Final Game of the 2025 Memorial Cup between the Medicine Hats Tigers and the London Knights on June 1, 2025, at the Colisée Financière Sun Life in Rimouski, Que. (Photo: Vincent Ethier/CHL)

By Eli J. Ridder

Medicine Hat Tigers fall short at Memorial Cup, Knights win 4-1

Jun 2, 2025 | 10:41 AM

The Medicine Hat Tigers fell short of Memorial Cup glory Sunday after failing to battle back from a dominant second frame by the London Knights — a heartbreaking end for a team that rarely struggled in 2025.

The Knights won 4-1, claiming their third-ever Canadian Hockey League title and bouncing back after losing a year prior in the final seconds of the 2023-24 season.

While Gavin McKenna was able to get Tigers supporters watching from Co-op Place on their feet with a goal early in the third frame, it wasn’t enough to build momentum as the clock ticked down at Sun Life Coliseum in Rimouski, Que.

A second goal by McKenna late in the third was called off after a missed high-sticking call.

The Ontario Hockey League champion Knights were able to get the puck past Tigers netminder and former Lethbridge Hurricane Harrison Meneghin three times in the second period.

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Two of those goals were from Knights forward Denver Barkey after right winger Easton Cowan opened the period.

But it was the Knights’ Jacon Julien who got the scoring started halfway through the first period, a goal that went unanswered until the third.

Knights goalie Austin Elliott stopped 32 shots from the Tigers, while the London forwards were able to get 24 shots off on Meneghin.

Sunday’s loss was the first for the Tigers during the Memorial Cup tournament, after going 3-0 in the round-robin stage, including a win over the Knights.

London and Medicine Hat dominated their respective leagues en route to the Memorial Cup.

The Knights — a team loaded with 12 NHL draft picks — went 55-11-2 in the regular season and lost only once in the playoffs.

The Tigers, meanwhile, lost twice in the postseason after a 47-17-4 campaign.

‘Heartbreaking’

Dale Engel, organizer of a large Tigers fan group, said he was “heartbroken.”

“Not heartbroken for me as a fan, but heartbroken for the team,” Engel said after a watch party at Co-op Place.

“For the strife that they went through and the whole year to not meet what their ultimate goal was from the whole start of the year.”

But there are positives, too.

“There’s only four banners you can win, and we got three of them: the division champions, the conference champions and the Western Hockey [League] champions,” said Engel.

He added that this Western Hockey League-winning roster has also brought the Medicine Hat community together.

“I couldn’t be happier with that.”

Haley Teierle believed in the Memorial Cup run and was sad to see it end the way it did.

“It’s a sad outcome, but at least we made it this far compared to last year,” Teierle said.

The Tigers were knocked out of the 2024 playoffs by the Red Deer Rebels.

Jackie Faller, another Tigers supporter, said she couldn’t be prouder of the team.

“They’re just incredible, and it’s been an amazing year,” Faller said.

“And it’s not the finish they wanted, but they played really hard. That’s all we can ask for as fans.”

The Tigers organization will hold a final send off for the Tigers for 7 p.m. on Monday at Co-op Place.

— With files from The Canadian Press