RIMOUSKI — Jacob Julien's goal at 14:53 of the third period off a slick three-way passing play snapped a 1-1 tie and lifted the unbeaten London Knights to a 3-1 victory over the winless Rimouski Oceanic at the 2025 Memorial Cup on Sunday night.
Star forward Easton Cowan beat an Oceanic defender with a nice between the legs deke, passed the puck to a trailing Kasper Halttunen, who quickly passed back across the ice to Julien for a net-front tap-in that easily beat netminder Mathis Langevin.
“That was two strong teams going at it,” Julien said. “Both played really well defensively and offensively and we were fortunate enough to come out on top.”
Henry Brzustewicz and Cowan, with an empty-netter with under two minutes left, also scored for the Ontario Hockey League champions who beat the Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League champion Moncton Wildcats 3-2 in overtime on Saturday.
“That was a really fun game to play in,” Cowan said. “High compete from both teams and we stuck with it to come out with the two points.”
If the Knights beat the Western Hockey League champion Medicine Hat Tigers on Tuesday night they will punch their ticket to a second straight Memorial Cup final.
Eriks Mateiko scored a second-period goal for the Oceanic, who lost their tournament opener 5-4 to the Tigers on Friday.
The Knights outshot the Oceanic 36-29 and went 0-for-1 on the power play. The Oceanic were 0-for-4 with the man advantage.
Knights' netminder Austin Elliott made 28 saves, while Langevin made 33 saves.
The first period was scoreless and the teams were tied 1-1 heading into the third period.
London bench boss Dale Hunter became the winningest coach in Memorial Cup history as he collected his 15th victory to break a tie with Don Hay.
“It’s a credit to the players here,” Hunter said. “To win games, they are the ones who have to sacrifice on the ice to block shots. Through the years I’ve had great players and winners and they go on to do great things.”
The tournament-host Oceanic will play the Moncton Wildcats on Wednesday needing a win to stay alive in the Memorial Cup hunt.
UP NEXT
The Medicine Hat Tigers (1-0) face the Moncton Wildcats (0-1) on Monday.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 25, 2025.
The Canadian Press
