Mathew Ward scored the go-ahead goal early in the third period, and Harrison Meneghin made 35 saves as the Medicine Hat Tigers defeated the London Knights 3-1 on Tuesday night to secure a spot in the Memorial Cup final.
London will now face either the Moncton Wildcats or Rimouski Oceanic in Friday’s semi-final, while the final is scheduled for Sunday.
Ethan Neutens also scored for Medicine Hat (3-0), and Ryder Ritchie sealed the win with an empty-net goal. The Tigers, champions of the Western Hockey League, previously edged Moncton 3-1 and Rimouski 5-4 in round-robin play at Colisée Financière Sun Life. This marks their fourth appearance in a Memorial Cup final, as they chase their third title.
Kasper Halttunen scored the lone goal for the Ontario Hockey League champion Knights (2-1), who opened the tournament with a 3-2 overtime win over Moncton and followed that up with a 3-1 victory over Rimouski. Goalie Austin Elliott stopped 26 shots in the loss.
London largely managed to contain Tigers star Gavin McKenna — projected to be the top pick in the 2026 NHL Draft. Defenceman Oliver Bonk pushed McKenna wide late in the first period and later delivered a heavy hit. In the second, Jared Woolley disrupted a dangerous 2-on-1 by stripping the puck from McKenna.
With the game tied 1-1 in the third, Ward followed up his own pass from behind the net and swept the puck past Elliott, just moments after London’s Easton Cowan missed an open net at the other end.
Misha Volotovskii nearly extended the Tigers’ lead midway through the third, but his sharp-angle shot hit the post behind a sprawling Elliott.
London had a chance late when Hunter St. Martin was penalized for boarding Woolley with 3:35 left in regulation. Originally called a major, the penalty was downgraded to a minor after video review. The Knights pulled their goalie for a 6-on-4 power play, but Bonk misfired on their best opportunity.
Ritchie then scored his fourth goal of the tournament into an empty net with just 11 seconds remaining, ending London’s comeback hopes after heavy pressure in the Tigers’ zone.
Halttunen gave London an early lead with a power-play goal 3:34 into the game, tipping in Sam Dickinson’s point shot for his second of the tournament. The Knights controlled much of the first period, outshooting the Tigers 10-7.
Medicine Hat responded in the second period. Meneghin stopped a breakaway chance from Blake Montgomery, and Elliott made key saves on Ritchie before Neutens tied the game at 5:11. Tanner Molendyk kept the puck in the zone and fired a shot that deflected to Neutens, who buried it into an open net.
Dickinson threatened with a pair of rushes later in the period, but Meneghin stood tall to keep the score even heading into the third.
