2024 Memorial Cup preview – Spirit vs. Voltigeurs – May 26
Hosts Saginaw will face Drummondville in the third game of the 2024 Memorial Cup presented by Dow tonight from the Dow Event Center
Puck drop from Saginaw, MI is set for 7:30pm ET / 4:30pm PT live on TSN, RDS, NHL Network and CHL TV.
Saginaw has already ensured themselves of a berth in the Friday’s semi-final after they were victorious 5-4 in Friday’s opener against Moose Jaw.
Zayne Parekh had a three-point (1G, 2A) showing in the victory while Owen Beck (MTL) had a goal and an assist.
“It’s always good as a team to walk into a game obviously with one win,” said Joey Willis (NSH) in this morning’s pre-game availability. “We played as a team. When all of us are playing as a five-man unit I think it’s hard to beat us and [Andrew] Oke played a great game.”
In his first action since April 13, Oke stopped 22 shots in the win.
“I love being out there and battling for my team,” Oke said post-game. “That’s my office every day. It felt really good being back.”
One thing that the Spirit have that others don’t is the support of the home crowd. Saginaw was dominant on home ice throughout the regular season and that translated into their tournament opener 48 hours ago.
“I’ve never seen Saginaw like this honestly as a hockey city,” Willis said. “It’s cool to put Saginaw on the map and to have all of the fans around us is amazing.”
As for Drummondville, a win isn’t a ‘must’ but already in Game 2 teams are having to get their calculators out as team’s jockey for position.
The Volts were shutout by 4-0 by London Saturday as Michael Simpson made 31 saves. They were arguably a tad unfortunate as Simpson stopped Alexis Gendron (PHI) on a second period breakaway and then denied Huchette with a spectacular save on a 2-on-1 rush later in the frame.
“When you look at our game yesterday, I don’t think we played a bad game,” said Ethan Gauthier (TB). “One or two bounces on our side could have changed the [outcome] of the game.
“Coming into tonight, we want to bring 100 per cent effort and it’s nice to have that quick turnaround.”
In hosts Saginaw, the Volts will have to also battle the home crowd but having experienced raucous crowds throughout the QMJHL Playoffs, most notably Baie-Comeau in the Gilles-Courteau Trophy Finals, it’s something they are certainly use to.
“We obviously know the crowd is going to be on their side tonight but it’s only noise,” Gauthier said. “It’s always fun playing in a rink with a good atmosphere.”
2024 Memorial Cup presented by Dow schedule:
May 24 – Game 1: Moose Jaw 4-5 Saginaw
May 25 – Game 2: London 4-0 Drummondville
May 26 – Game 3: Saginaw vs. Drummondville — 7:30pm ET
May 27 – Game 4: London vs. Moose Jaw — 7:30pm ET
May 28 – Game 5: Drummondville vs. Moose Jaw — 7:30pm ET
May 29 – Game 6: Saginaw vs. London — 7:30pm ET
May 30 – Tie-breaker (if necessary) — 7:30pm ET
May 31 – Semi-final — 7:30pm ET
June 2 – Final — 7:30pm ET
