Medicine Hat Tigers advance to Memorial Cup final, London will play semifinal on Friday

The Medicine Hat Tigers are heading to the 2025 Memorial Cup final after a gutsy 3-1 win over the Ontario Hockey League champion London Knights on Tuesday night in Rimouski, Que. It wasn’t their most dominant performance, but with goaltender Harrison Meneghin standing tall between the pipes, the Western Hockey League champions had all they needed to clinch a berth in Sunday’s title game.

“London probably outplayed us tonight,” admitted Tigers head coach and GM Willie Desjardins. “The difference tonight was Meneghin. He was outstanding in net, maybe even a little bit more than outstanding.”

Meneghin stopped 35 of 36 shots, including several high-quality chances from a fast-starting London squad that looked poised to control the game early. His performance preserved a narrow margin throughout the game and gave the Tigers time to claw back.

“Every one of these guys has bought in,” Desjardins added. “But we wouldn’t be going to the finals without No. 35.”

The 20-year-old goaltender, named WHL Playoff MVP earlier this month, has been playing with inspiration and purpose following the unexpected passing of his father at the end of the WHL regular season. His Tigers teammates have rallied around him, and his play has reflected both resilience and elite ability.

“He’s been a rock for us all year,” said Mathew Ward, who scored the game-winner early in the third period. “We’re playing for each other.”

Depth scoring delivers

With projected 2026 NHL top pick Gavin McKenna kept quiet by a physical and structured London defence, the Tigers leaned on their depth. Ethan Neutens got Medicine Hat on the board in the second period, finding a loose puck off a deflected point shot from Tanner Molendyk and sliding it into an open net.

In the third, Ward broke the deadlock just over a minute in, retrieving his own pass from behind the goal and tucking the puck past Knights netminder Austin Elliott, who finished with 26 saves.

Ryder Ritchie sealed the victory with an empty-net goal—his fourth of the tournament—with just 11 seconds remaining, capping off a strong tournament for the WHL champs, who also beat Moncton 3-1 and Rimouski 5-4 in round-robin play.

London’s lone goal came from Kasper Halttunen, the OHL playoff MVP, who tipped a Sam Dickinson point shot past Meneghin early in the first period. Despite the strong start, the Knights couldn’t solve the Tigers netminder again.

“We had chances to score,” said London defenceman Oliver Bonk, who narrowly missed on a late power-play opportunity. “We just didn’t get them.”

“All three games we’ve defended well, just got to bear down on one more shot,” added Dickinson.

Despite the loss, Knights head coach Dale Hunter praised the Tigers’ depth. “We all have our top-end guys and they can’t do it every night. It takes a role player to come up. That’s a credit to their team.”

The Knights (2–1) will face the winner of Wednesday’s final round-robin match between the Moncton Wildcats and the host Rimouski Océanic—both 0–2—on Friday in the semifinal. The winner of that game will advance to face Medicine Hat in Sunday’s championship.