LONDON TO FACE ROUYN-NORANDA IN MEMORIAL CUP FINAL
RED DEER, Alta. – The Rouyn-Noranda Huskies have earned their place in the 2016 Memorial Cup final.
Francis Perron had a goal and an assist as Rouyn-Noranda downed the host Red Deer Rebels 3-1 on Friday in the tournament semifinal.
The Huskies will be playing for their first-ever Memorial Cup and face the OHL champion London Knights, who went undefeated in the round robin en route to a direct berth in the championship game.
Martins Dzierkals and Nikolas Brouillard also scored for the Huskies while Timo Meier chipped in with two assists.
Luke Philp scored for the Rebels.
Chase Marchand made 36 saves for the win as Rylan Toth stopped 24-of-27 shots in a losing cause.
(The Canadian Press)
The performance of both the Wheat Kings and Rebels is a bit concerning. It's been a while since a WHL didn't get to the finals and are usually extremely competitive. To a WHL there was no joy in seeing the WHL teams gets kicked for the most part. The closest game was between the two also-rans. Both London and Rouyn-Noranda seemed to be bigger and faster than what the WHL showcased. The fact they lost isn't as disappointing as the fact they weren't very competitive by en large. London is expected to be even better next year so that is… Read more »
Excuse me the Kelowna Rockets lost in the Memorial Cup final in OT last year. They were the better team but lost.
Kelowna at least got there, and they were a league champion and the only WHL team at the tournament. There was no WHL host. They got into the finals but hadn't played well most of the tornament. They weren't the best team or they would have won the it. That's stupid talk. Coulda, woulda, and shoulda don't count.It was a poor showing by the WHL, plain and simple.
Would anybody suggest either Brandon or Red Deer are better teams than the two playing for the championship? The (two) WHL reps are sitting this one out rightfully.