The Portland Winterhawks will play the London (Ontario) Knights on Friday for a spot in the Memorial Cup championship game.
London beat host Saskatoon 6-1 on Thursday in the first elimination game of the tournament. Six different players scored for the Knights, who beat the Blades for the second time in this tournament.
In their round-robin meeting, Portland scored three third-period goals to beat London 6-3. The winner of today’s semifinal between the champions of the Western Hockey League and the Ontario Hockey League will face the Halifax Mooseheads in Sunday’s championship game.
So far in the tournament, the team playing on consecutive nights is 0-3. That will be the challenge for London on Friday.
“Guys are spending a lot of energy out there. These are hard-fought games,” acting Winterhawks coach Travis Green said on Thursday. “We’re down to the final four, and you see the looks on faces not just from our team but the other team, those guys are spent.”
With that in mind, the Winterhawks did not skate on Thursday.
“A day to get your mind re-energized as much as your body,” Green explained.
One Winterhawk who apparently needs more time to clear his head is forward Taylor Leier. The Saskatoon native was knocked out of Wednesday’s game by Blades’ defenseman Dalton Thrower when Thrower drove a shoulder into Leier’s face during the first period.
Green said on Thursday that Leier will not play on Friday and is unlikely to be available for Sunday’s championship game should the Winterhawks advance.
As of Thursday morning, Green stopped short of saying that Leier suffered a concussion, but did confirm “concussion-like symptoms.”
Thrower was not penalized on the play, but was suspended for the remainder of the tournament and did not play for Saskatoon in Thursday’s loss to London.
“I’m a big believer in physical hockey, tough hockey,” said Green, a defenseman who played 14 seasons in the National Hockey League. “But we also want to make sure it’s done the right way.
“Physical tough hockey, that’s what our sports about. You’re not figure skating out there.”
In its two wins at the tournament, Portland has won the third period, outscoring both London and Saskatoon 3-1 over the final 20 minutes.
Since Halifax scored seven against Portland on Saturday, Winterhawks goalie Mac Carruth has stopped 54 of 59 shots including some big saves to deny odd-man rushes.
“I think we’ve played better as the tournament’s gone on, and hopefully we’ve got another gear for (Friday),” Green said.
Bo Horvat’s penalty shot 3:05 into the game opened the scoring in Thursday’s game. The Knights led 3-0 entering the final period, then added three goals in just one minute to lead 6-0 3:22 into the final period.
Leipsic signs with Nashville — Portland forward Brendan Leipsic has signed a three-year entry level contract with the Nashville Predators. Last June, Leipsic was drafted 89th overall by the Predators. Leipsic led the WHL with 49 goals during the regular season.
