London Knights get rid of Moncton Wildcats to return to Memorial Cup ultimate

RIMOUSKI – The London Knights are going again to the Memorial Cup ultimate they usually’re decided to redeem final yr’s devastating defeat.

Blake Montgomery scored the winner 3:35 into the third interval to elevate the Knights previous the Moncton Wildcats 5-2 within the match’s semifinal Friday. London will tackle the Drugs Hat Tigers in Sunday’s battle for the highest prize in Canadian main junior hockey.

It is also an opportunity for gamers from final season’s Knights workforce to redeem themselves after a 4-3 loss to the Saginaw Spirit within the 2024 ultimate.

“We were playing for this all year to get back in that game,” mentioned ahead Landon Sim. “It was the worst day of all of our lives final yr, shedding that ultimate sport.

“To finally get back — super, super happy.”

Denver Barkey — with an help — Sim and Jesse Nurmi additionally scored, whereas Austin Elliott made 21 saves for the Knights. 

Easton Cowan had an empty-net aim and added an help, and Jacob Julien offered two helpers.

“I assumed that was our greatest sport of the match to date,” Cowan mentioned. “Had a very good first, type of laid again within the second. Then our third was positively the very best interval of the match.

“We had everyone scoring today, lots of depth and a huge win for us.”

It’s a fifth Memorial Cup ultimate look for London, the Ontario Hockey League champions. Solely the Peterborough Petes and Kitchener Rangers have extra with six apiece.

The Knights fell wanting clinching a spot on this yr’s championship sport earlier within the match with a 3-1 loss to the Tigers of their round-robin finale.

London has misplaced consecutive video games solely as soon as in its previous 120 video games — together with playoffs and Memorial Cups — relationship again to March 1, 2024.

“It comes out of the consistency that we play with,” Dickinson mentioned. “Losing one game, it’s going to happen. But something we say a lot is good teams don’t lose two in a row. We live by that.”

Caleb Desnoyers, a projected top-10 decide on this June’s draft, had a aim and an help whereas Dyllan Gill additionally scored for Moncton. Mathis Rousseau stopped 32 photographs.

The Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League champions, who additionally fell 3-2 in extra time to London of their match opener, beat the host Rimouski Oceanic 6-2 within the final-round robin sport Wednesday to achieve the semifinal.

The Knights — a powerhouse workforce that boasts 12 NHL draft picks, together with 4 first-rounders — have been an excessive amount of to deal with.

“We all know we had a tricky opponent on the opposite aspect, nationwide championship semifinal,” Gill mentioned. “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.”

Montgomery gave London a 3-2 lead early within the third when Sam Dickinson beat Moncton’s Etienne Morin vast and arrange the Ottawa Senators prospect, who’d snuck in behind Gill to attain his first of the match.

“Superb play. He is one hell of a participant,” Montgomery mentioned of Dickinson. “As soon as I noticed him happening the wall, I knew all I do was get to the online, he would discover me, and certain sufficient, he did.

“Right in the wheelhouse.”

Nurmi transformed a centring feed from Julien to double the lead with 6:49 remaining.

The Wildcats jumped on an influence play with 4:36 left — and finally pulled the goalie for an additional attacker — however couldn’t minimize into the lead earlier than Cowan made it 5-2 with 1:49 remaining.

Whereas a number of gamers from final yr’s workforce returned this season, Sim mentioned Montgomery and Nurmi are new additions who’ve matched the group’s starvation for a Memorial Cup title.

“We acquired a gaggle that is been right here for some time,” Sim mentioned. “The last dance for a lot of us.”

“Those guys that are new come in and see that, how bad we want it, and I think there’s no other option but to want it as badly as we do.”

The Knights swarmed the Wildcats within the first interval and dominated the shot depend 18-5 after 20 minutes, however London struggled to carry the lead — and keep out of the penalty field.

Sim opened the scoring with a wraparound 4:07 into the sport.

Desnoyers later equalized on the man-advantage, ripping a wrist shot from the left circle via Elliott at 18:20.

The Knights went forward once more 5:24 into the second interval when Barkey hammered a slick feed from Cowan right into a gaping internet.

Nurmi, nevertheless, took a slashing penalty 22 seconds later, resulting in Gill’s third aim of the match.

Moncton virtually took its first lead late within the interval when Gill’s level shot deflected twice earlier than bouncing off the put up.

“You need a little lady luck,” Wildcats head coach Gardiner MacDougall mentioned. “There’s a few photographs from the purpose that, an inch this manner and now we have a lead. Our aim for this sport was to get the lead. We performed this workforce twice. We by no means had the lead.

“We showed some resilience. We’ve come back four different times on them, and that’s not easy to do.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first printed Could 30, 2025.