Thunderbirds fall 5-0 to Québec Remparts in Memorial Cup final
Vsevolod Komorov scores the opening goal of the Memorial Cup final for the Quebec Remparts against the Seattle Thunderbirds in a 5-0 Quebec victory at Sandman Centre in Kamloops. British Columbia on June 4, 2023. (Photo by Candice Ward / CHL)
The Seattle Thunderbirds were unable to beat goaltender William Rousseau and the defense of the Québec Remparts as their Memorial Cup hopes were dashed with a 5-0 loss in the championship game on Sunday.
It was just the second time all year the high-powered attack of the Thunderbirds was shutout. Rousseau delivered 32 saves for the Remparts in blunting Seattle's offense while Québec scored three goals in the third period to break the game wide open.
Kassim Gaudet's short-handed goal with just under eight minutes left to play was the backbreaking tally for Seattle's chances. Vsevolod Komorov's first period goal was all the Remparts would need as Rousseau delivered a dominant effort in net.
The Thunderbirds managed just one goal against Rousseau and the Remparts in two games played during the Memorial Cup. Seattle lost 3-1 to the Remparts in the round-robin portion of the tournament.
It was the first trip to the championship final in team history for the Thunderbirds in their third appearance in the tournament.
Rousseau was on his game from the start as Seattle couldn't find a way to break the Québec goaltender.
After a Bryce Pickford shot attempt was blocked, the Remparts sprung free on a 2-on-0 break chance. Jeremy Hanzel helped disrupt the chance from behind with a Gaudet pass to Nathan Gaucher sliding off his stick for a missed opportunity.
Seattle did get one of its best early chances as Brad Lambert split the Remparts defense only to have a shot chance turned aside by Rousseau.
Another rush chance came shortly thereafter for the Remparts. Gaudet found defenseman Vsevolod Komorov for a finish that snuck under Thomas Milic's glove for a 1-0 advantage.
Rousseau continued to hold strong for Québec on some of the Thunderbirds better chances. Nico Myatovic and Nolan Allan had shots turned aside with around five minutes left in the period. A big left pad save on Lucas Ciona also maintained the Remparts' advantage at the end of the first period.
Kyle Crnkovic had a prime look sail high of the net five minutes into the second period and Ciona had a tip chance in front of the net stopped by Rousseau.
Milic made a big save on James Malatesta as he sprung free on a fumbled Seattle pass to keep it a one-goal game. However, that boost was short-lived for the Thunderbirds as Malatesta wouldn't miss on his next chance.
A 3-on-2 chance saw Théo Rochette get the puck to Malatesta for a clean chance from between the circles that beat Milic for a 2-0 Remparts lead.
Malatesta was named Memorial Cup MVP with five goals during the tournament for the Remparts, who are the fourth straight team out of the Québec Major Junior Hockey League to win the Memorial Cup.
Seattle survived a pair of penalties to Hanzel and Reid Schaefer that gave Québec a two-man advantage. A Rochette shot caught the crossbar, but the Thunderbirds managed to keep ther Remparts from further extending the lead.
The Thunderbirds were out-shot by a 7-0 margin over the first seven minutes of the third period as they were unable to generate the offensive chances they needed to make a rally.
A Hanzel chance sailed wide of the net before Jared Davidson got a non-threatening shot on goal at the 7:22 mark of the period for the first official shot for Seattle.
Justin Robidas deflected a bouncing puck on net that deflected off the crossbar and somehow stayed out of the net with 10:50 remaining that would have made it a three-goal game for the Remparts. Milic made another big save on Malatesta with just over nine minutes left to play.
Mikael Hutchette took a cross-checking penalty right after the Milic save to give Seattle a power play chance to cut into the lead. Instead, the Thunderbirds' chances truly slipped away.
A Lambert shot was blocked at the top of the Québec zone by Nicolas Savoie that sprung the Remparts on a short-handed chance. Robidas found a charging Gaudet for a chance that beat a stretching Milic for a 3-0 lead.
Zachary Bolduc added a power play goal with just over four minutes left to play for good measure as the Remparts won the Memorial Cup for the third time in team history.
A late wraparound chance for Kevin Korchinski was stopped by the left toe of Rousseau with 3:20 left to play that turned away Seattle's last best chance to end the shutout.
The Thunderbirds lost 1-0 to the Everett Silvertips on February 4 in their only other shutout of the year.
Charles Savoie added one last goal with 2:05 left to play.
Seattle lost in the semifinals of the 1992 tournament to the Kamloops Blazers in their only appearance in the Memorial Cup semifinal. The Thunderbirds didn't make it out of round-robin play in their only other tournament appearance in 2017.
The Thunderbirds were looking to become just the third U.S. based team to win the Memorial Cup. The Portland Winterhawks (1983, 1998) and Spokane Chiefs (1991, 2008) have both won the championship twice.