Game day preview: Thunderbirds vs. Petes — June 2
The OHL and WHL champions will meet tonight in the semi-final of the 2023 Memorial Cup presented by Kia semi-final with a spot in Sunday’s final up for grabs.
The Seattle Thunderbirds haven’t played since Wednesday when they beat Kamloops to advance to the semis. The Petes took out the Blazers Thursday night in the tiebreaker game.
“It’s an exciting day,” Dylan Guenther said (ARI). “It’s a day a lot of us wanted to be playing in. It’s going to be a lot of fun.”
The two clubs previously met May 26 where a Kyle Crnkovic hat-trick led Seattle to a 6-3 victory in a game in which the T-Birds scored four times in the third.
No excuse needed to re-watch Kyle Crnkovic's #MemorialCup hat-trick 🎩🎩🎩 pic.twitter.com/S2O9AzX0oS
— Canadian Hockey League (@CHLHockey) May 28, 2023
“They came out pretty hot and we let one in early,” Guenther said of their previous matchup. “We don’t want to be chasing the game [tonight].”
Seattle would drop its next game to Quebec, a victory that ensured the Remparts’ spot in the final, before the Thunderbirds beat Kamloops 6-1 48 hours ago behind three-point showings from Crnkovic and Jared Davidson (MTL).
“We’re excited for the challenge tonight,” Crnkovic said. “There’s no quit in that group. There’s a reason they’re here. They battle and don’t give up until the end. It’s going to be a big challenge for us.”
Crnkovic’s four goals are tied for the tournament lead while he sits second in scoring with six points.
In a postseason run in which they’ve consistently had their backs against the wall, the Petes pulled off another heist Thursday as they erased a 4-1 deficit against Kamloops to win 5-4 in overtime behind J. R. Avon’s (PHI) game-winner.
“That was an unreal feeling,” Avon said post-game. “I don’t think anything is going to top that for a while.”
J.R. AVON OVERTIME WINNER‼️#MemorialCup | #FueledbyPhilly pic.twitter.com/XDUogN8MS0
— Canadian Hockey League (@CHLHockey) June 2, 2023
The Petes started the tournament 0-2-0 after losses to Seattle and Kamloops but kept their season alive with a 4-2 win over Quebec Tuesday before Thursday’s dramatic come from behind win last night.
“It’s character,” Brennan Othmann said. “We have the oldest team in the OHL … we believe. We have guys that have played in the Memorial Cup. [Owen] Beck and I were fortunate enough to play at the World Juniors. We have guys that have won, have that winning pedigree.
“We’re a good team. We’re brothers. We stuck together the whole way and that’s why we won.”
Avon and Othmann each had four points in the tournament while goaltender Michael Simpson, who won the Wayne Gretzky 99 Award as OHL Playoffs MVP, has made the most saves at the tournament with 118.
Puck drop tonight is at 10pm ET / 7pm PT and can be seen live on TSN 1/4, RDS2 and NHL Network.