Wildcats Advance to Memorial Cup Semi-Final
May 28, 2025 - Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League (QMJHL)
Moncton Wildcats News Release
The Moncton Wildcats booked their spot in the semi-final of the 2025 Memorial Cup after a 6-2 win over the Rimouski Oceanic.
Gabe Smith (UTA) scored twice while Julius Sumpf, Juraj Pekarcik (STL), Etienne Morin (CGY) and Alex Mercier scored for the Wildcats as Mathis Rousseau stopped 32 shots. Rimouski had goals from Maël St-Denis and Mathieu Cataford (VGK) while Mathis Langevin made 27 saves.
With a 3-2 lead heading into the third, the Wildcats put the game away with a three-goal period. Morin's goal was arguably the biggest of the game as it gave the Wildcats a two-goal cushion at 4:02 as he sniped a low wrister from the top of the left circle before empty-net goals from Smith and Mercier ensured Moncton's season would continue.
The win sets up a semi-final contest with London on Friday at 7pm ET / 8pm AT. The Knights edged the Wildcats 3-2 in overtime when they met in the round-robin.
Moncton jumped out to a 1-0 lead at 7:39 of the first as Sumpf broke the teams' forward goalscoring slump as the German forward snuck in behind the Oceanic defence to bury Pekarcik's pass to become the first Wildcats forward to score at the tournament.
The hosts however scored twice in less than four minutes to take a 2-1 lead into the intermission; St-Denis scored his second of the tournament as he buried a rebound on the backhand out front at 13:27 while Cataford's first came as he kept his stick on the eye to bury Olivier Théberge's pass at 17:11.
The second frame belonged to the Wildcats as a pair of NHL prospects gave them a 3-2 lead through 40. Pekarcik tipped in Dylan MacKinnon's (NSH) point shot at 1:27 while Smith buried a bouncing puck after Preston Lounsbury's initial shot had been deflected off the backboards and back into play at 4:05.
Medicine Hat has already booked its spot in the Memorial Cup final after they went 3-0-0 in the round-robin. They will face the winner of Moncton versus London on Sunday.
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 - 7:00pm ET
June 1 - Final - 7:00pm ET
Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League Stories from May 28, 2025
- Wildcats Advance to Memorial Cup Semi-Final - Moncton Wildcats
- 2025 Memorial Cup Preview - Oceanic vs. Wildcats - May 28 - Moncton Wildcats
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