London Knights reach the 2024 Memorial Cup final

London Knights (Wikimedia Commons)

The London Knights have qualified for the 2024 Memorial Cup final. On Wednesday, the Knights defeated the Saginaw Spirit 4-2 in an all-Ontario Hockey League matchup at the DOW Event Center in Saginaw, Michigan.

The Knights were led by right winger Easton Cowan of Mount Brydges, Ontario. Cowan, who was a first round pick, 28th overall by the Toronto Maple Leafs in the 2023 National Hockey League Draft, had two goals and one assist for three points.

Three other Knights players had a multi-point game. They were centre Sam O’Reilly of Toronto, Ontario, who had two assists for two points, right winger Kasper Halttunen, who had one goal and one assist for two points, and left winger Denver Barkey of Newmarket, Ontario, who had one goal and one assist for two points.

In Wednesday’s contest, the Knights and Spirit were tied at two late in the game. That is when Cowan scored the game-winner from Oliver Bonk of Ottawa, Ontario and O’Reilly with one minute and 25 seconds left in regulation.

London went through the round robin undefeated. In addition to beating Saginaw, London beat the Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League champion Drummondville Voltigeurs 4-0 on Saturday, and the Western Hockey League champion Moose Jaw Warriors 5-4 on Monday.

Even though the Spirit lost on Wednesday, they have not yet been eliminated. They will be playing the Warriors on Friday in semifinal action. In the round robin, the Spirit beat the Warriors 5-4 to open the tournament this past Friday.

 

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