Rochette scores twice as Remparts edge Thunderbirds at Memorial Cup
CBC
The first three games of the 2023 Memorial Cup championship produced 32 goals.
So when Theo Rochette of the Quebec Remparts scored 54 seconds into Monday's fourth preliminary round game at the Sandman Centre, fans expected there'd be much more to come.
Thanks to William Rousseau's 35 saves in Quebec's net, they had to wait until 16:55 of the third period for Rochette to add his second of the night — and third of the tournament — to give his Quebec Major Junior Hockey League champion squad a 2-0 lead over the Seattle Thunderbirds, en route to a 3-1 victory.
The Western Hockey League champion T-Birds, with the netminder pulled for an extra attacker, got a goal at 17:38 from Nolan Allan and pressed for the equalizer, but couldn't tie the contest. Charles Truchon scored an empty-netter for the Remparts at 19:42 to seal the deal.
The Remparts improved their record to 2-0 in the four-team, 10-day tournament and guaranteed themselves a berth in Sunday's championship final. The T-Birds slipped to 1-1 — the same record as the host Kamloops Blazers.
The Thunderbirds outshot the Remparts 36-22. Seattle went 0-for-2 on the power play, while the Remparts were 0-for-3.
Kamloops Blazers head coach and general manager Shaun Clouston says defenceman Kyle Masters has been released from hospital and will miss the rest of the Memorial Cup with a lower-body injury.
Clouston updated Masters's status a day after the 20-year-old Edmonton native was taken off the ice on a stretcher during the Blazers' 10-2 win over the Peterborough Petes.
"It's not an upper-body injury. So from a personal standpoint, the human standpoint, it's awesome news," Clouston told reporters Monday.
"For Kyle and the team, it's really unfortunate that he's going to miss the remainder."
Masters was hit by Petes forward Brennan Othmann and fell backward into the corner boards with less than seven minutes remaining.
Othmann did not receive a penalty on the play, but Clouston called it a "dangerous hit."
Clouston said the NHL's department of player safety supported the decision not to penalize Othmann.
"The NHL had it as a non-call," Clouston said. "To me the standards might be a bit different to what we're used to."