Petes, Thunderbirds clash in Memorial Cup semifinal on TSN
Published
The OHL champion Peterborough Petes and WHL champion Seattle Thunderbirds are set to battle it out in the Memorial Cup semifinal on Friday for the right to play the Quebec Remparts for the CHL championship.
Peterborough find themselves in the semifinal after a thrilling come-from-behind 5-4 overtime victory over the host Kamloops Blazers in the tiebreaker game on Thursday night.
After Vancouver Canucks prospect Connor Lockhart opened the the scoring for the Petes in the first period, the Blazers scored four unanswered goals to take a 4-1 lead in the second frame.
The Petes roared back with three goals in the second period from New York Rangers prospect Brennan Othmann, Philadelphia Flyers prospect Brian Zanetti, and defenceman Samuel Mayer to tie the game.
Overtime was needed to solve the deadlock and Flyers prospect J.R. Avon completed the Petes' comeback halfway through the first extra period to advance his club to the semifinal.
Despite the shaky start, Michael Simpson starred in net for the Petes stopping 43 of 47 shots in the victory.
The Petes entered the tiebreaker game with a 1-2 record with their lone victory coming 4-2 over the Remparts in their final game of the round robin.
Othmann, a 2023 Canadian World Junior standout, leads the Petes offensively in the tournament with a goal and four points while Avon, Lockhart, Zanetti, and forward Avery Hayes each have three points.
The Thunderbirds avoided the tiebreaker game by defeating the Blazers 6-1 on Wednesday evening to finish the round robin with a 2-1 record.
Montreal Canadiens prospect Jared Davidson and overage forward Kyle Crnkovic led the offence by each providing a goal and two assists.
Luke Prokop (Nashville Predators), Jordan Gustafson (Vegas Golden Knights, Colton Dach (Chicago Blackhawks), and Lucas Ciona (Calgary Flames) all added goals while Arizona Coyotes prospect Dylan Guenther and Reid Schaefer (Predators) both had two assists.
Canadian World Junior star and 2023 NHL Draft prospect Thomas Milic made 30 saves for the victory. He leads all goaltenders in the tournament registering a 2-1 record with a .924 save percentage and 2.02 goals-against average in Seattle's three games.
Crnkovic leads the Thunderbirds offensively at the Memorial Cup, scoring four goals and six points in three games. He is followed up by Davidson with a goal and four points.
Peterborough and Seattle previously faced off against each other in the second game of the tournament when Crnkovic registered a hat trick in the Thunderbirds' 6-3 dismantling of the Petes on May 27.
The QMJHL champion Remparts will play the winner of this game in the final for the chance to lift the Memorial Cup on Sunday.