The London Knights continued their unbeaten run at the 2025 Memorial Cup on Sunday night with a hard-fought 3-1 victory over the host Rimouski Oceanic. The win moved London to 2-0-0 and set them up for a chance to secure a second straight trip to the tournament final with a win on Tuesday against the WHL-champion Medicine Hat Tigers.
The game was highlighted by Jacob Julien’s game-winning goal at 14:53 of the third period, capping off a brilliant three-way passing sequence. Easton Cowan gained the Rimouski blue line and pulled off a slick between-the-legs deke before feeding Kasper Halttunen on the right wing. Halttunen immediately sent the puck across the slot to a waiting Julien, who tapped it past Rimouski netminder Mathis Langevin for his first goal of the tournament.
“That was two strong teams going at it,” said Julien. “Both played really well defensively and offensively and we were fortunate enough to come out on top.”
Tale of the tape
Henry Brzustewicz scored the Knights’ first goal at 9:47 of the second period, tying the game 1-1 with a laser from the right point that beat Langevin clean. The goal came less than eight minutes after Rimouski had opened the scoring when Eriks Mateiko banged in a loose puck following strong work by Mathieu Cataford below the goal line.
Cowan sealed the win with an empty-netter at 18:08 of the third, his second goal of the tournament, and was named one of the game’s top performers.
“That was a really fun game to play in,” Cowan said. “High compete from both teams and we stuck with it to come out with the two points.”
Austin Elliott was once again solid between the pipes for London, turning aside 28 of 29 shots, while Langevin made 33 saves in a losing effort. The Knights outshot the Oceanic 36-29 and went 0-for-1 on the power play, while killing off all four Rimouski man-advantage opportunities.
History for Hunter
With the win, Knights head coach Dale Hunter made history by becoming the winningest coach in Memorial Cup history, earning his 15th career victory to pass Don Hay on the all-time list. Hunter’s wins span across five tournaments, including four in 2005, two in 2013, four in 2016, three last year, and now two in 2025.
“It’s a credit to the players here,” said Hunter. “To win games, they are the ones who have to sacrifice on the ice to block shots. Through the years I’ve had great players and winners and they go on to do great things.”
2025 Memorial Cup Schedule (All times ET):
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May 23 – Game 1: Medicine Hat 5, Rimouski 4
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May 24 – Game 2: Moncton 2, London 3 (OT)
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May 25 – Game 3: Rimouski 1, London 3
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May 26 – Game 4: Moncton vs. Medicine Hat – 7:00 p.m.
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May 27 – Game 5: London vs. Medicine Hat – 7:00 p.m.
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May 28 – Game 6: Rimouski vs. Moncton – 7:00 p.m.
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May 29 – Tie-breaker (if necessary) – 7:00 p.m.
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May 30 – Semi-final – 7:00 p.m.
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June 1 – Final – 7:00 p.m.
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