Tigers down Knights 3-1, move on to Memorial Cup title game

If there were any doubts, the Medicine Hat Tigers proved they can win by gaining three yards in a cloud of dust.

On Tuesday night at the Coliseum Sun Life Financial in Rimouski, Quebec, the WHL championship Tigers downed the OHL champion London Knights 3-1 in the final round robin contest for both sides at the Memorial Cup tournament which crowns a CHL champion. The win allowed the Tigers to finish on top of the round robin standings with a 3-0 record and advance directly to Sunday’s tournament championship game (5 p.m. Alberta and Saskatchewan time, TSN).

The Knights posted a 2-1 mark to place second in the round robin portion of the event. They will play in a semifinal contest on Friday (5 p.m. Alberta and Saskatchewan time, TSN).

In the semifinal, London will take on the winner of Wednesday’s final round robin game between the QMJHL Moncton Wildcats and host Rimouski Oceanic (5 p.m. Alberta and Saskatchewan time, TSN). The Wildcats and Oceanic are both 0-2 in round robin play.

In the Tigers win over the Knights on Tuesday, the Medicine Hat side had to grind out victory. The Knights held a 36-29 edge in shots on goal. Both sides were changing things up on the ice to counter each others’ offensive attacks.

Tigers superstar left-winger Gavin McKenna wasn’t able to record a point.

Medicine Hat pulled out victory winning battles for the puck and blocking shots. The Tabbies were also powered by a spectacular 35-save performance by star 20-year-old netminder Harrison Meneghin in picking up the win.

The Knights got out to the fast start on Tuesday. Just seconds into the contest, Meneghin stoned Knights centre Jacob Julien on a two-on-one break into the Medicine Hat zone.

At the 3:34 mark of the opening frame, the Knight struck on the power play taking a 1-0 lead. Knights star defenceman Sam Dickinson floated a shot from the point that was deflected home by star right-winger Kasper Halttunen to give their side a one-goal edge.

Mathew Ward scored the winning goal for the Tigers.

London held a 9-2 edge in shots on goal at one point in the first period before heading into the first intermission holding a 10-7 lead in that department.

Just inside the first two minutes of the second, Knights star left-winger Blake Montgomery was sprung into the Medicine Hat zone on a breakaway only to be turned away by a blocker stop from Meneghin.

The Tigers broke through on the scoreboard netting a gritty goal thanks to a positive bounce at the 5:11 mark of the second. Star defenceman Tanner Molendyk fired a shot from the point that deflected off a Knights player to Tigers veteran right-winger Ethan Neutens at the left side of the London net. Neutens quickly put the puck into an open left side of the London cage to even the score at 1-1.

The Knights came with a push back after the Tigers pulled even on the scoreboard, but the London side was kept at bay by Meneghin.

Just seconds into the third, Meneghin stoned Knights captain Denver Barkley, who fired a shot on goal from the front of the Medicine Hat net on an offensive rush.

Following that chance, the Tigers were buzzing in the London zone at the 1:17 mark of the frame. Tigers 19-year-old defensive centre Misha Volotovskii poked the puck down to overage left-winger Mathew Ward at the right side of the London net.

Ward quickly looped around the front of the London net and popped home his first of the tournament to give the Tigers a 2-1 lead. That tally marked the first time the Knights trailed in the third period at any point in this year’s Memorial Cup tournament.

After going ahead on the scoreboard, the Tigers proceeded to focus on defensive structure. With 10:45 remaining in the frame, Knights star right-winger Easton Cowan put a shot off the post of the Medicine Hat net that Meneghin proceeded to gather up.

Harrison Meneghin made 35 saves in goal for the Tigers.

Late in the frame with the Knights on the power play, Cowan was stoned on a close in chance by Meneghin. After that power play expired, Tigers star captain Oasiz Wiesblatt came up with a big shot block on Dickinson with 71 seconds remaining in the frame to help prevent the Knights from pulling even on the scoreboard. At the time of that shot block, the Knights had star overage netminder Austin Elliott pulled for an extra attacker.

With 11.6 seconds remaining in the third, Wiesblatt sprung star right-winger Ryder Ritchie on a break down the right wing into the London zone. Ritchie fired the puck into an empty net to round out the 3-1 final score in favour of the Tigers.

Neutens had an assist to go with his goal finishing with a two-point night to go with a plus-two rating in the plus-minus department for the Tigers.

Elliott turned away 26-of-28 shots to take the setback in net for the Knights. In action combined in the CHL regular season and post-season, Elliott saw his record in net fall to 53-3.

The veteran puck stopper started the 2024-25 campaign in the WHL with the Saskatoon Blades winning all three of his starts with “the Bridge City Bunch.” Elliott was cut by the Blades and cleared WHL waivers.

Elliott was actually claimed on CHL waivers by the Barrie Colts, but the powerhouse Knights wanted to bring him to their squad. On October 16, 2024, the Knights dealt a 14^th round selection in the 2026 OHL Draft and a conditional fifth round pick in the 2027 OHL Draft for Elliott.

The puck stopper never played a game for the Colts. He has a 50-3 record playing for the Knights.

During his time in the WHL with the Blades, Elliott won all six of his career starts against the Tigers.

Oasiz Wiesblatt had a big shot block and an assist for the Tigers.

Medicine Hat finished second overall in the WHL’s regular season standings with a 47-17-3-1 mark and posted a 16-2 record in the WHL Playoffs capturing the Ed Chynoweth Cup as league champions. The Tigers were rated third in the final CHL Top 10 Rankings that came out on March 25.

The Tigers have won 47 out of their last 55 games including play in the WHL regular season, the WHL Playoffs and the Memorial Cup tournament.

The Knights topped the OHL standings with a 55-11-2 mark and were rated second in the final CHL Top 10 Rankings released on March 25. They advanced through the OHL Playoffs with a 16-1 record.

The Wildcats topped the QMJHL regular season standings with a 53-9-2 mark and were rated first in the final CHL Top 10 Rankings. In the QMJHL Playoffs, the Wildcats went 16-3 to capture the league title.

The Oceanic were second overall in the QMJHL’s regular season standings with a 46-14-2-2 mark. They posted a 14-9 record in the QMJHL Playoffs falling in six games in the league championship series to the Wildcats. Rimouski was rated fourth in the final CHL Top 10 Rankings.

Now, the Tigers have four days off where they will wait to see who they will play in the Memorial Cup title game. They were last in the championship game of the Memorial Cup tournament on May 27, 2007 falling 3-1 to the host Vancouver Giants. The Tigers went into that tournament as the WHL champions.

The Tigers have won the Memorial Cup twice with the victories coming in 1987 and 1988. In 1987, the Tigers downed the host and OHL champion Oshawa Generals 6-2 in the Memorial Cup title game on May 15 of that year. 

In 1988, the Tigers outgunned the OHL champion Windsor Spitfires 7-6 in the championship contest on May 14 of that year with the event being hosted in Chicoutimi, Quebec.

Medicine Hat is also trying to become the first WHL team to win the Memorial Cup since the Edmonton Oil Kings downed the OHL champion Guelph Storm 6-3 on May 25, 2014, when the tournament was held in London, Ont.

Ethan Neutens had one goal and one assist for the Tigers.

If the Tigers take the Memorial Cup title game on Sunday, they would make history on numerous fronts.

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