Knights score four unanswered goals to beat Tigers in Memorial Cup final

By James Tubb on June 1, 2025.

JAMES TUBB
jtubb@medicinehatnews.com

RIMOUSKI, QUE.

The London Knights weren’t going to be beat in their pursuit for redemption at the Memorial Cup.

The Knights scored three times in the second period Sunday, beating the Medicine Hat Tigers 4-1 to win the 105th Memorial Cup, hosted in Rimouski. Sunday’s win is the Knight’s third Memorial Cup championship, coming in their second straight trip to the finals. They lost in the dying seconds of the 2024 final to the host Saginaw Spirit.

The WHL champion Tigers went a perfect 3-0 through the round robin, beating the London Knights 3-1 on Tuesday to clinch their spot in Sunday’s final. London beat the Moncton Wildcats 5-2 on Friday in the semi-final to earn that second consecutive finals opportunity.

The Tigers started the game off Sunday with sustained pressure in the London end, leading the game in shots 8-2 at one early point. The Knights’ counter attacked and just over the halfway point of the opening period, struck.

Jacob Julien snuck in behind the Tigers’ defence and propelled by a pass up ice from Henry Brzustewicz, skated in on Harrison Meneghin and scored with a backhand move. Sam Dickinson had the second assist on Julien’s second of the tournament as the Knights led 1-0 at 11:21.

Medicine Hat garnered chances late in the period, Ethan Neutens rang a puck off the crossbar in the last five minutes as the Tigers skated off for intermission trailing 1-0 and with London holding a slim 12-11 lead in shots.

The Tigers again opened the period with pressure but couldn’t capitalize as London rattled off a pair of goals in five minutes to lead 3-0.

Sam O’Reilly had the puck below the goal line in the Tigers end and he fed Easton Cowan for a tap-in goal at the net front. Dickinson had the second assist on Cowan’s third goal of the tournament, putting London ahead 2-0 at 3:13.

Just 1:40 later, the Knights struck as Denver Barkey scored with a backhand move on a breakaway flor his first of the night.

The Tigers avoided a 4-0 lead for a brief period of time with Cowan’s second goal of the night called back due to goaltending interference at 10:01. O’Reilly bumped into Meneghin before sliding behind the net to feed the Toronto Maple Leafs prospect.

London made good on the 4-0 lead 2:07 later as Barkey wired a shot on a power play going bar down with a shot from the top of the circles for his third of the tournament and the 4-0 lead with 7:52 left in the frame.

The Tigers had a power play less than a minute later, seeing multiple chances directed towards the net, including a flurry around the crease of a sprawling Austin Elliott, but couldn’t tickle twine as they trailed by four after 4o minutes. Medicine Hat led the game in shots 28-21 after two periods.

Medicine Hat got on the board early in the third period.

Tanner Molendyk had the puck below the London net, sending it to Veeti Väisänen at the point. He swung it across to Gavin McKenna who stepped around a defender into the slot before wiring a shot past Elliott to make it a 4-1 London lead 2:43 into the third frame. His third of the tournament snapped Elliott’s shutout bid having stopped the first 28 shots he faced.

The Tigers made it a 4-2 defect with McKenna’s second goal of the third period and game. The 17-year-old hammered home a rebound that beat Elliott to make it just a two-goal deficit with 5:21 left in the period. The goal was called back due to a missed high stick earlier in the play, adding nine seconds back onto the clock.

Elliott made 31 saves, across the ice from him Meneghin stopped 20 shots. Medicine Hat outshot London 32-24.

Sunday’s game was the final junior hockey game for the Tigers’ overagers, Meneghin, captain Oasiz Wiesblatt and Mat Ward.

The Tigers last Memorial Cup win came in 1988, Sunday’s appearance was their first since losing in the final of the 2007 tournament against the host Vancouver Giants. Medicine Hat beat the Giants in Game 7 of WHL championship. A WHL has not won the Memorial Cup since the Edmonton Oil Kings captured the title in 2014.

They clinched their spot in the 2025 tournament after beating the Spokane Chiefs 4-1 in the WHL Championship series, capturing their sixth franchise Ed Chynoweth Cup.

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