Seattle Falls in Memorial Cup Final 5-0

As the old saying goes, all good things must come to an end. For Seattle, their impressive postseason run ends without a Memorial Cup Championship.

Quebec knocked Seattle off 5-0 on Sunday. night, capturing their third Memorial Cup it its history. The game was tight until a Quebec shorthanded goal that put the game out of reach. The Remparts would add two more later in the period.

The Thunderbirds struggled to stay out of the penalty box and the shorthanded time took away from controlling the ice through two periods. Regardless of the parade to the box, the Thunderbirds killed 11 of 12 penalties in the Memorial Cup tournament.

It was a very tightly contested game through the first period and a half where both teams limited chances and played careful hockey. Quebec scored first and then again midway through the second period after a flurry of chances for Seattle. A crucial kill of a five-on-three chance for Quebec helped Seattle gain some momentum. But the second period ended with the Thunderbirds chasing a two goal deficit.

Worse for Seattle, Quebec was 11-0 in postseason play when leading after two periods.

The third period saw Quebec cut off the neutral zone and leave little space for Seattle to generate offensive chances. Seattle’s best chance came with just over eight minutes left in the game when it had a power play. Unfortunately for the Thunderbirds power play, a blocked Brad Lambert shot went the other way for a short handed goal.

For all intents and purposes, it was the dagger in the game–and the Memorial Cup run for Seattle.

Blackhawks Prospects Impress in Memorial Cup, Postseason

Of the 24 postseason games Seattle played, one of the trio of Blackhawks prospects found their way onto the scoresheet 21 times. In the Memorial Cup, it was all four games. Obviously with three players on the roster, it’s a higher probability that they have a shot to record a point. But to do so at a clip of 91.6% is certainly impressive.

It’s likely that all three will be in Rockford next season, with the exception being Korchinski who could very well break camp with the Blackhawks. The maturity and intelligence he displayed all season long could bode well for a team that will have Connor Bedard and starting to grow with a younger core.

Then again, maybe he, too, could benefit from more seasoning.

Regardless of what is decided, Seattle’s postseason run was another step forward for the Blackhawks prospects. Now it’s onto the Draft and shortly after, a chance to see the prospects potentially on display.