PLAYOFF TRACKER: London Knights beat Moncton, advance to Memorial Cup Final
The London Knights will have a chance at Memorial Cup redemption on Sunday after beating the Moncton Wildcats
The London Knights will have a chance at Memorial Cup redemption on Sunday after beating the Moncton Wildcats in the tournament's semi-final Friday night in Rimouski, QC.
Knights forward Blake Montgomery broke a 2-2 tie early in the third period before Jesse Nurmi added an insurance goal midway through the frame, and Easton Cowan sealed it with an empty-netter, helping London to a 5-2 win over the QMJHL champions.
'All around, I thought that was our best game of the tournament so far,' Cowan said. 'We had a really good first, kind of laid back in the second, but our third was probably our best period of the tournament so far. We had everyone scoring today, got lots of depth, and it was a huge win for us.'
The victory sets up a rematch of the Knights' final group stage game against the WHL champions, the Medicine Hat Tigers. The Tigers went undefeated in the opening round, earning a bye to Sunday's final.
'We know we had a tough opponent on the other side, national championship semifinal,' shared Moncton goalie Dyllan Gill post-game. 'It's heartbreaking, and I think every guy in our room is going to have a little bit of regret and what if in their head, but ultimately super proud of the group.'
London became the first CHL team since the 2010 Windsor Spitfires to qualify for back-to-back Memorial Cup Finals. They lost the 2024 championship game to last year's tournaments hosts, the Saginaw Spirit.
'It means everything,' the Knights' Landon Sim said. 'We were playing for this all year to get back in that game.'
Round 1
Game 1 – March 28, Attack 1, Knights 6
Game 2 – March 30, Attack 3, Knights 6
Game 3 – April 1, Knights 7, Attack 4
Game 4 – April 3, Knights 8, Attack 4
Round 2
Game 1 - April 10, Knights 6, Otters 3
Game 2 - April 12, Knights 7, Otters 2
Game 3 - April 15, Knights 4, Erie 0
Game 4 - April 17, Knights 4, Erie 3
Western Conference Championship Series
Game 1 - April 25, Knights 5, Rangers 2
Game 2 - April 27, Knights 6, Rangers 2
Game 3 - April 28, Knights 3, Rangers 2
Game 4 - April 30, Knights 4, Rangers 2
OHL Finals
Game 1 - May 8, Generals 4, Knights 2
Game 2 - May 10, Knights 5, Generals 2
Game 3 - May 12, Knights 7, Generals 5
Game 4 - May 13, Knights 5, Generals 2
Game 5 - May 15, Knights 5, Generals 2
Memorial Cup
Game 1 - May 24, Moncton Wildcats 2, London Knights 3
Game 2 - May 25, Rimouski Oceanic 1, London Knights 3
Game 3 - May 27, London Knights 3, Medicine Hat Tigers 1
Game 4 - May 30, London Knights 5, Moncton Wildcats 2
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