Peterborough Petes keep Memorial Cup dream alive by defeating top-seed Quebec Remparts

Petes will face either the Blazers or Thunderbirds in Thursday night tie-breaker game for semifinal slot

The Peterborough Petes handed the top-seed Quebec Remparts their first loss in the Memorial Cup with a 4-2 win on May 30, 2023 at at the Sandman Centre in Kamloops, B.C. (Photo: Jessica Van Staalduinen)
The Peterborough Petes handed the top-seed Quebec Remparts their first loss in the Memorial Cup with a 4-2 win on May 30, 2023 at at the Sandman Centre in Kamloops, B.C. (Photo: Jessica Van Staalduinen)

The Peterborough Petes’ Memorial Cup dream is still alive after the team defeated the top-seed Quebec Remparts 4-2 on Tuesday night (May 30) in the Petes’ third and final round robin game at the Sandman Centre in Kamloops, B.C.

After losing their opening game on Saturday against the Seattle Thunderbirds 6-3 followed by a 10-2 blowout loss to host Kamloops Blazers on Sunday, the Petes handed the Remparts their first loss in the series. However, the Remparts have already clinched a berth in the Memorial Cup final having won two previous games.

Tuesday night’s game was scoreless until the second period, when Tucker Robertson opened the scoring for the Petes followed by a second goal by J.R. Avon. After James Malatesta scored for the Remparts, Avery Hayes added another goal for the Petes, with a goal by Quebec’s Nathan Gaucher leaving the score 3-2 at the end of the second period. Connor Lockhart of the Petes scored the only goal of the third period, giving Peterborough the 4-2 win.

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The Petes will play a tie-breaker on Thursday against the loser of Wednesday’s game between the Blazers and Thunderbirds. The winners of Wednesday’s and Thursday’s games will play in the semifinal game on Friday, and the winner of that game will face the Quebec Remparts on Sunday.

Puck drop for Thursday’s game is scheduled for 9 p.m. EDT, and fans can catch the game on TSN, Freq 90.5, Oldies 96.7, and Classic Rock 107.9.

The national championship of the Canadian Hockey League, the Memorial Cup is played by the champions of the Western Hockey League (WHL), Quebec Major Junior Hockey League (QMJHL), and Ontario Hockey League (OHL), along with a fourth team that wins the rights to host the tournament. Prior to this year, the Peterborough Petes have played in nine Memorial Cups, winning once in 1979.