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| Seattle Thunderbirds |
The Kamloops Blazers, who will host the Canadian Hockey League's championship tournament later this month, fell in six games to the Seattle Thunderbirds in the Western Hockey League's Western Conference final. The Thunderbirds and their stacked lineup will face the Winnipeg Ice, the CHL's No. 1 ranked team for much of the season, in the WHL final.
The past 13 Memorial Cup host teams have come up short in winning their league championship. The last team to do it were the 2008 Kitchener Rangers, who went on to lose to the Spokane Chiefs in the national final.
The last host team to win both their league championship and the Memorial Cup were the 2005 London Knights, arguably the best junior hockey team of all-time.
The Blazers, who dropped Game 6 on home ice Monday night, won't play again until May 26 when they host the QMJHL champions to open the tournament. Kamloops' break is significantly shorter than what the Saint John Sea Dogs went through last year after losing in the first round.
The Blazers, led by the likes of Logan Stankoven and Olen Zellweger, have a team that is certainly capable of winning the Memorial Cup on home ice. The Sea Dogs (2022), Windsor Spitfires (2017) and Shawinigan Cataractes (2012) have all done so recently as host teams - and all three missed out on playing in their league final.
The WHL final between the Thunderbirds and Ice begins Friday in Winnipeg - but not at the 1,400-seat Wayne Fleming Arena. The Ice announced Monday that their home games for the championship series will be played at the Canada Life Centre, home of the Winnipeg Jets and Manitoba Moose. Both the Jets and Moose have been eliminated from the playoffs.
The move is a much better look for the WHL as the Wayne Fleming Arena is not really a proper major junior rink - especially for a league final. TSN, who will broadcast Games 3-7, is also likely relieved.
The Ontario Hockey League final has also been determined following the Peterborough Petes' Game 7 win over the North Bay Battalion on Monday. The Petes will face the London Knights in the OHL championship series, which begins Thursday.
Not many would have predicted a Knights/Petes final. London finished second in the Western Conference while Peterborough was fourth on the Eastern side. The Petes upset both Ottawa and North Bay en route to the final.
The Petes and Knights met in the 2006 OHL final where Peterborough swept London. The Petes went on to represent the OHL at the Memorial Cup in Moncton that year.
The Hunter Brothers have a 4-1 record all time for the London #Knights in the #OHL finals …
— Petes Updates (@Petes_Updates) May 9, 2023
The loss came at the hands of the 2006 #Petes - a four game sweep! pic.twitter.com/COogbQDlBJ
The QMJHL final will begin Friday. The championship series will feature the league's top two regular season teams going head-to-head - the No. 1 seeded Quebec Remparts and the No. 2 Halifax Mooseheads. Despite being seeded one and two, not many predicted both to make it into the league final. Both squads made statements in the semifinals.
The QMJHL released the schedule for the Gilles Courteau Trophy final on Monday and there were no surprises. This series could set an attendance record with Games 1 and 2 in Quebec City already sold out. Tickets to Games 3 and 4 in Halifax go on sale Wednesday morning.
Games 3-7 of every league final will be broadcast by TSN.
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