What a finish! - Spirit take Memorial Cup with late winner

Josh Bloom enjoys the Memorial Cup. (Photo by Eric Young/CHL)

Josh Bloom delivered a Hollywood ending to the Saginaw Spirit and to his CHL career.

On Sunday night, the host Spirit found themselves locked in a 3-3 tie with the OHL champion London Knights in the championship game of the Memorial Cup tournament at the DOW Event Centre in Saginaw, Michigan. With less than 25 seconds remaining in the third period, Spirit defenceman Jorian Donovan fired a point shot on the London goal that resulted in a net scramble.

During the net scramble, Bloom, who is a 20-year-old left-winger playing in the final game of his major junior career, found a loose puck in the crease of the London net. He backhanded the puck underneath a fallen Knights defenceman into the net to put the Spirit up 4-3 with 21.7 seconds remaining in the third.

After Bloom’s goal went into the net, the tournament game high crowd of 5,373 spectators exploded into joyful delirium except for the healthy contingent of Knights supporters. The cheers hit another level as the Spirit killed of the remaining time in the frame to finalize a 4-3 final score in their favour.

The Spirit players poured on to the ice to celebrate winning the Memorial Cup and becoming CHL champions. The win marked the first championship for the Spirit franchise since it relocated to Saginaw before the start of the 2002-03 campaign.

The Spirit franchise can trace its history back to 1943. It existed in the Ontario centres of St. Catharines from 1943-76, Niagara Falls from 1976 to 1982 and North Bay from 1982 to 2002. The franchise previously won the Memorial Cup on two occasions in 1954 and 1960 as the St. Catherines Teepees.

Sunday’s win allowed the Spirit to get the last laugh on the Knights for the 2023-24 campaign. Throughout the regular season, the two clubs battled for first overall in the OHL.

The Knights topped the OHL standings with a 50-14-1-3 record and were ranked second in the final CHL Top 10 Rankings. The Spirit finished second overall in the OHL two points behind the Knights with a 50-16-1-1 record. Saginaw was rated third in the final CHL Top 10 Rankings.

During the regular season, the Spirit and Knights faced each other four times and each side came away with two wins. The two squads would meet in the OHL’s Western Conference Championship Series, and the Knights took the best-of-seven set 4-2.

Last Wednesday, the Spirit and Knights collided in the final round robin contest of the Memorial Cup tournament. The two sides were locked in a 2-2 tie until the Knights scored twice in the final two minutes of the third to claim a 4-2 victory.

Josh Bloom (#17) had three points on Sunday. (Photo by Eric Young/CHL)

That win gave the Knights a first place finish in the round robin standings and a berth into the event’s title game. The Spirit romped past the Moose Jaw Warriors 7-1 in the tournament’s semifinal game on Friday to set up the 12^th encounter of the 2023-24 campaign with the Knights this time in the Memorial Cup title game.

The Spirit finished the tournament posting a 4-1 record while the Knights wrapped up the event with a 3-1 mark. London saw an overall win streak of eight games going back to the OHL Playoffs and a seven game winning streak at the Memorial Cup tournament come to an end with Sunday’s loss to the Spirit.

For the longest time in Sunday’s clash, it appeared the Spirit were going to win without any need for last second dramatics. The host squad came out flying in the first period jumped out to a 2-0 lead, while holding a 13-1 edge in shots on goal.

Star centre Owen Beck scored both of the Knights goals in the opening 20 minutes, while Bloom picked up assists on both tallies. Beck roof home his first tally to the top right corner of the London net at the 9:07 mark of the opening frame. His shot came from inside the left faceoff circle in the London zone shortly after an offensive zone draw.

Beck scored his second goal on the power-play one-timing home a shot from the right faceoff dot in the London zone to the top right corner of the Knights net with 44.3 seconds remaining in the first to give the Spirit their two-goal edge.

While the Spirit were energized in the opening 20 minutes, the Knights looked flat and proceeded to look frustrated at the end of the stanza. Beck’s power-play goal inside the final minute of the first period came from Knights 19-year-old left-winger Landon Sim being given a major penalty for checking to the head and a game misconduct with 62 seconds remaining in the first.

Sim was assessed those infractions after he elbowed Spirit star offensive-defenceman Zayne Parekh on the chin. Parekh was helped to the dressing after being down on the ice after Sim’s hit. The Spirit blue-liner returned to play the rest of the contest after the first intermission.

The officials went to a video review to give Sim a major penalty.

At the start of the second, it looked the Knights were going to continue to sink in quicksand. At the 7:47 mark of the frame, Knights star left-winger Denver Barkey gave the puck away in the centre ice zone to Spirit standout centre Joey Willis.

Willis jetted into the London zone on a contested breakaway and put a backhand shot home to the top right corner of the London net to push the Spirit advantage out to 3-0. At the time of Willis’s goal, the Spirit held a 3-0 lead and a 20-1 edge in shots on goal.

Josh Bloom (#17) reacts to his winning goal. (Photo by Eric Young/CHL)

Out of nowhere, the Knights started to work themselves back into the contest. Just under two minutes after Willis’s goal, Knights star import right-winger Kasper Halttunen broke into the Spirit zone down the left wing on a two-on-one rush.

He wristed a shot into the top left corner of the Spirit net to cut the host’s lead to 3-1. Halttunen’s tally came on just the second shot on goal for the Knights.

When the second period came to a close, the Spirit were still up 3-1 and held a 24-6 edge in shots on goal.

The Knights continued to rally in the third. At the 7:48 mark of the frame, Knights star right-winger Easton Cowan slipped home from the top of the right faceoff circle a shot through a screen to trim the Spirit lead to 3-2.

With 9:44 remaining in the third, Knights star offensive-defenceman Sam Dickinson scored the equalizer that forced a 3-3 tie on a three-on-one rush. Dickinson received a pass on the left wing from Knights overage power forward Max McCue and drilled the game-tying goal into the Saginaw net. The Knights third goal came on their 10^th shot on net of the contest.

That set the stage for the dramatics with Bloom’s winner coming with 21.7 seconds remaining in the third.

Andrew Oke stopped 10 shots to pick up the win in goal for the Spirit. Michael Simpson turned away 27 shots to take the setback in net for the Knights.

The Knights have won the Memorial Cup twice in their history coming in 2005 and 2016.

Beck was named the MVP of the tournament claiming the Stafford Smythe Memorial Trophy. He recorded four goals, one assist and a plus-four rating in the plus-minus department in the five games the Spirit played at the tournament.

On top of the tournament MVP honour, Beck was named to the tournament all-star team along with Spirit offensive-defenceman Rodwin Dionicio.

The Spirit pictured with the Memorial Cup. (Photo by Eric Young/CHL)

Halttunen and Simpson were also named to the tournament all-star team, while Simpson was named the event’s most outstanding goaltender. Cowan finished up as the leading scorer for the tournament with eight points coming off three goals and five assists.

Moose Jaw Warriors captain and star offensive-defenceman Denton Mateychuk was named to the tournament all-star team along with Warriors star centre Brayden Yager. Mateychuk captured the award as the event’s most sportsmanlike player.

Overall, Sunday’s Memorial Cup championship game belonged to the Spirit. They capped their championship win with an unforgettable franchise moment courtesy of Bloom’s winner in the final seconds of the game.

Warriors’ Firkus, Mateychuk named CHL first team all-stars

Jagger Firkus was named a CHL first team all-star.

Jagger Firkus and Denton Mateychuk each got one more accolade on Sunday for an unforgettable 2023-24 campaign.

The two stars from the Moose Jaw Warriors were both CHL first team all-stars with Firkus taking a spot at forward and Mateychuk a spot on defence. Both played key roles in helping the Warriors win their first WHL championship in team history in 2023-24.

Firkus, who was named the CHL’s player of the year, topped the CHL in scoring with 126 points coming off 61 goals and 65 assists to go with a plus-31 rating in the plus-minus department in 63 regular season games. Mateychuk, who is the Warriors captain, collected 75 points coming off 17 goals and 58 assists to go with a plus-35 rating in 52 regular season games. He was named the MVP of the WHL Playoffs in the Warriors run to winning the league title.

The WHL had one other played named a CHL first team all-star as Zac Funk of the Prince George Cougars took up a spot at forward. The WHL had two players named CHL second team all-stars in defeceman Carter Yakemchuk of the Calgary Hitmen and forward Berkly Catton of the Spokane Chiefs.

Denton Mateychuk was named a CHL first team all-star.

The CHL third team all-stars from the WHL included goaltender Harrison Meneghin of the Lethbridge Hurricanes, defenceman Luca Cagnoni of the Portland Winterhawks and forward Gavin McKenna of the Medicine Hat Tigers.

McKenna was also named to the CHL all-rookie team along with two other WHL players in defenceman Tarin Smith of the Everett Silvertips and forward Terik Parascak of the Prince George Cougars.

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Wild opener for Warriors

Moose Jaw falls 5-4 to Spirit to start Memorial Cup

Brayden Yager had a pair of goals and an assist for the Warriors.

The Moose Jaw Warriors took a ride on the wild side.

On Friday playing before a crowd of 4,893 spectators at the DOW Event Centre in Saginaw Michigan, the WHL champion Warriors faced the host Spirit from the OHL in the opening game of the Memorial Cup tournament. Both squads were making their debut at the event that crowns a CHL champion.

It was a debut that anyone who saw the game would likely not forget for a long time. The contest was a sports marketer’s dream due to the twists and turns the clash took.

The Spirit came out flying and built a 4-0 lead at the 9:04 mark of the second period. For anyone that saw the Warriors play so far in the 2023-24 campaign, you knew the game was not over.

Heading into the final two minutes of the third, the Spirit were clinging to a 5-4 lead. The Warriors had an offensive zone faceoff inside the final 25 seconds of the third.

With about 17 seconds remaining in the third, Warriors star right-winger Jagger Firkus, who was the WHL’s leading scorer and most outstanding player for the current campaign, found himself in front of the Saginaw goal with the puck. He roofed a shot over top of the net, and the Spirit killed off the final seconds of the period from there to preserve their 5-4 victory.

While the Warriors lost, they also came away knowing that they belong in the tournament. After the players skated through some natural initial jitters, the composure the Warriors showed through the WHL Playoffs in claiming the Ed Chynoweth Cup as league champs came back. With a couple of breaks, they could very well have taken that opening contest.

The beauty of the Memorial Cup is you have teams that play in the CHL’s three major junior circuits in the WHL, OHL and QMJHL that don’t see each other to that point in the campaign. You can watch all the video you want of an opponent, but it takes seeing an opponent at game speed to get a better understanding of what that foe is about.

Jackson Unger made 31 saves for the Warriors on Friday.

The two clubs actually started the contest with a bit of a feeling out process. Warriors captain and star defenceman Denton Mateychuk had the first big scoring chance at the 5:02 mark of the first with a midrange shot from the front of the Saginaw net, which was swallowed up by Spirit netminder Andrew Oke.

The Spirit proceeded to find another gear at that point, and they would hold a 17-7 edge in shots on goal for the opening 20 minutes. Warriors star netminder Jackson Unger stood on his head to keep his squad in the contest.

The dam would burst with 32.9 seconds remaining in the opening frame. Spirit offensive-defenceman Zayne Parekh fired a shot from the point that was deflected home by right-winger Nic Sima to give the host side a 1-0 lead.

Momentum would continue to ride on the Spirit side in the first half of the second period. At the 2:13 mark of the frame, Spirit star centre Owen Beck was trying to make a backdoor pass from the left side boards across the face of the Moose Jaw goal.

The puck took a lucky bounce deflecting off Mateychuk’s stick into the Warriors net to push the host’s edge out to 2-0. Parekh picked up an assist on the play for his second helper of the game.

The Spirit would keep rolling and surge their lead out to 4-0 with goals coming from Parekh at the 7:28 mark of the second and rearguard Jorian Donovan at the 9:04 mark of the frame. At the time of Donovan’s goal, the Spirit held a 24-9 edge in shots on goal, and the DOW Event Center was rocking.

The Warriors were in need of a traction moment, and their big stars provided that in spades pinning the Spirit in their own zone for the final two minutes of the second. With 1:49 remaining in the second, Warriors star centre Matthew Savoie stole the from Spirit captain Braden Hache behind the Saginaw net.

Matthew Savoie had a goal and an assist for the Warriors.

Savoie put a pass out to the right side of the Saginaw goal to Warriors star right-winger Brayden Yager. Yager fired home a shot to cut the Spirit’s lead to 4-1.

Just 37 seconds later, Mateychuk drove home a shot from of the Saginaw goal to further trim the Spirit’s lead to 4-2. All of a sudden, the host side found themselves trying to be saved by the second period buzzer.

With 14 seconds remaining in the second, Yager had the puck in tight to the left side of the Saginaw goal. He worked a give and go with Mateychuk. On getting the return pass back from Mateychuk, Yager blasted home his second of the contest to shrink the Spirit’s lead to 4-3.

The Warriors found themselves back in the contest scoring three goals in the span of one minute and 35 seconds.

Thankfully for the Spirit, the final 14 seconds of the second elapsed, and they took their one-goal edge into the second intermission.

Just 1:52 into the third, the Spirit basically scored off a net scramble situation to push their advantage out to 5-3. During the scramble, Beck pushed a short pass across the face of the goal to 20-year-old left-winger Josh Bloom off to the right of the Moose Jaw net. Bloom quickly directed the puck into the net to give the Spirit their two-goal edge.

At the 8:04 mark of the third, Firkus fired home a shot from the front of the Saginaw net that appeared to trim the Spirit lead to one goal. During the Memorial Cup tournament, video reviews are automatically done on every goal to ensure the play was onside. The review showed Savoie was offside on the rush into the Saginaw zone causing Firkus’s goal to be disallowed.

Denton Mateychuk had a goal and two assists for the Warriors.

The Warriors wouldn’t go away. With about 3:05 remaining in the third, Unger was pulled for an extra attacker.

With 2:47 remaining in the third, Yager had the puck on the right wing and passed it to Savoie at the low left side of the Saginaw goal. Savoie one-timed a shot home that trimmed the Spirit’s lead to 5-4. Mateychuk picked up his second assist of the contest on Savoie’s goal.

The Warriors would again pull Unger for an extra attacker with 1:45 remaining in the third in an effort to press for the equalizer. Firkus just missed forcing overtime with his in close chance with about 17 seconds remaining in the stanza.

Unger turned away 31 shots to take the setback in net for the Warriors. Oke stopped 22 shots to pick up the win in goal for the Spirit.

While the Warriors didn’t win on Friday, they shouldn’t have any doubts in their ability to win any of their other outings at the Memorial Cup tourney. The biggest goal for the WHL champs is to get their first round robin win as soon as possible to ensure participation in the event’s playoff round.

Moose Jaw now has two days off before finishing the round robin portion of the tournament with games on back-to-back nights. On Monday, they face the OHL champion London Knights (5:30 p.m. Saskatchewan time, TSN) and on Tuesday, they take on the QMJHL champion Drummondville Voltigeurs (5:30 p.m. Saskatchewan time, TSN).

On Saturday, the Knights and Voltigeurs go at it (2 p.m. Saskatchewan time, TSN). The Voltigeurs face the Spirit on Sunday (5:30 p.m. Saskatchewan time, TSN).

In the OHL Playoffs, the Spirit fell in a tough six-game series in the Western Conference Championship Series to the Knights in a battle between the circuit’s two top teams. The two losses to the Spirit were the only setbacks the Knights suffered in the OHL Playoffs posting a 16-2 record to take the league title.

Jagger Firkus just missed scoring on a last second chance.

While the Knights have the greatest winning tradition among the four clubs at this year’s Memorial Cup, it isn’t out of the question that the Warriors can get a victory in that encounter. Right now, the opportunity is there for Moose Jaw to go for broke.

If you have any comments you would like to pass along about this post, feel free to email them to stankssports@gmail.com.

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