The London Knights beat Moncton 5-2 to get back to the Memorial Cup final for the second straight year
The London Knights became just the sixth team in 40 years to get to back-to-back Memorial Cup championship games as they knocked off the Moncton Wildcats 5-2 on Friday, May 30 in the tournament’s semi-final.
Sam Dickinson slid a beautiful backhand pass to Blake Montgomery for a goal at 3:35 of the third period to break a 2-2 tie and put the Knights ahead to stay.
London got off to a great start with an early goal by Landon Sim who got to an Oliver Bonk shot that went wide and then wrapped it into the Wildcats net at 4:07 of the first period.
The Knights also outshot Moncton 18-5 in the opening period but a Caleb Desnoyers power play goal knotted the score at the 18:20 mark and the teams entered the second period tied.
Easton Cowan found Denver Barkey for Cowan’s team-leading fifth point of the Memorial Cup tournament and a 2-1 London lead at 5:24 of the second. The goal was Barkey’s since Game 2 of the second round of the OHL playoffs. Barkey missed seven straight games in the post-season due to a lower body injury.
The Wildcats came back again on a power play goal by defenceman Dyllan Gill just 2:16 after the Knights had gone ahead and the teams went into the final 20 minutes in a 2-2 tie which was exactly the same spot that they were in going back to their first meeting of the tournament.
That game went to overtime.
This game didn’t need it.
After Montgomery’s early third period goal Jacob Julien won a faceoff forward, got to the puck and fed Jesse Nurmi for some insurance at 13:11.
London’s penalty kill had to go to work not once but twice but the Knights held Moncton to hardly a single chance and then Barkey got a puck to Cowan and he walked down the middle of the Wildcats zone and deposited the puck into an empty net to end the scoring.
Cowan and Barkey each had a goal and an assist. Julien had a pair of assists.
Oliver Bonk had an assist and was a plus-4.
The Knights outshot Moncton 37-23.
London was 0-for-1 on the power play.
The Wildcats were 2-for-5.
Five London Knights players and Head Coach Dale Hunter all received All-Star nods from the Ontario Hockey League on Semi-final day at the 2025 Memorial Cup.
Sam Dickinson of the was named to the OHL’s 1st All-Star team.
Denver Barkey, Easton Cowan, Oliver Bonk and Head Coach Dale Hunter were named to the 2nd All-Star team while Austin Elliott was named to the 3rd All-Star team.
Elliott’s partner in the Knights crease, Aleksei Medvedev was named to OHL’s 1st All-Rookie team.
Up nextThe championship game at the 2025 Memorial Cup tournament between London and the Medicine Hat Tigers will take place on Sunday, June 1 at 7 p.m.
Coverage will begin at 6:30 p.m., on 980 CFPL, at 980cfpl.ca and on the iHeart Radio and Radioplayer Canada apps.
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