Knights Heading To Memorial Cup Semi-Finals Following Loss To Medicine Hat
The London Knights missed out on the opportunity to go straight to the Memorial Cup Finals due to a 3-1 loss at the hands of the Medicine Hat Tigers on Tuesday night.
London and Medicine Hat were undefeated at the tournament going into their final round robin game. The winner would instantly go to the finals, while the loser would still be guaranteed a spot in the semi-finals.
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The Knights looked head and shoulders above the Tigers to start the game. They moved the puck cleanly and repeatedly generated high-quality scoring chances. San Jose Sharks prospect Kasper Halttunen deflected Sam Dickinson's shot home very early in the period to give London the lead. While it looked like the OHL representatives were primed to run away with the game, this would end up being their only goal of the contest.
As the period went on, Medicine Hat stabilized and started pushing back against London's strong play. Ethan Neutens, who is committed to the University of Alaska-Anchorage next season, got the Tigers on the board early in the second, tying the game at one.
The game stayed at a deadlock until early in the third period when Matthew Ward gave Medicine Hat the lead for the first time in the game. Minnesota Wild prospect Ryder Ritchie, who leads the tournament in points, sealed the win for Medicine Hat with an empty-net goal late in the third.
While London certainly won't be happy with the outcome, there are positives to draw from the game. They kept Gavin McKenna off the scoreboard other than an assist on Ritchie's goal at the end of the game. The young star has prodigious offensive talent, and keeping him in check is no mean feat.
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The Knights also outshot the Tigers in every period, finishing the game with 36 shots to 29. It's somewhat telling that the first star of the game went to Medicine Hat goaltender Harrison Meneghin rather than Neutens, who ended up recording two points in the contest.
The Moncton Wildcats' victory over Rimouski means London will play Moncton in the semi-final tomorrow evening. The last game between the two ended in a 3-2 overtime win for London. While the game was close on the scoreboard, London clearly took over as the game went on.
They outshot Moncton 48-29 in the game, mostly because they nearly doubled the Wildcats' shots in the second period and dominated the shot clock 16-3 in the third. However, this doesn't mean anything going into an elimination game.
This puts London in a position that they really haven't been in all season. The talented young team dominated the OHL and cruised to a J. Ross Robertson Cup, losing only one game in the playoffs. It's been proven time and time again that beating London in a series was impossible this season.
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In a tournament like the Memorial Cup, you don't have to beat them in a best-of-seven series. All it takes is one game. The London Knights that show up to the semi-finals will be in a do-or-die scenario that the team hasn't faced since the 2024 Memorial Cup Finals.
That game ultimately didn't go their way, and you can bet that will be on the minds of the players when they take the ice tomorrow night.
If the Knights beat Moncton, they will get another shot at Medicine Hat and the Memorial Cup. The game against Moncton is scheduled to take place tomorrow evening at 7:00 p.m.
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