The Ontario Hockey League's Saginaw Spirit are the 2024 Memorial Cup champions. In Sunday's tournament final, Saginaw's Josh Bloom scored with 22 seconds remaining in regulation to lift his team to a 4-3 win over the OHL champion London Knights.
During the OHL playoffs, London defeated Saginaw, four games to two, in the Western Conference Final. However, as the host team for this year's Memorial Cup, Saginaw earned an automatic berth in the tournament to crown the champions of the entire Canadian Hockey League (CHL). During the round-robin phase of the Memorial Cup, Saginaw (4-1-0) suffered a 4-2 loss to London (3-1-0).
Ultimately, Saginaw prevailed over London in the single biggest game on the CHL calendar: The Memorial Cup Final. Saginaw took a 2-0 lead to the locker room at the first intermission, racking up a 13-1 shot advantage and getting a pair of goals from Owen Beck. Bloom assisted on both tallies.
In the second period, the Spirit outshot London by an 11-5 margin (24-6 through two periods). However, after falling into a 3- deficit on a Joey Willis goal, the Knights gave themselves a chance heading into the final frame. Kasper Halttunen's fourth goal of the tournament at 9:45 of the second period narrowed the gap to 3-2. Flyers defense prospect Oliver Bonk assisted on the goal, along with Toronto prospect Easton Cowan.
The third period saw the two sides trade off a modest seven shots apiece (31-13 edge for Saginaw overall) At 7:48, Cowan scored his third goal and eighth point of the tourney, bringing London back within 3-2. Bonk collected his second helper of the game. Sam Dickinson, a projected first-round selection in the 2024 NHL Draft, earned the primary assist.
As the third period moved past the halfway mark, London found a way to tie the game. Dickinson's second goal of the game, assisted by Max McCue and Cowan, forged a 3-3 deadlock at 10:16.
To their credit, Saginaw was able to stabilize again and avoid getting steamrolled by London's momentum. As the latter half of the period unfolded, overtime seemed inevitable. That is, untl Bloom scored the championship goal at the 19:38 mark. The victory marked Saginaw's first Memorial Cup championship in team history.
Flyers wing prospect Denver Barkey did not record a point or a shot on goal in the championship game. He was minus-one. Overall, Barkey posted one goal and three assists in the Memorial Cup tourney. He had 102 points (35 goals, 67 assists) and a plus-45 rating during the OHL regular season and 27 points (6g, 19a) and a plus-10 in 18 games during the Ontario Hockey League playoffs.
Bonk recorded at least one point in all four games London played during the Memorial Cup. He finished the tourney with six points (1g, 5a) and a plus-three rating although he was on the ice for three Saginaw goals in the championship game. During the OHL regular season, Bonk posted 67 points in 60 games, including 24 goals (15 power play tallies) and 43 assists. He was plus-28. In the OHL playoffs, he contributed 16 points in 18 games including seven goals (six on the power play) and 11 assists. Bonk was a traditional plus-16 during London's playoff run to the championship.
The Western Hockey League champion Moose Jaw Warriors went 1-2-0 during the Memorial Cup round-robin. The Quebec Major Hockey League champion Drummondville Voltigeurs finished 0-3-0 during the Memorial Cup tourney.
Flyers wing prospect Alexis Gendon chipped in one point (1g, 0a) for Drummondville during the Memorial Cup. However, in two fewer games played, Gendron tied Saginaw's Beck for the most shots on goal (18) recorded by any player in the tournament. Come next season, look for the 20-year-old Gendron to play his first full professional season for the American Hockey League's Lehigh Valley Phantoms.
