The Memorial Cup tournament is often called a “once-in-a-lifetime” experience by the players who get to participate in it. For the London Knights franchise, this will be their sixth appearance since 2005. That year, the Knights won their very first Ontario Hockey League Championship.
Then they captured the ultimate prize with a 4-0 win over Sidney Crosby and the Rimouski Oceanic in the Memorial Cup final. London also hosted the event. The Knights also played host in 2014 when the Edmonton Oil Kings defeated the Guelph Storm in the final.
Their other three trips came in 2016 when Matthew Tkachuk’s overtime winner led London to a 3-2 victory over the Rouyn-Noranda in the final in Red Deer, Alta., as the Knights earned their second Memorial Cup title. London also made back-to-back appearances in 2012 when they lost in overtime to the host Shawinigan Cataractes and in 2013 when they went as far as the semi-final in Saskatoon, Sask.
Story continues below advertisement The field almost always features three league champions and a host club built to compete with all of them. That’s exactly what has happened in 2024 with the Knights, the WHL’s Moose Jaw Warriors, the QMJHL’s Drummondville Voltigeurs and the host Saginaw Spirit. What is brand new this time is the amount of rest each team has had.
For the first time in Memorial Cup history, every league champion won their championship series in four straight games. Drummondville last played on May 14. London and Moose Jaw w.
