Sports
Spirit de Saginaw remporte la Coupe Memorial devant ses partisans
Josh Bloom scored the game-winning goal with just 22 seconds remaining to lead the Saginaw Spirit to a 4-3 victory over the London Knights in the Memorial Cup final, in front of their home fans.
Bloom, who also contributed to two goals by the Montreal Canadiens prospect Owen Beck, ensured the Spirit lifted the Memorial Cup for the first time in their history.
Joey Willis added a goal and an assist for the Spirit, while goalie Andrew Oke faced only 13 shots, allowing three goals in the winning effort.
Easton Cowan registered a goal and two assists for the Knights, who were aiming for their third Memorial Cup title. Highly-touted prospect Sam Dickinson chipped in with a goal and an assist, as Kasper Halttunen found the back of the net once.
Michael Simpson made 27 saves for the Ontario Hockey League champions, London Knights.
This victory marked the 12th time a Memorial Cup host team has won the championship since the current format was established in 1983.
Transported by their fans, the Spirit dominated both offensively and defensively in the opening period to take control of the game.
Beck opened the scoring after snatching a loose puck moments after a faceoff win. Hunter Haight then undressed defenseman Oliver Bonk to create another scoring opportunity, capitalizing on the early momentum.
The Knights finally got on the board after nearly 17 minutes when Cowan’s shot towards Oke was deemed a goal by the officials, but they failed to generate further offense. Landon Sim’s hit to the head of Spirit’s Zayne Parekh led to a penalty and ejection.
Beck extended the Spirit’s lead with a precise shot with 45 seconds left in the first period.
The Spirit continued their dominance in the second period, with Willis intercepting a pass and scoring on the backhand. The Knights responded quickly to cut the deficit to two goals.
In the third period, the Knights mounted a comeback, scoring two goals in 2:28 to tie the game at 3-3. However, Bloom’s late heroics secured the Memorial Cup for the Saginaw Spirit.
