It’s only day four of the 10-day tournament, but one of the two spots in Sunday’s Memorial Cup final has already been claimed.
The Quebec Remparts earned that final berth tonight after beating the Seattle Thunderbirds 3-1 in both teams’ second game of the round robin.
The @quebec_remparts secure a spot in the 2023 #MemorialCup final!
Les Remparts passent en finale de la #CoupeMemorial! pic.twitter.com/kSHcRNNUFd— Canadian Hockey League (@CHLHockey) May 30, 2023
Captain Théo Rochette scored twice for the Remparts and that earned him Player of the Game honours.
Quebec goaltender William Rosseau could have easily earned that title as well, as the 20-year-old made 35 saves to steal the game despite his team being outshot 36-22.
Rousseau was pitching a shutout until Nolan Allan got Seattle on the board and made it a one-goal game with 2:22 to go in regulation.
But he stood tall after that and Charle Truchon iced the game for the Remparts with a 200-foot empty netter in the final seconds.
What. It. Means. #MemorialCup pic.twitter.com/MKbLcCgCET
— Canadian Hockey League (@CHLHockey) May 30, 2023
The win moves Quebec to 2-0 in the tournament with victories over both other one-win teams, the Thunderbirds and host Kamloops Blazers.
That means no matter what happens in the Remparts’ final round robin game against the Peterborough Petes on Tuesday.
If the Remparts win, they reach the final with a perfect 3-0 record. If the Petes win, Quebec will still have the tiebreaker over either team that can still reach the two-win mark, Seattle or Kamloops.
A Petes win would also mean that Kamloops and Seattle are guaranteed to play in Friday’s semifinal, no matter the result of their round-robin game on Wednesday.
If the Petes manage to knock off the Remparts and earn their first win, they will take on the loser of Wednesday’s game in Thursday’s tiebreaker.
That will all be known in 24 hours, as Peterborough and Quebec will face off at 6 pm at Sandman Centre on Tuesday with all the action watchable on TSN.
