Oil Kings secure Memorial Cup spot

Andy Devlin/WHL

SAINT JOHN - The 2012 vibes keep getting stronger and stronger.

A few days after the Shawinigan Cataractes clinched a spot in the 2022 Memorial Cup, the Edmonton Oil Kings did the same, winning the Western Hockey League championship in six games over the Seattle Thunderbirds.

The Cataractes, Oil Kings and Saint John Sea Dogs all competed in the 2012 Memorial Cup in Shawinigan. The Ontario Hockey League was represented by the London Knights that year.

The Oil Kings swept their first two rounds of the WHL playoffs before needing five games to defeat the powerhouse Winnipeg Ice in the Eastern Conference final. Many assumed the winner of the Oil Kings-Ice matchup would represent the WHL at the Memorial Cup.

The Thunderbirds, who faced the Sea Dogs at the 2017 Memorial Cup, proved to be a worthy opponent, winning the opening game of the series and staving off elimination in Game 5. Edmonton proved too powerful in Monday's Game 6, outshooting Seattle 21-4 in the opening period en route to a 2-0 series clinching victory.

CHAMPIONS.#TheKingdom | #ChaseTheCrown | 👑👑👑👑👑👑👑👑👑👑👑👑👑👑👑👑 pic.twitter.com/Wk1V1sCoQP

— y - Edmonton Oil Kings (@EdmOilKings) June 14, 2022

This is Edmonton's first WHL title since 2014. The team captured the Memorial Cup that year as well.

Edmonton has a loaded roster with eight NHL prospects. They are headlined by Dylan Guenther, Jake Neighbours, Sebastian Cossa, Justin Sourdif, Kaiden Guhle and Luke Prokop.

The Oil Kings open the Memorial Cup on Tuesday, June 21 against the Cataractes at TD Station. They face the Sea Dogs the next night.

Mon., June 20 – Game 1: Saint John vs. OHL at 7 p.m. AT

Tues., June 21 – Game 2: Shawinigan vs. Edmonton at 7 p.m. AT

Wed., June 22 – Game 3: Saint John vs. Edmonton at 7 p.m. AT

Thurs., June 23 – Game 4: Shawinigan vs. OHL at 7 p.m. AT

Fri., June 24 – Game 5: Edmonton vs. OHL at 7 p.m. AT

Sat., June 25 – Game 6: Saint John vs. Shawinigan at 5 p.m. AT

Sun., June 26 – Tie-Breaker, if necessary, at 5 p.m. AT

Mon., June 27 – Semi-Final at 7 p.m. AT

Wed., June 29 – Championship Final at 7 p.m. AT

The Sea Dogs defeated the Oil Kings 5-2 in their lone meeting at the 2012 tournament.

Over in the OHL, the Windsor Spitfires have forced a Game 7 thanks to a 5-2 win over the Hamilton Bulldogs on home ice Monday night. The OHL final will be decided on Wednesday beginning at 8 p.m. in Hamilton. That game can be seen on TSN.

The Windsor Spitfires (@SpitsHockey) came up big in Game 6, with Daniel D'Amico scoring twice in a 5-2 win to force Game 7 of the #OHLChampionship Series in Hamilton on Wednesday.

STATS & HIGHLIGHTS 🎥: https://t.co/AgDzSBzC1M pic.twitter.com/GRaZx0j0Q6

— OntarioHockeyLeague (@OHLHockey) June 14, 2022

The OHL champion will play the Sea Dogs in the tournament opener. It's certainly good news for the Sea Dogs that this series is going seven games because their opponent will have just four days off to prepare. Hamilton had not lost a single game in the OHL playoffs until this series.

The Sea Dogs and Spitfires met at the 2017 tournament in Windsor - which also happened to be the opening game. Saint John has never faced Hamilton.