Remparts earn berth in Championship Final with second victory at 2023 Memorial Cup
The final of the 2023 Memorial Cup Presented by Kia is still a few days away, but the Quebec Remparts already know they’ll be on the ice for it. Propelled by two goals from captain Théo Rochette and a 35-save performance from WIlliam Rousseau, the Remparts punched their ticket to the championship game with a 3-1 victory over the WHL Champion Seattle Thunderbirds on Tuesday evening in Kamloops.
Charle Truchon’s empty netter rounded out the scoring while Zachary Bolduc notched a pair of assists for the Remparts, who previously reached, and won, the championship game back in 2006. Nolan Allan replied with the only goal for the Thunderbirds (1-1-0), while Thomas Milic stopped 19 shots for Seattle.
Quebec would come out strong, particularly in the first half of the frame, to take a 1-0 lead into the dressing room after 20 minutes. The Remparts went to work right away, with Rochette, following up on an initial drive by Zachary Bolduc, depositing a rebound past Milic just 54 seconds into the contest. Seattle held an 11-8 shots edge in the opening period.
Despite settling for a scoreless period in which in which it was outshot 15-9, Quebec was efficient in curtailing the number of quality scoring chances and Rousseau was reliable when called upon in the middle frame.
It was the Remparts captain who would score the game’s next goal when he extended his club’s lead at 16:55 of the third. Following a turnover at the Seattle blueline, Rochette, later named the Player of the Game, would bury a centering feed from Mikael Huchette on a two-on-none break for his third of the tournament.
Allan cut the Thunderbirds’ deficit in half when he converted on a puck that caromed hard off the back boards to spoil Rousseau’s shutout bid at 17:38. Truchon would then seal the deal for Quebec with 18 seconds remaining in the game, firing a shot down the ice from his own goal line. Seattle outshot Quebec 10-5 in the final frame.
The Remparts complete their round robin portion of the tournament on Tuesday night when they take on the OHL Champion Peterborough Petes at 9pm ET/10pm AT. The Petes (0-2-0) require a win to keep their tournament hopes alive.
A Remparts win on Sunday would deliver the Memorial Cup to the QMJHL for the fourth straight time, a feat that has never occurred before.
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