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Remparts shutout Thunderbirds to win 2023 Memorial Cup in Kamloops

Victor Kaisar
Jun 4, 2023 | 8:36 PM


Remparts shutout Thunderbirds to win 2023 Memorial Cup in Kamloops

The Quebec Remparts with the 2023 Memorial Cup title. (Photo via Candice Ward/CHL)

William Rousseau stopped all 32 shots he faced to lead the Quebec Remparts to the Memorial Cup title with a 5-0 win over the Seattle Thunderbirds in Kamloops.

It was the first shutout of the tournament as the Remparts cruised to their third Memorial Cup title in franchise history and first since 2006.

“Will was outstanding in the playoffs. He was outstanding during the entire tournament. He could have easily been the MVP of this tournament,” Remparts Head Coach Patrick Roy said post-game.

“You cannot win without a performance like this from your goaltender.”

Vsevolod Komarov, James Malatesta, Kassim Gaudet, Zachary Bolduc, and Charles Savoie all scored for the Remparts. Captain Theo Rochette also chipped in with two assists.

“I just want them to enjoy it,” Roy added. “That is their moment. These guys bought into what we did and I’m so proud of them.”

“There were moments we had to be resilient and that’s exactly what they did. Its fun to be part of this journey, and to see them so happy.”

Komarov opened the scoring 6:31 into the first period. Gaudet drove into Seattle’s zone on a 2-on-1 break and sent a cross-ice pass to Komarov, who beat Seattle’s Thomas Milic over his left shoulder.

Five minutes into the second period, the Thunderbirds had some solid chances to tie it. Lucas Ciona found Kyle Crnkovic alone at the left faceoff circle but his turnaround shot just went over the net. Seconds later, Ciona was stopped in front by Rousseau.

Malatesta – who was named tournament MVP – doubled Quebec’s lead 8:50 into the second. Less than a minute after getting stopped on a breakaway chance, Malatesta was the beneficiary of a three-man break with Rochette and Komarov.

With under a minute left in the frame, Seattle made a stronger push to trim the deficit. With a scramble in front, Jordan Gustafson tried to put it past Rousseau but was stopped.

Dylan Guenther was turned aside shortly after and six seconds later, Luke Prokop’s point shot faced the same fate.

After getting outshot 7-0 in the first six-plus minutes of the third period by the Remparts, Jeremy Hanzel was just wide on a tap-in attempt on a pass from Crnkovic as the Thunderbirds continued to search for their first goal.

Justin Robidas almost made it a 3-0 game for Quebec near the midway mark of the frame. His attempt to bat the puck in mid-air hit the crossbar, slid across the goal line and out.

But it was Gaudet who instead stretched the Remparts’ lead with a short-handed goal 12:21 into the third. Robidas took possession of the puck in Quebec’s zone and with a 2-on-1 break, sent a cross-ice pass to Gaudet who finished the play.

Bolduc made it 4-0 with 4:04 remaining in the contest on a one-timer from a Jeremy Langlois pass, before Savoie further padded the lead when he took a drop pass from Rochette and wired it past Milic with 2:05 left.

Milic, the reigning WHL goaltender of the season, stopped 30 shots for Seattle in a losing effort.

“I’m extremely proud of the group, what an unbelievable bunch of players,” Seattle Head Coach Matt O’Dette said. “Every guy battled extremely hard to get here, battled right until the end.”

“I can’t put into words how proud I am of these guys,” added team captain Lucas Ciona. “We played so hard this year. We came up short tonight but those guys are my brothers, I love every single one of them.”

The Quebec Major Junior Hockey League champion Remparts booked their ticket into the final after opening the tournament with two consecutive wins over the host Kamloops Blazers and Seattle. They were also beaten by the Peterborough Petes on Tuesday, a meaningless loss for Quebec, though it meant the Petes forced a tiebreaker at the tournament, which they won over the Blazers.

Meanwhile, the Western Hockey League champion Thunderbirds entered the final having defeated the Ontario Hockey League champion Petes 4-1 in Friday’s semi-final.

With nine points in four games, Blazers captain Logan Stankoven took home the Ed Chynoweth Trophy as the Memorial Cup’s scoring leader. He also won the George Parsons Trophy as the tournament’s most sportsmanlike player.

Teammate Olen Zellweger, the 2022-23 CHL Defenceman of the Year, was named to the tournament’s all-star team.

HIGHLIGHTS

– With files from The Canadian Press

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