LONDON, Ontario, 31 May 2005 — Adam Dennis made 27 saves and Danny Fritsche had a goal and two assists as the London Knights won the 87th Memorial Cup, Canada’s major under-21 tournament, with a 4-0 victory over the Rimouski Oceanic on Sunday.
The Knights captured the championship game of the 56-team Canadian Hockey League after going 3-0 during the round-robin portion of the event as a record number of hockey-starved Canadians tuned in to watch the latter stages of the tournament.
Always a popular event, this year’s Memorial Cup drew even greater attention following the cancellation of the National Hockey League season in Feb. over a long-running salary dispute.
Adding to the tournament’s hype was the presence of Rimouski’s 17-year-old prospect Sidney Crosby, the most highly-touted junior since Wayne Gretzky and Mario Lemieux.
Crosby performed well in the eight-day event but was unable to prevent the record-setting Knights from stamping their authority on the competition. London set numerous CHL marks while compiling an overall record of 79-9-2, including playoffs and the Cup tournament. The Knights also dominated the final game, out-shooting Rimouski 44-27. Bryan Rodney, David Bolland and Rob Schremp scored the other goals for London while Corey Perry was named the tournament’s most valuable player.
