The Peterborough Petes pulled off a do-or-die win to force a tiebreaker in the Memorial Cup, and they'll face the Kamloops Blazers. What are their keys to victory?
The 2023 Memorial Cup round-robin has come to a close, and the Peterborough Petes and Kamloops Blazers need a tiebreaker.
The Petes started the Memorial Cup with two straight losses, including a 10-2 thumping by the host Kamloops Blazers. They took care of business with their backs against the wall as they’ve done all year, defeating the tournament's No. 1 seeded Quebec Remparts in their final game to force the tiebreaker.
Peterborough scored the game’s opening goal in the second period in its do-or-die round-robin finale against Quebec. Tucker Robertson came streaking down the far side slot and buried a beautiful feed across the slot from Brennan Othmann along the boards. Othmann capitalized on a mistake while pressuring the Quebec defenseman, corralling the puck and finding Robertson for the goal. About two minutes later, J.R. Avon and Chase Stillman broke into the offensive zone on a 2-on-0 break, passing back and forth before Avon buried it.
Quebec responded a couple of minutes later with James Malatesta finding twine while sitting all alone on top of the crease, banging in a pass from below the dots. After a quick response from Peterborough to regain the two-goal lead, the Remparts got another goal, this time from Nathan Gaucher. The game's first five goals were scored in a six-minute span during the second period.
Peterborough scored once more in the third period to secure the win. With their backs against the wall once more, they managed to get timely scoring from their best players. They were the better team all night, and now, they’ll live to fight another day, taking on the loser of the Kamloops-Seattle game that wrapped up the round-robin.
In a rematch of their WHL semifinal matchup, two WHL combatants went head to head last night to decide who would advance right to the semifinal and who would face off against Peterborough in a rematch. With the Seattle Thunderbirds winning the game, they avoid having to play the extra game against a Petes squad that will be looking to avenge their loss.
The game was competitive to start, with Seattle and Kamloops trading goals in the first period. Seattle held the edge in scoring chances and shots, but Kamloops was generating solid chances of their own. Period 2 was when the game started to open up.
Jared Davidson was sprung on a breakaway after a botched dump-in by the Kamloops penalty-killers. The Montreal Canadiens prospect streaked into the zone, sniping the puck far side on the Blazers netminder from the faceoff dot.
Less than 10 seconds later, the Thunderbirds struck again as Jordan Gustafson put it home from the slot on a great pass from Kyle Crnkovic behind the net. An eight-second span turned this game on its head, putting Seattle in the driver's seat.
The depth of the Thunderbirds was on display all night long. With three more goals in the third, Seattle ended up running away with the game, winning 6-1 when it all came to an end. Seattle moves on to the semifinal and will play the winner of the tiebreaker, setting up a rematch with either Peterborough or Kamloops.
The Kamloops Blazers will have to defeat the Petes for a second time in less than a week. It’s always difficult to defeat any team twice in a short period of time. The Blazers dominated the first meeting from start to finish against the Petes, coming away victorious in a 10-2 effort. Playing against them again, they will need to continue to use their speed and physicality to pressure the Petes’ defenders, their one obvious weak point.
Kamloops needs to lean on its high-end talent. Olen Zellweger has been good but not his typical monstrous self at the Memorial Cup so far. Logan Stankoven has been a beast, racking up eight points in three games, but they’ll need more from him now that the elimination round begins. Players like Fraser Minten and Matthew Seminoff are going to need to step up and find ways to get on the scoreboard as well.
The hosts have a great team, and they can beat anyone in this tournament, but they will need a massive three-day run to get to the final. With last night's game, the tiebreaker on Thursday and Friday's semifinal being on back-to-back-to-back days, the Blazers will have the opportunity to put on a truly special display in front of their home fans. It will take a herculean effort, but this squad has the firepower to do it.
This Peterborough squad has had to find ways to pull off huge wins this post-season. From coming into the OHL playoffs as the fourth seed in their conference to taking down three of the top five teams in the league en route to an OHL championship, the Petes have found a way to persevere.
They will need to do that once again, hoping for a big game from some of their top names. Brennan Othmann and Avery Hayes came up huge throughout the OHL playoffs, and they will need them to step up against Kamloops. Michael Simpson won the OHL playoff MVP for his stellar play in net, and the Petes will need him to bring his 'A' game a few more times this year. Can Tucker Robertson play hero once again?
The Peterborough Petes play a physical, high-paced brand of hockey and like to be in control of the tempo in a game. They struggled with Kamloops in their first meeting because the Blazers were able to not only match their pace but push back against their forecheck and force the Petes into the mistakes that are generally reserved for Peterborough's opponents.
The Petes will need to find a way to disrupt the Kamloops attack, specifically using their smart-minded, defense-by-committee approach to the game. They need forwards to come down low and help provide simple and easy passing lanes to get around the first forechecker. If they can simplify their game, play hard on the puck and capitalize on the opportunities given to them by pressuring the Blazers' forecheck, they have a shot to win.
The tiebreaker and semifinal being on back-to-back days is going to present a tough enough test, especially for Kamloops, who could be forced into a three-games-in-three-nights scenario. The rest that Seattle will get is going to be integral, especially for the netminders. Quebec getting to go right to the final as a result of finishing first in the round-robin stage is going to be key for them as well.
With the tiebreaker, we get an extra game of exciting hockey at the Memorial Cup. The Petes and Blazers have both dealt with adversity to this point, and they will be looking to make a miracle run over the next few days to set up what could be a dream finish for either team.