NY Islanders prospect Isaiah George one game away from Memorial Cup title
NY Islanders prospect Isaiah George is one game away from ending his junior hockey career with the biggest prize of all.
The London Knights have secured their place in the 2024 Memorial Cup Finals, where they'll take on either the Saginaw Spirit or the Moose Jaw Warriors.
After winning the OHL Cup, the Knights began the Memorial Cup matched up with the QMJHL champions, the Drummondville Voltigeurs. The Knights made easy work of their Quebec counterparts, with a 4-0 shutout.
Their second game against Moose Jaw was much more competitive with the two teams trading goals through the first 30 minutes. Locked up at 2-2, London scored the next three, but the Warriors battled back to get within one. London held on, winning by a score of 5-4
Meeting the host team, Saginaw, in their final pool play game, they were knotted at one through the first period. London scored the next two goals, with George recording a secondary assist, his first of the Memorial Cup, on a Denver Barkey (Philadelphia Flyers) second-period goal, giving the Knights a 2-1 lead, and ultimately winning 4-2.
Moose Jaw and Saginaw will face off tomorrow knight with the winner to play London in Sunday night's final.
London has been the CHL's top team all season long, led by Easton Cowan (Toronto Maple Leafs), Kasper Halttunen (San Jose Sharks), and Oliver Bonk (Philadelphia Flyers).
Though they've defeated Mosse Jaw and Saginaw in the last week, neither will be an easy matchup for the Knights. Denton Mateychuk (Columbus Blue Jackets), is the CHL's top-scoring defenseman who we could see in the NHL next season. Saginaw's Zayne Parekh has a similar skillset, and will likely be a top-10 draft pick next month.
With George likely playing in Bridgeport next season, this will be his last chance to end his career with some junior hardware. Adding a Memorial Cup to his resume will be a fantastic way to build confidence heading into rookie camp.