Ryder Ritchie scored twice and added an assist as the Medicine Hat Tigers secured another tight victory at the Memorial Cup on Monday, defeating the Moncton Wildcats 3-1.
The Western Hockey League champion Tigers, who opened the four-team tournament with a 5-4 win over host Rimouski Océanic on Friday, improved to 2-0 and will face the Ontario Hockey League champion London Knights on Tuesday. The winner will earn a direct berth in Sunday’s championship final, while the loser will head to Friday’s semifinal.
The Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League champion Wildcats, now 0-2, got a third-period goal from Dyllan Gill and will meet Rimouski on Wednesday in an elimination game. The Wildcats previously defeated the Océanic in six games to capture the QMJHL title.
Ritchie opened the scoring at 4:24 of the first period and doubled the lead with a power-play goal at 9:42 of the second. Gill got Moncton on the board just 31 seconds into the third, cutting the deficit to 2-1.
With the Wildcats pressing for the equalizer and their goalie pulled, Gavin McKenna sealed the win for Medicine Hat with an empty-net goal in the final seven seconds. Moncton was also called for too many men on the ice with 1:22 left, further hindering their comeback bid.
The Tigers outshot the Wildcats 41-22, but were often stymied by Moncton goaltender Mathis Rousseau, who made 38 saves. Harrison Meneghin stopped 21 shots for Medicine Hat.
