Remparts earn bye to Memorial Cup final

Candice Ward/CHL

For a fourth straight tournament, a Quebec Major Junior Hockey League team will play in the Memorial Cup final.

The Quebec Remparts earned a bye straight to Sunday's championship game with a 3-1 victory over the Western Hockey League champion Seattle Thunderbirds on Monday night in Kamloops.

Quebec has one preliminary round game remaining — Tuesday night against the winless Peterborough Petes — but that game will have no impact on the Remparts.

The Remparts will look to win the QMJHL's fourth straight national championship on Sunday, following in the footsteps of the Saint John Sea Dogs (2022), Rouyn-Noranda Huskies (2019) and Acadie-Bathurst Titan (2018).

Theo Rochette scored a pair of goals for Quebec on Monday while Charle Truchon secured the victory with an empty net goal. William Rousseau was strong in net once again, making 35 saves. Former Sea Dogs forward Charles Savoie assisted on Quebec's first goal, which came just 54 seconds into the game.

Quebec was outshot 36-22 by the high-powered Thunderbirds — the team many considered the favourite to win this year's Memorial Cup. The Remparts, who hammered the host Kamloops Blazers on Friday and then downed the Thunderbirds in a tight game, have certainly sent a statement that they are capable of beating any team in junior hockey.

Following Tuesday's Remparts-Petes game, the Blazers (1-1) take on the Thunderbirds (1-1). A tie-breaker game, if needed, would be Thursday followed by the semifinal on Friday. The Memorial Cup final takes place Sunday at 8 p.m. Atlantic.