Game day preview: Remparts vs. Thunderbirds — June 4
It all comes down to this.
The Quebec Remparts or Seattle Thunderbirds will be crowned 2023 Memorial Cup presented by Kia champions later today in Kamloops.
Quebec enters tonight’s contest having not played since Tuesday. The QMJHL champions had punched their ticket to today’s final after they opened the tournament with back-to-back wins over Kamloops and Seattle with a 4-2 loss to Peterborough on May 30 meaningless in the grand scheme of things.
However, long days between games is nothing new for the Remparts this postseason having swept the first three rounds of the QMJHL playoffs. On three different occasions, Quebec had nine days off between games proving that rest can be the ultimate weapon.
James Malatesta (CBJ), who had a hat-trick in the opening game of the tournament in an 8-3 win over Kamloops, has four goals in the tournament while captain Theo Rochette has scored three times, two of which came in the victory over Seattle.
Malatesta completes the hat-trick! 🚨🚨🚨 #MemorialCup
What a night for the #CBJ prospect! 🤩
Tour du chapeau pour Malatesta! pic.twitter.com/3TmlYiPjzA
— Canadian Hockey League (@CHLHockey) May 27, 2023
Between the pipes, William Rousseau has posted a .916 save percentage and a 2.93 GAA in three games.
“It’s two very good teams,” Remparts head coach Patrick Roy said Saturday. “The details will be very important and we’re going to have to make sure we take care of the puck, play well defensively and have good line changes. I expect a hard-fought game.”
For Seattle, they booked their spot in the final after a 4-1 win over Peterborough in Friday’s semi.
The T-Birds, who claimed their second WHL title in franchise history last month, began the tournament with a 6-3 win over the Petes on the back of a Kyle Crnkovic hat-trick. After a 3-1 loss to the Remparts, Seattle confirmed its spot in the semi-final after a 6-1 victory over Kamloops that saw six different skaters find the back of the net.
What a pass from Kyle Crnkovic to find #Blackhawks prospect Colton Dach! 👀 #MemorialCup pic.twitter.com/zI8jwsOp2A
— Canadian Hockey League (@CHLHockey) June 3, 2023
Crnkovic’s five goals lead the tournament while his eight points rank second. His +7 rating is tied with Quebec’s Nicolas Savoie for the tournament lead. Jared Davidson’s (MTL) five assists trail only Kamloops’ Logan Stankoven (DAL) while Thomas Milic leads all goaltenders with a .934 save percentage and 1.76 GAA.
The QMJHL is chasing history tonight as they seek a fourth straight Memorial Cup title after the last three tournaments were won by Acadie-Bathurst (2018), Rouyn-Noranda (2019) and Saint John (2022). A win tonight for the WHL would mark their first Memorial Cup title since Edmonton in 2014.
Puck drop is 7pm ET / 4pm PT live on TSN 1/3/4/5, RDS, NHL Network and CHL TV.
