can get another solid performance from their netminder, we could see another tight affair.
One of Moncton’s most interesting storylines is that star forward Caleb Desnoyers, who led the team in scoring in the regular season and playoffs, hasn’t found the scoresheet in six games. That dates back to the final three games of the QMJHL final. With no report of injury, there is concern because he just hasn’t quite been himself. A semifinal against a stacked London team would be a great time to get back on the scoreboard.
For the Knights to win, they must leverage their speed, skill and experience to push the Wildcats back on their heels and attack the middle of the ice consistently. If they let Rousseau get into a groove again, they could end up in a similar boat.
The Knights’ roster is loaded with talent at every position. They have heavily relied upon their top-end talent at the Memorial Cup so far, with Easton Cowan and Kasper Halttunen carrying much of the load.
Pivotal depth contributors, such as Landon Sim, and William Nicholl, haven’t gotten a point yet. Any or both of them would make London nearly unbeatable if they help out with some offense.
London has the firepower to put up big numbers against Moncton, but the Wildcats can prevent that, so it should be a very good semifinal.
Memorial Cup Final: Medicine Hat vs. Who?
Sunday, June 1, 7 p.m. ET
The Tigers have been dominant all season, and they haven’t lost a game yet at the Memorial Cup.
This team has plenty of high-powered offensive players, which helps beat teams down with the blend of physicality, skill, speed, consistent pressure and pace.
Medicine Hat took care of business against Moncton and London on back-to-back nights, with fairly similar storylines playing out.
After going up two goals, Moncton pulled within one on an early third-period goal. As time wound down, Medicine Hat added an empty-net goal to capture a 3-1 victory.
Against London, the Tigers went down a goal early but scored two unanswered before a hectic finish at the end of the game saw them add an empty-netter to grab a 3-1 win.
Medicine Hat showed off some versatility in both wins. Against Moncton, they took advantage of a strong power play, netting two goals with the man advantage, including the empty-netter. Against London, they weathered the storm the Knights brought and found excellent opportunities to put goals on the board.
The CHL has to be pleased that Gavin McKenna, the latest super prospect to come through the CHL, is in the final. It has to love the London Knights going for their second straight Memorial Cup final with the chance to avenge their loss from last year. The league’s fans could also look forward to the possibility of having Caleb Desnoyers lead the QMJHL’s most dominant team into a final and represent the ‘Q’ despite doubts about its high-end talent.
We will surely have a great final, and the semifinal should be an enticing appetizer.
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