Memorial Cup: London Knights stay perfect with 5-4 win over Moose Jaw (2024)

SAGINAW, Mich. – Dale Hunter’s trust in his top players has the Knights on the verge of the Memorial Cup final.

His unbeaten team will face rival Saginaw, also boasting a 2-0 record, on Wednesday for a berth in Sunday’s championship game. The Knights scored three second-period goals and held off a furious Moose Jaw rally Monday to dump the Warriors before a largely pro-London crowd of 4,768 at the Dow Event Center.

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“It’s one of those games where we know each other well,” Hunter said of the host Spirit, “and two good teams are going to battle.”

The veteran coach separated stars Denver Barkey and Easton Cowan up front and they responded with two assists apiece. Cowan’s line surrendered Moose Jaw’s first two goals but Hunter immediately went right back to them.

The Maple Leafs first-rounder and Max McCue set the stage for Sam O’Reilly’s nifty individual effort to give London the lead for good against the Western league champs.

“We knew as a line we needed to do something,” O’Reilly said. “It was a helluva play by Max to get it over to me. We got the momentum back and went from there.”

SHUTTING IT DOWN: The Knights held Moose Jaw’s Jagger Firkus, Matthew Savoie and Brayden Yager – three of the best scorers in junior hockey – to a single assist. Firkus got that helper during a 6-on-5 rugby-style scrum in front to cut London’s lead to one goal with the goaltender pulled in the dying minutes.

“We’ve been resilient to not get down when teams score on us,” London defender Sam Dickinson said. “That’s been a strong suit for us in how we bounce back. It’s such a quick tournament. To jump in and get those two games out of the way with two wins, there’s nothing to complain about.”

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Moose Jaw coach Mark O’Leary boiled it down to his big guns leaving some chances on the table while the Knights capitalized on theirs.

“Those big opportunities, they were puck ready and smashed them in,” he said.

O’Leary faced Dale Hunter’s Knights in 2004-05 and ‘05-06 as a player with the Guelph Storm. Two decades later, there are a lot of familiar patterns.

“They’re the exact same,” he said with a grin. “It’s not easy to play against, for sure. I was proud of our group the way we did play. They (the Knights) muddy the waters through the neutral zone. They make it hard to get through there and in around the net, it’s the same thing.

“You know when you’re going to the net, it might hurt a little bit. I thought they played a good game and we did, too.”

PYETTE: Knights-Spirit feud goes beyond the ice

KILL THRILL: The Knights held Drummondville and Moose Jaw to a combined 0-for-9 on the power play. Landon Sim’s insurance goal in the second period didn’t count as a shorthanded effort because Easton Cowan had just stepped out of the penalty box, but it was as good as one.

“If we get a chance to go, we’ll go on it,” the Blues prospect said. “We have a lot of guys who will lay out for blocks and put it on the line. It was nice to shut them down.”

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Knights goaltender Michael Simpson allowed a fluky goal on a second-period dump-in, but he also stopped 61-goal man Firkus on a breakaway in the opening minute and made a highlight-reel save on Savoie with the knob of his stick while lying in the crease.

“Mike’s a heck of a goalie,” Sim said. “You have to be good to be lucky and lucky to be good. I’m not surprised he saved it. He makes saves a lot of different ways.

“We weren’t ready to go on the first shift and he stepped up for us (in denying Firkus).”

AROUND THE RINK: Montreal Canadiens defenceman Logan Mailloux was in the stands to support his old Knights teammates. London grad Antonio Stranges, from nearby Plymouth and a Dallas Stars farmhand, showed up to the game Saturday . . . A lot of NHL scouts were finishing up their viewings of the current crop of draft prospects, including Dickinson and first-star O’Reilly. The combine officially begins in Buffalo Sunday, the same day as the Memorial Cup final . . . McCue, after a number of big first-period hits, pounded on Moose Jaw d-man Kalem Parker late in the second. It was the first fight of the tournament. “Tough northern kid,” Sim joked. “Max doesn’t look it. He’s a little skinny, but he can throw with the best of them. It’s awesome.” . . . The Knights were particularly heavy on Moose Jaw captain Denton Mateychuk, the splendid d-man who scored for the second straight game . . . London’s Ruslan Gazizov leads the tournament with three goals so far.

rpyette@postmedia.com

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GAME GLANCE

Knights 5, Warriors 4

London goals: Ruslan Gazizov, Sam Dickinson, Sam O’Reilly, Landon Sim, Kasper Halttunen

Moose Jaw goals: Ethan sem*niuk (2), Denton Mateychuk, Martin Rysavy

Next: The Knights (2-0) face Saginaw (2-0) Wednesday at 7:30 p.m. Drummondville (0-2) and Moose Jaw (0-2) play Tuesday at 7:30 p.m.

GAME SUMMARY

Knights 5, Warriors 4

Monday at Dow Event Center

First period
1. Moose Jaw, Mateychuk 2 (Calvert, Wilson) 3:39
2. London, Gazizov 3 (Julien) 11:58
3. London, Dickinson 1 (Barkey, Bonk) 17:50
Penalties – sem*niuk, MJ (roughing) 4:47, Halttunen, Ldn (head check) 5:17.

Second period
4. Moose Jaw, sem*niuk 1 (Ziprick, Port) 7:01
5. London, O’Reilly 1 (McCue, Cowan) 9:02
6. London, Sim 1 (O’Reilly, Edward) 12:47
7. London, Halttunen 2 (Cowan, Barkey) 16:14 (pp)
8. Moose Jaw, sem*niuk 2 (Kovacevic) 16:20
Penalties – Cowan, Ldn (interference) 10:45, Kovacevic, MJ (tripping) 14:48, McCue, Ldn, Parker, MJ (fighting) 17:30, Lawrence, Ldn (roughing) 18:16.

Third period
9. Moose Jaw, Rysavy 1 (Firkus) 16:05
Penalty – Edward, Ldn (interference) 8:45.

Shots on goal by
London 12 12 4–28
Moose Jaw 9 11 10–30

Power plays: Ldn 1-2. MJ 0-4.

Goalies: Simpson, Ldn (W, 2-0). Unger, MJ (L, 0-2).

Referees – Adam Bloski, Sean Reid. Linesmen – Justin Noble, Ryan Card.

Attendance – 4,768.

Three stars: 1. Sam O’Reilly, Knights; 2. Landon Sim, Knights; 3. Ethan sem*niuk, Warriors

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