Quebec Remparts' Charle Truchon (47) checks Seattle Thunderbirds' Jared Davidson (29) as Quebec goalie William Rousseau, back right, watches during second period Memorial Cup final hockey action, in Kamloops, B.C., on Sunday, June 4, 2023. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck
KAMLOOPS, B.C. – William Rousseau had the tournament’s first shutout with 32 saves and the Quebec Remparts defeated the Seattle Thunderbirds 5-0 on Sunday to claim the Memorial Cup title.
Tournament MVP James Malatesta, Vsevolod Komarov, Kassim Gaudet, Zachary Bolduc and Charles Savoie scored for Quebec, which won its third title in franchise history and first since 2006.
Thomas Milic stopped 30 shots for Seattle.
The Quebec Major Junior Hockey League champion Remparts booked their ticket into the final after opening the tournament with two consecutive wins over the host Kamloops Blazers and Seattle.
Quebec last played on Tuesday, a meaningless 4-2 loss to the Peterborough Petes in its final round-robin game.
Meanwhile, the Western Hockey League champion Thunderbirds entered the final having defeated the Ontario Hockey League champion Petes 4-1 in Friday’s semifinal. The win gave Seattle its first-ever berth in the national final.
Komarov opened the scoring 6:31 into the first period. Gaudet drove into Seattle’s zone on a 2-on-1 break and sent a cross-ice pass to Komarov, who beat Milic over his left shoulder.
Five minutes into the second period, the Thunderbirds had some solid chances to tie it. Lucas Ciona found Kyle Crnkovic alone at the left faceoff circle but his turnaround shot just went over the net. Seconds later, Ciona was stopped in front by Rousseau.
Malatesta doubled Quebec’s lead 8:50 into the second. Less than a minute after getting stopped on a breakaway chance, Malatesta was the beneficiary of a three-man break with Theo Rochette and Komarov. His fifth goal tied him for first in the tournament with Crnkovic.
With under a minute left in the frame, Seattle made a stronger push to trim the deficit. With a scramble in front, Jordan Gustafson tried to put it past Rousseau but was stopped.
Dylan Guenther was turned aside shortly after and six seconds later, Luke Prokop’s point shot faced the same fate.
After getting outshot 7-0 in the first six-plus minutes of the third period by the Remparts, Jeremy Hanzel was just wide on a tap-in attempt on a pass from Crnkovic as the Thunderbirds continued to search for their first goal.
Justin Robidas almost made it a 3-0 game for Quebec near the midway mark of the frame. His attempt to bat the puck in mid-air hit the crossbar, slid across the goal line and out.
But it was Gaudet who instead stretched the Remparts’ lead with a short-handed goal 12:21 into the third. Robidas took possession of the puck in Quebec’s zone and with a 2-on-1 break, sent a cross-ice pass to Gaudet who finished the play.
Bolduc made it 4-0 with 4:04 remaining in the contest on a one-timer from a Jeremy Langlois pass.
Savoie further padded the lead when he took a drop pass from Rochette and wired it past Milic with 2:05 left.
NOTES
When the Remparts last won the Memorial Cup, head coach Patrick Roy became the seventh coach to win the event in his rookie year behind the bench. Roy was also the first to do so since Claude Julien accomplished the feat with the Hull Olympiques in 1997.
Roy had coached Quebec from 2006-2013 before taking a job with the NHL’s Colorado Avalanche for three seasons. He returned to the Remparts in 2018 and has been at the helm since.
Malatesta received the Stafford Smythe Memorial Trophy for his outstanding play during the 10-day, four-team tournament. He had a goal, six shots on goal, a penalty and was a plus-one on Sunday. He finished the event with five goals in four games.
It is the Thunderbirds’ first appearance at the tournament since 2017 and first with head coach Matt O’Dette. The Toronto native took the job following the 2016-17 season when the team won its first WHL title and made its second appearance at the Memorial Cup.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 4, 2023.
