The field is set for the 2018 Mastercard Memorial Cup in Regina, Saskatchewan, which starts Friday from Regina’s Brandt Centre. On Sunday, the Western Hockey League, Ontario Hockey League and Quebec Major Junior Hockey League all determined their individual league champions and will join the host Regina Pats in the 100th Canadian junior ice hockey club championship.
In the WHL Final, the Swift Current Broncos beat the Everett Silvertips four games to two with a 3-0 win at the Credit Union i-plex in Swift Current, Saskatchewan. Stuart Skinner of Edmonton, Alberta, a draft pick of the Edmonton Oilers, made 31 saves for the shutout. Skinner went head-to-head against Silvertips goalie Carter of Hart of Edmonton, Alberta, the 2018 Western Hockey League player of the year, and beat him in a six game series.
In the OHL Final, the Hamilton Bulldogs beat the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds four games to two with a 5-4 win at the FirstOntario Centre in Hamilton, Ontario. MacKenzie Entwistle of Georgetown, Ontario and Robert Thomas of Aurora, Ontario each had one goal and one assist in Sunday’s deciding game. It has been quite the year for Thomas because he was a member of Team Canada’s gold medal winning team at the 2018 International Ice Hockey Federation World Hockey Championship in Buffalo.
In the QMJHL Final, the Acadie-Bathurst Titan beat the Blainville-Boisbriand Armada four games to two with a 2-1 win at the K.C. Irving Regional Centre in Bathurst, New Brunswick. Samuel L’Italien of Rimouski, Quebec scored the game winning goal for the Titan at 17:01 of the second period which put the Titan up 2-1. This is the second straight year that the QMJHL is being represented by a team from New Brunswick in the Memorial Cup. Last year the Saint John Sea Dogs represented the QMJHL in Windsor, Ontario.
