MEMORIAL CUP: VAL D’OR 1 LONDON 0

LONDON, Ont. (CP) – Antoine Bibeau bought the Val-d’Or Foreurs valuable time at the Memorial Cup with his 51-save shutout Friday.

Val-d’Or didn’t have a full tank mentally or physically in a 1-0 win over the host London Knights to kick off the tournament.

They’d won the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League title in a Game 7 on Tuesday in Baie-Comeau, Que.

But Bibeau’s heroics allow the Foreurs to rest on that important first win of the tournament for two days before facing the Ontario Hockey League’s Guelph Storm on Monday.

“It really was Bibeau who made the difference tonight,” Foreurs forward Anthony Mantha said. “Winning this game gives us a little break, gives us two days off and we come back strong on Monday.  It’s just a confidence-builder for our team in general.”

Mantha, a first-round draft pick of the Detroit Red Wings, scored in the first period for his 82nd goal in as many games for the Foreurs this season.

Among Bibeau’s pivotal saves was getting his blocker on a penalty-shot attempt by London forward Bo Horvat early in the third period and stopping Knights captain Chris Tierney on a breakaway in the first.

The Memorial Cup has been awarded to Canadian junior hockey champions since 1919 in memory of those who died in the First World War. The tournament includes the Ontario, Western and Quebec champions as well as the host team.

The Western Hockey League champion Edmonton Oil Kings face the OHL’s Storm on Saturday.

The team with the best record after the preliminary round earns a bye to the final May 25. The second- and third-place teams meet in the semifinal May 23.

The Knights face the Oil Kings in their next game Sunday. This is London’s third straight trip to the Memorial Cup after winning the OHL championship the previous two years.

The Knights lost to Shawinigan in overtime in the 2012 final and were eliminated in last year’s semifinal by the Portland Winterhawks in Saskatoon.