The Majors advanced to Sunday’s winner-take-all contest after eliminating the Western Hockey League champion Kootenay Ice 3-1 in the tournament’s semifinal game.
Devante Smith-Pelly scored a pair for the Majors while Chris DeSousa iced the game with an empty netter in the final minute of regulation. JP Anderson was stellar in goal, making 28 stops to send the hosts into the game they have preparing for all year.
Joe Antilla netted the only Kootenay goal. Goaltender Nathan Lieuwen made 23 stops in the loss.
Mississauga had a 1-0 lead after one and 2-1 advantage after 40 minutes at the Hershey Centre.
Despite being eliminated, Kootenay made an impressive run just to reach the semifinal. After an 0-2 start, they saved their season with a 5-4 overtime win against Saint John. They then blasted the Ontario Hockey League champion Owen Sound Attack 7-3 in the tiebreaker game last night.
The Majors, who finished third in the Canadian Hockey League final rankings, only have one loss at the Memorial Cup and that came in the opener – against the Sea Dogs.
Saint John will be the more rested team having not played since Tuesday night. In the time span, Mississauga has played twice.
Game time for Sunday’s final is 8:00 pm on Rogers Sportsnet and RDS. Harbour Station will be opening its doors for fans to watch the game.
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