2025 Memorial Cup Preview - Wildcats vs. Knights - May 24
May 24, 2025 - Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League (QMJHL)
Moncton Wildcats News Release
The London Knights are Moncton Wildcats will get their 2025 Memorial Cup campaign underway this evening when they meet in the second game of the tournament.
Led by a pair of legendary coaches in Dale Hunter (LDN) and Gardiner MacDougall (MON), puck drop is set for 6pm ET / 7pm AT on TSN 5, RDS 2 and Victory Plus.
"The opportunity to be here is once in a lifetime," Moncton's Dyllan Gill (TB) said. "For me, this is my last year in junior so trying to make the most of the opportunity as is everyone else in the dressing room."
One advantage Moncton holds over the other CHL member league champions is familiarity in Rimouski; having taken down the Oceanic in six games in the QMJHL Finals, the Wildcats played three additional games at Colisée Financière Sun Life in the series that included the championship clincher in Game 6.
"Getting to play the final series here in Rimouski was a huge advantage for us," Gill said. "Getting adjusted to the ice, the rink, everything like that. We're super pumped and ready to go."
Gill began the season playing professionally with the AHL's Syracuse Crunch but was returned to junior in December where he was traded from Rouyn-Noranda to his hometown Wildcats. After helping Moncton bring home its first QMJHL title in 15 years, the club begins its quest tonight for its first Memorial Cup.
"It's three important games in the round-robin and then go from there but I think our group is focused on the first shift tonight ... and building from there.
"It's no secret they have a great team over there ... but we have a lot of belief in our group. We have a good game plan going into tonight and we're going to get ready to execute that."
The other side features the two-time defending OHL champions in London. With a roster that boasts an incredible 13 NHL prospects, the Knights are not short on starpower.
But the mindset for London this year is simple; redemption. The Knights fell at the final hurdle last season after they lost 4-3 in the 2024 Memorial Cup final to Saginaw.
"We were 20 seconds away from going to overtime but every year you come here, every team's objective is a trophy but we really want to win this one," said Oliver Bonk (PHI).
The Knights were virtually unstoppable on their run to a second straight J. Ross Robertson Cup as they went 16-0-1 in the postseason where the club's NHL stars shined in Kasper Halttunen (SJ, Easton Cowan (TOR) and Sam Dickinson (SJ).
But having had nine days off since they finished off the Oshawa Generals in Game 5 of the OHL Championship Series, the Knights are ready to hit the ice again.
"It's just exciting and we're ready to get going and finally play some games," Bonk said.
Tonight will mark the first time that London and Moncton have met at a Memorial Cup.
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 vs. London - 6:00pm ET
May 25 - Game 3: Rimouski vs. London - 6:00pm ET
May 26 - Game 4: Moncton vs. Medicine Hat - 7:00pm ET
May 27 - Game 5: London vs. Medicine Hat - 7:00pm ET
May 28 - Game 6: Rimouski vs. Moncton - 7:00pm ET
May 29 - Tie-breaker (if necessary) - 7:00pm ET
May 30 - Semi-final - 7:00pm ET
June 1 - Final - 7:00pm ET
Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League Stories from May 24, 2025
- Rousseau Stops 45 as Wildcats Fall to London in OT - Moncton Wildcats
- 2025 Memorial Cup Preview - Wildcats vs. Knights - May 24 - Moncton Wildcats
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