RIMOUSKI – One yr after what he known as the worst day of his life, Denver Barkey led his group to the Memorial Cup title.
The London Knights captain scored twice in a dominant 4-1 victory over the Medication Hat Tigers within the championship recreation Sunday, redeeming a devastating defeat 12 months in the past.
“That is one thing I’ll always remember,” Barkey mentioned amid on-ice celebrations at Colisée Financière Solar Life. “We labored all yr towards this, and that is the tightest group I’ve ever performed on. To have the ability to do it with these guys. It’s so surreal.
“Gonna bear in mind this for all times.”
The Knights fell 4-3 to the host Saginaw Spirit in final yr’s Memorial Cup ultimate, permitting the go-ahead objective with 22 seconds remaining.
As an alternative of holding their heads of their arms when the buzzer gave the impression of 12 months in the past, the back-to-back Ontario Hockey League champions exploded off the bench and threw their gloves within the air in celebration.
“It’s an empty feeling while you go dwelling with nothing,” mentioned head coach Dale Hunter, nonetheless moist from being doused in inexperienced Gatorade. “If you come to this match, you had a superb yr, however while you don’t win the final recreation, it’s not profitable.”
“We labored all yr towards this, and that is the tightest group I’ve ever performed on,” added Barkey. “Sticking to it and utilizing it as motivation, as gasoline, to push us all yr.”
Sam Dickinson had three assists and Austin Elliott made 31 saves for the Knights, a powerhouse group that featured 12 NHL draft picks and 4 first-rounders. Jacob Julien and match MVP Easton Cowan additionally scored for London, which beforehand received in 2005 and 2016.
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Hunter, now a three-time champion, mentioned this yr’s version is “proper there” with the remainder of them.
“It’d be a tricky ballot,” he mentioned.
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Cowan, tying Barkey with seven factors, grew to become the primary participant since 1972 to guide the match in scoring for consecutive years.
The Toronto Maple Leafs prospect additionally tied Mitch Marner for probably the most Memorial Cup factors in franchise historical past with 15 in 9 video games.
“The Cowboy was excellent,” Hunter mentioned. “All by the season, all by the playoffs, he’s been one in all our foremost catalysts.
“He needed to choose it up once more, and he did once more, hit one other degree in him. That’s superior for us to win — and for the Leafs for the long run.”
Cowan, who has confronted his share of adversity after final yr’s loss and two early exits with Canada’s world junior group, ends his OHL profession on a excessive be aware.
“Lots of people hate and lots of people love,” he mentioned. “The those who love me will preserve loving, the those who hate, perhaps I can get them on board.”
Gavin McKenna — the projected best choice in subsequent yr’s NHL draft — replied for Medication Hat, which defeated the Knights 3-1 in spherical robin play to qualify straight for the ultimate and earn 4 days off.
Harrison Meneghin stopped 20 photographs for the Western Hockey League champions. A WHL group hasn’t received the Memorial Cup because the Edmonton Oil Kings in 2014.
“They cared, they tried,” Tigers head coach Willie Desjardins mentioned. “Coming in, we solely have one downside, that’s London’s a very good hockey group. It wasn’t that we didn’t need it, wasn’t that we didn’t strive. They’re only a good group.”
London and Medication Hat dominated their respective leagues en path to the Memorial Cup.
The Knights went 55-11-2 within the common season and misplaced solely as soon as within the playoffs. The Tigers, in the meantime, misplaced twice within the post-season after a 47-17-4 marketing campaign.
“We’re such a resilient group, and clearly London’s a very good group,” mentioned captain Oasiz Wiesblatt with tears operating from his eyes. “Actually pleased with the group.”
Wiesblatt nonetheless wore his jersey even along with his shoulder pads off. How lengthy would he preserve it on?
“Properly, I’m gonna preserve it inside me my entire life,” he mentioned after his ultimate junior recreation.
The Knights defeated the Moncton Wildcats, who received the Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League, 5-2 in Friday’s semifinal. The Rimouski Oceanic additionally performed within the match as hosts, however misplaced all three video games.
London poured it on with three objectives within the second interval Sunday to take a commanding lead.
After Elliott turned away a flurry of photographs — together with a difficult deflection from Cayden Lindstrom — Cowan buried his third of the match to make it 2-0 at 3:13.
Barkey added to the lead 1:40 later, capitalizing on a breakaway after Dickinson compelled Wiesblatt right into a turnover on the blue line.
Cowan appeared to make it 4-0 along with his second of the evening, however the officers dominated no-goal after O’Reilly interfered with Meneghin on a drive to the online.
Barkey then scored his second of the evening with a wrist shot from the left circle off the publish and in previous a screened Meneghin at 12:08.
McKenna lastly broke Elliott’s shutout bid by chopping into the slot and changing a wrist shot glove facet 2:43 into the third interval for his third objective in 4 video games.
The star winger was at it once more with 5:21 remaining, beating Elliott with a slick shot into the highest left nook. The objective, nevertheless, was known as off following a assessment as a consequence of Ryder Ritchie’s excessive stick earlier within the play.
This report by The Canadian Press was first printed June 1, 2025.
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