Rebels Will Play Huskies In Semifinal

The host Red Deer Rebels are off to the semifinal of the 2016 Memorial Cup.

Evan Polei scored at 3:50 of overtime to give the Rebels a 2-1 victory over the WHL champion Brandon Wheat Kings last night, earning the team a berth in Friday’s semifinal against the Rouyn-Noranda Huskies.

The Rebels were eliminated by the Wheat Kings in the WHL’s Eastern Conference final.

Red Deer finished the round robin portion of the tournament with a 2-1 record and an even goal differential. After losing the event’s opener to London, the Rebels went on to beat the Huskies and Wheat Kings.

Meanwhile, after a solid opening win over Brandon, Rouyn-Noranda lost to Red Deer and London, giving the team a 1-2 record. They’ve struggled to stay disciplined over the past two games – although the officiating has been… something.

London, 3-0 with an incredible +15 goal differential, has already advanced to Sunday’s championship game. Brandon has been eliminated.

Knights Win Memorial Cup Opener

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In the opening game of the 2016 Memorial Cup, the London Knights lived up to the hype.

Toronto Maple Leafs saviour Mitch Marner had an impressive two goals and three assists to lead the Knights to a 6-2 win over the host Red Deer Rebels.

The Rebels applied some strong pressure early in the game – but Knights goaltender Tyler Parsons shut the door. London scored three goals in the first and added another three in the second.

Tomorrow’s game will feature the QMJHL champion Rouyn-Noranda Huskies taking on the WHL champion Brandon Wheat Kings.

In other news…

• Felix Schutz and Germany had their 2016 IIHF World Championship come to an end in the quarterfinals on Thursday. According to the box score, Schutz did not play in Germany’s 4-1 loss to Russia. The former Sea Dogs forward had two goals and five assists in seven tournament games.
• In case you’ve forgotten, the QMJHL Entry Draft takes place two weeks from Saturday (June 4) in Charlottetown.

Wheat Kings Off To Memorial Cup

The four teams that will play in the 2016 Memorial Cup are now known.

The Brandon Wheat Kings punched their ticket to the tournament with a 8-4 win over the Seattle Thunderbirds in Game 5 of the WHL final last night. The Wheat Kings will join the host Red Deer Rebels, QMJHL champion Rouyn-Noranda Huskies and OHL champion London Knights.

The Wheat Kings last appeared in the Memorial Cup in 2010, when they hosted the tournament. Former Sea Dogs goaltender Jacob DeSerres was on that team.

The Memorial Cup begins next Friday with the Rebels taking on the Knights at 9 p.m. The following day, the Huskies face the Wheat Kings at 8 p.m.

All three league champions had tremendous seasons. Rouyn-Noranda (No. 1), London (No. 3) and Brandon (No. 7) were all listed in the final CHL Top 10 ranking. Here's a look at how each performed this year:

League	Team	Reg. Season	Playoffs
QMJHL	Rouyn-Noranda	54-9-3-2	16-4
OHL	London	51-14-2-1	16-2
WHL	Brandon	48-18-4-2	16-5
Host	Red Deer	45-24-1-2	9-8

The Oshawa Generals won last year's Memorial Cup in Quebec City, defeating Kelowna 2-1 in overtime in the championship game.