SAGINAW, Mich. - Easton Cowan scored the go-ahead goal late in the third period to help the London Knights book their ticket to Sunday's Memorial Cup final with a 4-2 victory over the Saginaw Spirit on Wednesday night.
Cowan took a feed from Sam O'Reilly and beat Spirit goaltender Andrew Oke on the glove side with 1:25 left in regulation time. Cowan iced the win with an empty-netter with 22 seconds left.
The Spirit will play Western Hockey League champion Moose Jaw in Friday's semifinal. The Warriors topped the Drummondville Voltigeurs 5-3 on Tuesday to eliminate the Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League champions.
Kasper Halttunen and Denver Barkey each had a goal and an assist for London. Michael Simpson made 26 saves.
Alex Christopoulos and Joey Willis scored for host Saginaw. Oke stopped 31 shots.
Both teams entered the game at 2-0 in round-robin play and met each other for the first time since the Ontario Hockey League's Western Conference final.
The Knights won the best-of-seven series in six games before going on to win the OHL title earlier this month.
EASTON COWANNNNNNNNN the COWBOY scores with just under two minutes remaining in the game 🚨🚨🚨
— TSN (@TSN_Sports) May 30, 2024
MIND BLOWING #MemorialCup 🏒 pic.twitter.com/9N9aJNFTbU
THAT BOY LOVES THE BIG STAGE.@MapleLeafs | #LeafsForever pic.twitter.com/C52z1RjSgz
— London Knights (@LondonKnights) May 30, 2024