knights brush aside saskatoon in tiebreaker
May 23rd, 2013
LONDON - Bo Horvat got the London Knights rolling in the first period of the Memorial Cup tie-breaker against the Saskatoon and the Knights' never looked back.
The Ontario Hockey League champions trounced the host Saskatoon Blades 6-1 in front of 7,895 people at the Credit Union Centre. The Knights and Blades, having met in the tournament opener were relegated to the tie-breaker after finishing the round robin series with identical 1-2 records.
Horvat's goal, the first opening goal for the Knights' in the tournament, came shorthanded and on a penalty shot at the 3:05 mark of the period while fellow 2013 draft prospect Remi Elie was serving a tripping minor.
Seth Griffith and Chris Tierney scored 49 seconds apart to begin the second while Ryan Rupert, Kyle Platzer and Nikita Zadorov all found the net in a span of 66 seconds as London raced to a commanding lead, ending Blades Russian goaltender Andrey Makarov's CHL junior on a sour note.
The Buffalo Sabres prospect finished with 31 saves on 37 shots on the night, giving him a 4.09 GAA and a 0.889 save percent through 220 minutes of ice time throughout the Memorial Cup.
Jake Patterson's bid for a shutout was ended when Nathan Burns pulled one back for Saskatoon late in the third, which proved too little too late. The Sault Ste. Marie native puckstopper bounced back his horrendous first period against the Halifax Mooseheads on Tuesday [May 21] night with an effective showing stopping 32 of 33 shots, registering his first win of the tournament.
Saskatoon were missing defenceman Dalton Thrower who was suspended for the rest of the tournament following his hit on Portland's Taylor Leier Wednesday evening.
The Knights were at their offensive best, and showed no signs of stopping. The Blades were nothing like the team that showed up to the Portland game, falling flat on most occasions throughout the evening.
London now faces the Portland Winterhawks in the semi finals Friday night. The Winterhawks will be the 'home team' giving them last change.
The Blades? Their hopes for their first Memorial Cup title has to wait for at least another year.
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Game Glance
2013 Memorial Cup Tie-Breaker
London Knights 6-1 Saskatoon Blades
London Goals: Bo Horvat, Seth Griffith, Chris Tierney, Ryan Rupert, Kyle Platzer, Nikita Zadorov
Saskatoon Goals: Nathan Burns
Next up for London is the Portland Winterhawks in the semi finals. Puck drop is at 8:00 EDT
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LONDON - Bo Horvat got the London Knights rolling in the first period of the Memorial Cup tie-breaker against the Saskatoon and the Knights' never looked back.
The Ontario Hockey League champions trounced the host Saskatoon Blades 6-1 in front of 7,895 people at the Credit Union Centre. The Knights and Blades, having met in the tournament opener were relegated to the tie-breaker after finishing the round robin series with identical 1-2 records.
Horvat's goal, the first opening goal for the Knights' in the tournament, came shorthanded and on a penalty shot at the 3:05 mark of the period while fellow 2013 draft prospect Remi Elie was serving a tripping minor.
Seth Griffith and Chris Tierney scored 49 seconds apart to begin the second while Ryan Rupert, Kyle Platzer and Nikita Zadorov all found the net in a span of 66 seconds as London raced to a commanding lead, ending Blades Russian goaltender Andrey Makarov's CHL junior on a sour note.
The Buffalo Sabres prospect finished with 31 saves on 37 shots on the night, giving him a 4.09 GAA and a 0.889 save percent through 220 minutes of ice time throughout the Memorial Cup.
Jake Patterson's bid for a shutout was ended when Nathan Burns pulled one back for Saskatoon late in the third, which proved too little too late. The Sault Ste. Marie native puckstopper bounced back his horrendous first period against the Halifax Mooseheads on Tuesday [May 21] night with an effective showing stopping 32 of 33 shots, registering his first win of the tournament.
Saskatoon were missing defenceman Dalton Thrower who was suspended for the rest of the tournament following his hit on Portland's Taylor Leier Wednesday evening.
The Knights were at their offensive best, and showed no signs of stopping. The Blades were nothing like the team that showed up to the Portland game, falling flat on most occasions throughout the evening.
London now faces the Portland Winterhawks in the semi finals Friday night. The Winterhawks will be the 'home team' giving them last change.
The Blades? Their hopes for their first Memorial Cup title has to wait for at least another year.
----
Game Glance
2013 Memorial Cup Tie-Breaker
London Knights 6-1 Saskatoon Blades
London Goals: Bo Horvat, Seth Griffith, Chris Tierney, Ryan Rupert, Kyle Platzer, Nikita Zadorov
Saskatoon Goals: Nathan Burns
Next up for London is the Portland Winterhawks in the semi finals. Puck drop is at 8:00 EDT
Back to Sports Stories