Game day preview: Remparts vs. Thunderbirds — May 29
The two unbeaten clubs at the 2023 Memorial Cup presented by Kia meet tonight in Kamloops at the Sandman Centre.
The Quebec Remparts, who beat the Blazers on opening night, will battle the Seattle Thunderbirds who were victorious over Peterborough Saturday afternoon.
“Getting a win early was huge to set the tournament off on the right note,” said T-Birds defenceman Kevin Korchinski (CHI).
Seattle doubled up Peterborough 6-3 Saturday on the back of a Kyle Crnkovic hat-trick while Nolan Allan (CHI), Lucas Ciona (CGY) and Jordan Gustafson (VGK) also found the back of the net.
The WHL champions, who are seeking the first Memorial Cup title in franchise history, have won 36 of their last 42 games dating back to Feb. 4 entering tonight.
No excuse needed to re-watch Kyle Crnkovic's #MemorialCup hat-trick 🎩🎩🎩 pic.twitter.com/S2O9AzX0oS
— Canadian Hockey League (@CHLHockey) May 28, 2023
“It’s a really special tournament,” Korchinski said. “You don’t get many cracks at this tournament so you want to cherish it and put your best foot forward.”
Korchinski, who had a career high 73 points in the regular season and won gold with Canada at the 2023 World Juniors, is one of 10 NHL prospects on Seattle’s roster.
Allan, Dylan Guenther (ARI), Korchinski and Thomas Milic will meet a familiar face tonight on the ice; fellow World Juniors gold-medallist Nathan Gaucher (ANA).
“They’re fast, quick and opportunistic,” Korchinski said of Quebec. “They can score. We’ve got to play our game, stick to what makes us good … but they’re a really good team.”
The Remparts, who claimed their first QMJHL title earlier this month as this iteration of the club, will look to build off of a dominant opening night performance. They will have added motivation too; a win tonight will clinch their spot in the tournament final on June 4.
James Malatesta (CBJ) had a hat-trick while Kassim Gaudet tallied a pair of goals in the victory over the tournament hosts. Justin Robidas (CAR) chipped in with three assists.
An opening night hat-trick for #CBJ prospect James Malatesta 🤩 #MemorialCup
L'attaquant des @quebec_remparts marque à trois reprises contre Kamloops! pic.twitter.com/3yElOx8rIi
— Canadian Hockey League (@CHLHockey) May 27, 2023
“We did a lot of the little details right,” Malatesta said post-game.
Quebec, who swept the first three rounds of the QMJHL playoffs before a Game 6 win over Halifax in the Gilles Courteau Trophy Finals, have won 24 of their last 26 games dating back to March 7 as they chase a third Memorial Cup title and first since 2006.
Tonight they meet a Seattle club in a highly-anticipated contest that pits two teams head-to-head who spent a combined eight weeks atop the Kia CHL Top 10 rankings this past season.
“They are a team that is well coached, forecheck well and [apply] a lot of pressure,” Remparts head coach Patrick Roy said. “They scored a couple of goals on the rush and the forecheck so we’re going to have to be very good on our breakouts and play a 200-foot game.”
Puck drop tonight is at 9pm ET / 6pm PT and can be seen live on TSN 1/3 and RDS.