Memorial Cup: Crnkovic's Hat Trick Fuels Thunderbirds Win Over the Petes

On Saturday in Kamloops, the Seattle Thunderbirds showed that their team is about more than its high-octane stars.

The Thunderbirds have a loaded roster that features five first-round NHL draft picks, including WHL playoff goal-scoring leader Dylan Guenther.

But in their first game at the 2023 Memorial Cup, undrafted winger Kyle Crnkovic led the way offensively as the Ed Chynoweth Cup winners kicked off their tournament with a 6-3 win over the Peterborough Petes at the Sandman Centre.

The 21-year-old, who was acquired in a trade with the Saskatoon Blades late last summer, delivered a hat-trick performance that helped turn a 2-1 Seattle deficit into a convincing win.

"I think we just had to simplify once we got down," said Crnkovic, who was named player of the game. "We were giving them some pretty good chances off of our turnovers. Once we simplified and just threw it in their zone and and pressured, I thought we did a good job."

Lucas Ciona, Nolan Allan and Jordan Gustafson scored Seattle's other goals, while J.R. Avon, Owen Beck and Avery Hayes replied for the Petes.

The final score, perhaps, ended up higher than expected. OHL playoff MVP Michael Simpson was in net for Peterborough while the WHL's most valuable player, Milic, guarded the twine for Seattle.

And while Milic finished the WHL playoffs with a 1.95 goals-against average and .933 save percentage, he was beaten on Peterborough's first shot of the game on Saturday. 

Just 1:24 into the opening frame, after Seattle dominated possession early, Avon stole the puck from Brad Lambert high in his own zone and broke in on a 2-on-0 with Connor Lockhart, surprising both Milic and the officials. Video review was required to confirm that his shot did get across the goal line.

The Thunderbirds outshot the Petes 15-7 in the first period. But they didn't beat Simpson for the first time until the 39-second mark of the middle frame when captain Lucas Ciona tapped home a blue-paint rebound from a Lambert shot.

The score remained tied until the 15:53 mark of the second when Montreal Canadiens prospect Owen Beck went coast-to-coast for a highlight-reel beauty that even the pro-WHL crowd at Sandman Centre had to appreciate.

It took less than a minute for Crnkovic to reply with his first of the night, and the score remained deadlocked at 2-2 until midway through the third.

At precisely the 10-minute mark, Crnkovic struck again to give the Thunderbirds their first lead of the night, which they wouldn't relinquish. 

At that point, the game opened up. Hayes' power-play tally got the Petes to within a goal at 4-3 with more than six minutes left on the clock. Gustafson iced the win at 16:45, and Crnkovic completed his hat trick with a shorthanded empty-net marker while the Petes were pressing with a 6-on-4 skater advantage and 1:34 left on the clock.

Final shots favored the Thunderbirds 40-26, including 14-8 in the third period when the game was decided.

Seattle coach Matt O'Dette said he believes his team's playing style contributes to its effectiveness late in games, a consistent trait throughout this season.

"It can accumulate over the course of a game," he said. "We want to play a lot in the opposition zone, play a lot below their goal line. If we're doing a good job of that, it can set us up for a good third period, wearing our opponent down and really making them carry our weight in the 'O' zone. 

"I think that's part of it, but I think just heightened awareness," he added. "When the game's on the line, our guys step up to get the job done."

After the host Kamloops Blazers were shelled by the Quebec Remparts in an 8-3 loss in the tournament opener on Friday, Seattle's win marks the first for a WHL champion in regulation play at the Memorial Cup since the Kelowna Rockets beat the Remparts 9-3 in the 2015 tournament semifinal. The Edmonton Oil Kings' only win last year came in overtime against the eventual champion Saint John Sea Dogs, and the Regina Pats and Red Deer Rebels were tournament hosts when they logged their wins in 2018 and 2016, respectively.

Saturday also marked the Thunderbirds' first Memorial Cup win since May 9, 1992, when they opened their first-ever tournament, as hosts, with a 5-3 win over Verdun. They followed that game with three straight losses, then went 0-3 as the WHL champions in Windsor in 2017.

The Petes are making their 10th Memorial Cup appearance, the most of any team in this year's tournament. But this is their first appearance since 2006 when the host Remparts took home the title. And Peterborough has won just once, all the way back in 1979.

The QMJHL has taken the last three Memorial Cup titles, dating back to 2019 (no tournament was held in 2020 or 2021). OHL teams won the three tournaments before that, so the last WHL team to hoist the trophy was the 2014 Oil Kings.

Up next on Sunday, the 0-1 Petes and Blazers will go head-to-head (6 p.m. ET). On Monday, the 1-0 Thunderbirds and Remparts will square off with first place in the round-robin standings on the line (9 p.m. ET).