The 2025 Memorial Cup final is here.
The London Knights and Medicine Hat Tigers will meet this evening for the CHL’s ultimate prize at 7pm ET / 5pm MT on TSN 1/5, RDS, Victory Plus and NHL Network.
“It’s going to be two really great junior teams going at it,” said Andrew Basha (CGY). “It’s what you dream of.”
Both clubs are chasing a third Memorial Cup title since 1972; Medicine Hat are seeking their first since they went back-to-back in 1987 and 1988 while the Knights hope to end a nine-year drought.
“I think everyone is pretty excited,” head coach Willie Desjardins said. “It’s been a long year. This game has always been in our mind hoping that we can get here.”
Of course, the two teams have already met at this tournament; the Tigers skated away with a 3-1 victory on Tuesday where the winner would have guaranteed its spot in the final.
The victory ensured that the Tigers went 3-0-0 and secured its opportunity to play for the Memorial Cup for the first time since they fell in the 2007 final to Vancouver.
“One thing you don’t want to change is what got you here,” Desjardins said. “You want to stay consistent with what you’ve done but you also realize the moment; you don’t get these opportunities very often and you have to bring your best game.”
Medicine Hat comes into tonight’s final having not played in five days. Over the past 13 tournaments, the team that has won the round-robin to advance directly to the final has left the tournament victorious on eight occasions.
“For me, I want to have all the fuel in the tank we can and be as healthy as we can,” Desjardins said.
As for London, their story is simply about redemption. Having blazed through the round-robin last year, they quickly fell behind 3-0 in the 2024 final to Saginaw. Despite tying the game, the Knights left heartbroken after Josh Bloom (VAN) scored the game-winner with 21 seconds left in regulation.
“We remember how that feels and we’re going to use it as motivation,” said captain Denver Barkey (PHI).
Added Sam Dickinson (SJ): “This is what we’ve been waiting for for an entire year now. To finally get back to this point is exciting and we’re looking forward to it.”
London had to take a different route this year – one that Dickinson (SJ) joked Thursday could be beneficial to them – after they eliminated QMJHL champions Moncton in the semis after a 5-2 win that saw the Knights score three times in the third.
“We’re mainly focused on tonight and the game on hand but at the same time understanding how close we were last year and playing for the guys on the team last year who aren’t on the team this year,” Dickinson said. “It’s staying present in the moment tonight.”
The scoring race will also be something to follow this evening; Cowan leads the tournament with six points but is closely trailed by Barkey on five points who is joined by the Tigers’ Oasiz Wiesblatt, Ryder Ritchie (MIN) and Gavin McKenna. Ritchie’s four goals are the most in the tournament. If Cowan wins the tournament scoring title he’ll become the first player to do so in back-to-back years since 1972.
Tonight’s final is the first OHL versus WHL tilt since 2015 when Oshawa beat Kelowna 2-1 in overtime in Quebec City on Anthony Cirelli’s game-winner. Ironically, that was also the last time the Memorial Cup was held in Quebec before this year’s tournament in Rimouski.
Scheduled from May 22 – June 1 in Rimouski, Québec, every game of the 2025 Memorial Cup will air on TSN and RDS in Canada and be available via live stream on TSN.ca, the TSN app, RDS.ca, and the RDS app. In addition to full coverage in Canada on TSN and RDS, the 2025 Memorial Cup will be available to stream live for free on Victory+ for viewers outside of Canada.
2025 Memorial Cup schedule:
May 23 – Game 1: Medicine Hat 5-4 Rimouski
May 24 – Game 2: Moncton 2-3 London (OT)
May 25 – Game 3: Rimouski 1-3 London
May 26 – Game 4: Moncton 1-3 Medicine Hat
May 27 – Game 5: London 1-3 Medicine Hat
May 28 – Game 6: Rimouski 2-6 Moncton
May 30 – Semi-final: Moncton 2-6 London
June 1 – Final: London vs. Medicine Hat
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