(Saginaw) Ruslan Gazizov scored twice, Michael Simpson posted a 31-save shutout and the London Knights defeated the Drummondville Voltigeurs 4-0 on Saturday in the preliminary round of the Memorial Cup.
Oliver Bonk and Kasper Halttunen also scored for the Knights. Bonk and Jacob Julien finished the game with two points.
In front of the Voltigeurs cage, Riley Mercer blocked 18 pucks. He had won his last five games, allowing seven goals during this winning streak.
The Voltigeurs are making their fourth appearance at the Canadian junior hockey end-of-season tournament. They are looking for a first title and trying to extend the streak of success of the Maritimes Quebec Junior Hockey League clubs to five.
The Acadie-Bathurst Titan, the Rouyn-Noranda Huskies, the Saint-Jean Sea Dogs and the Quebec Remparts have won the last four editions, interrupted by two cancellations due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Knights are participating in the Memorial Cup for the first time since 2016. Dale Hunter’s team then defeated the Rouyn-Noranda Huskies in the final.
The Voltigeurs will be back on the ice at the DOW Event Center on Sunday against the Saginaw Spirit. The Knights will face the Moose Jaw Warriors on Monday.
After Gazizov opened the scoring at 8:04 of the first period, Bonk doubled the Ontario club’s lead at 13:53.
The Voltigeurs tried to reduce the gap in the second period, but they were unable to beat Simpson.
Gazizov then dealt a hard blow to the QMJHL representatives by scoring just 20 seconds into the third period. Halttunen added 2:07 later to make it 4-0.
The Voltigeurs obtained a fifth opportunity on the power play with less than five minutes remaining in the game without being able to take advantage.