London Knights redeem themselves with Memorial Cup crown

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They finally wrote their storybook ending.

The London Knights converted last year’s Memorial Cup heartbreak into the ultimate comeback tale by scoring the game’s first four goals in a 4-1 victory over Medicine Hat to claim the Canadian Hockey League’s biggest prize before 4,512 on Sunday at Sun Life Financial Coliseum.

They shrugged off an early push from the well-rested and previously unbeaten Tigers, then held them off during a furious finish. You need your best players to rise to the occasion and, after a dud a year ago at Saginaw, got that and more here in Rimouski.

The OHL champs won their record-tying third Cup title in their fifth trip to the final in the past 20 years. Dale Hunter equalled Don Hay as the only two coaches with three CHL crowns.

The Knights were ready for anything. They didn’t let any missed call or lapse in momentum bother them.
They were the best team in junior hockey this year and proved it when it mattered most.

“It’s a tough tournament,” said London defenceman Sam Dickinson, who earned three assists in the final. “It’s one game. You never know what can happen going into it. I think of last year and how the game went from the flat start to the comeback to 22 seconds left. You can’t have any idea of what’s going to happen out there.”

The Tigers’ best player, Gavin McKenna, got the Western champs on the board in the third period. But a second goal by the wunderkind was called back because of a missed high stick with 5:30 left in regulation.

It was a break for the Knights and they shut it down from there.

Hunter reunited Easton Cowan and Denver Barkey and it turned into a master stroke.

Barkey scored twice in the decisive second period and Cowan had another and was named tournament MVP as London built the four-goal lead. Cowan should have had two, as well, in the middle frame but one was snuffed out on a goalie interference call against linemate Sam O’Reilly.

The foundation of the Knights’ three-year run of success started with the drafting of Barkey, Cowan and Oliver Bonk in 2021. Once they added Dickinson to the mix the following season, they were on their way.

And Sunday, they finished the job.

AROUND THE RINK

London goaltender Austin Elliott’s final won-loss record? He was 55-3 in his last junior season. We won’t see that again for a long time, if ever … Cowan entered the final one point shy of his childhood idol Mitch Marner’s franchise record 15 points in Cup play and matched it in the second period … Londoner Jacob Julien, the Jets prospect, played his best hockey of the season at this tournament, opening the scoring on a nifty deke … Earlier in the day, Medicine Hat star defenceman Tanner Molendyk described London as the best team he had faced all year. “They have a lot of skill but when a team works hard and has skill, it’s one of the hardest things to beat,” the Nashville Predators first-rounder said. He felt it and the rest of the hockey world saw it up close this week.

rpyette@postmedia.com