LIVE: Memorial Cup – London Knights vs. Drummondville Voltigeurs

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The 2005 Memorial Cup Final is the biggest game in Knights history.

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If you forget what he looked like, were too young to watch, or weren’t even born yet, the current London team just showed a reasonable facsimile in the Saginaw opener.

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The Knights dismantled Drummondville 4-0 before 4,936 on Saturday at the Dow Event Center, the same way Corey Perry and Co. they beat Sidney Crosby’s Rimouski Oceanic by the same score 19 years ago at what is now Budweiser Gardens.

The OHL champions buried some early and late, kept Quebec’s league stars at bay, hit everything that moved and got outstanding goaltending. Michael Simpson tied Adam Dennis from that ’05 final for the second shutout in London Cup history.

“We know we get the best every time,” defenseman Oliver Bonk said of Simpson. “We are very happy to have him in full swing. We gave them a little more chance than we would have liked. Mike played great and we stopped them when we needed to.

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“I didn’t really let them go.”

Simpson, in a busy second period, hit Alexis Gendron on a breakaway and stretched to deny Mikael Huchette on a 2-on-1. Drummondville’s best chance with less than three minutes left in third, trickled through the Knights goalie, but overage forward Max McCue was strong on his stick to keep the puck from crossing the line.

“I think I gave him a pretty big hug afterwards,” said the 21-year-old goalkeeper. “(McCue) has been a great player for us all year and he’s come up in big moments, so it doesn’t shock me that he was the guy who got it off the goal line.

“I can’t give him enough credit for saving him from there, I guess.” Any time you get a shutout as a goaltender, it feels good. Victory is more important.”

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The Cavaliers acquired him last fall for these moments. The 2023 OHL playoff MVP lost his first two games with Peterborough in the Cup a year ago, so he’s in better shape.

Drummondville shortstop Riley Mercer came in with a heater, but Simpson simply outplayed him.

“They turned it on (in the second),” London coach Dale Hunter said, “and made a big push. He stood up for us.”

CLUTCH GAS: When the Knights won the league title in Oshawa, Ruslan Gazizov was asked to react.
He simply said, “I’ve waited three years for this.”

You know the 20-year-old Russian’s hockey journey. He spent several summers in London due to pandemic restrictions, visa complications and Putin’s invasion of Ukraine. In 2022, he spoke at the funeral of his late teammate and friend Abakar Kazbekov.

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He kicked the Knights’ first goal to prove Mercer wasn’t an invincible wall, then beat him again 20 seconds into the third.

Gazizov is a dynamic winger who scores in bunches. If that follows, London is in great shape.

“He was a big player for us,” Michael Simpson said. “It’s nice to see him capitalize first.”

The forward and the goalkeeper go well enough in training to see who can beat each other.

“He’s got a good shot and he likes to score, so when you save him, you like to let him hear a little bit,” Simpson joked. “When he scores, he sure likes to give it to me.”

Gazizov’s violin feast was in good shape. Plus, when you can win with quiet offensive plays from Easton Cowan and Denver Barkey, it’s another positive sign.

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Mercer surrendered just five goals in four Quebec League championship games at Baie-Comeau. He hadn’t given up more than three in his previous 10 playoff tilts until the Knights touched him for four.

“They were better than us,” Gendron said of London. “We weren’t playing our game 100%. They were. We have to capitalize at the right time. We have to regroup.”

Around the rink: The Knights went 0-for-4 on the power play, including a 5-for-3, but killed five Volt chances with the man advantage. So special teams was a wash. “We (all the teams) have been gone for a long time,” Dale Hunter said. “The execution was not as good as we all wanted. It was a battle.” . . . Michael Simpson had 31 saves in his shutout, while Adam Dennis, now general manager of the North Bay Battalion, had 27 saves in 2005. . . Kasper Halttunen led the OHL with 17 goals in the playoffs. He scored on a double deflection after a Landon Sim spike hit the Finn in the shirt before changing direction again. . . What makes the Cavaliers so good defensively? They have Simpson, a stout blue line and eager forwards who don’t float. “We try to check hard,” Dale Hunter said. “One of the biggest things is that you can limit odd man rushes by turning over tacklers.” . . . The Knights improved to 5-3 against Quebec teams in the Cup. They are 1-1 against the Maritimes (a win over Saint John in 2012 and a loss to Halifax the following year). . . London d-man Jackson Edward hit a second-period timer that just missed the net – but it hit Easton Cowan. The Maple Leafs first rounder got up cautiously and couldn’t get off the ice fast enough before the Knights were called for too many people. It took away Jacob Julien’s breakaway, but most importantly, Cowan was fine. . . Mercer stopped Gazizov and Sim on back-to-back breakaways in the second. . . The Knights won their fifth Cup opener in six tries. They lost their 2014 opener to Val d’Or 1-0 at home. This was the only time London had been shut out in 21 matches all-time at the event.

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MEMORIAL CUP

Knights 4, Voltigeurs 0
London goals: Ruslan Gazizov (2), Oliver Bonk, Kasper Halttunen
Shutout by Michael Simpson (31 saves)
Up next: Knights (1-0) face Moose Jaw (0-1) Monday at 7:30 p.m. Drummondville (0-1) tangles with Saginaw (1-0) Sunday at 7:30 p.m.

Saturday at the Dow Event Center

Knights 4, Voltigeurs 0

The first period
1., London, Gazizov 1 (Dickinson, Edward) 8:04
2. London, Bonk 1 (Julien, McCue) 13:53
Penalties – O’Reilly, Ldn, Gendron, Dru (unsportsmanlike conduct) 0:55, Diotte, Dru (cross-checking) 5:59, Lawrence, Ldn, Gendron, Dru, Brunet, Dru (roughing) 14:13, Gaudet , Dru (boarding) 15:14, Edward, Ldn (cross check) 18:04.

The second period
No scoring.
Penalties – London, bench (too many men, served by Gazizov) 3:20, Beaudry, Dru (slashing) 9:58, O’Reilly, Ldn (roughing) 12:58.

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The third period
3. London, Gazizov 2 (Julien) 0:20
4. London, Halttunen 1 (Sim, Bonk) 2:27
Penalties – Edward, Ldn (offside) 6:28, Barkey, Ldn (goalie interference) 15:36.

Shots on goal by
London 10 7 5–22
Drummondville 9 12 10–31

Power plays: Ldn 0-4. Dru 0-5.

Goalkeepers: Simpson, Ldn (W, 1-0). Mercer, Dru (L, 0-1).

Referees – Adam Bloski, Jason Faist. Referee Referees – Jay Doiron, Ryan Card.

Attendance – 4,936.

Three stars: 1. Oliver Bonk, Knights; 2. Ruslan Gazizov, Knights; 3. Michael Simpson, Knights

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