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The Memorial Cup semi-final started off with a bang after the emotional pre-game on ice ceremony for the Quebec Remparts of old that included NHL great Guy Lafleur.
The Quebec Remparts played their final game in the Colisee Pepsi as they will be moving into the new rink next door in the new season. (Photo Credit - KelownaNow)
Thirteen seconds in, Rodney Southam dropped the gloves with Yanick Turcotte. It was a spirited bout that had the crowd going wild.
Both combatants got five for fighting. Southam was also assessed a ten minute misconduct.
Rodney Southam gets in going early (Photo Credit - KelownaNow)
The Remparts were feeding off the crowd and played at a torrid pace that would be very hard to maintain, especially for a team that was playing its third game in three nights.
The Remparts managed to score the first goal of the game at 3:11 in. Adam Erne scored the goal, which was his third of the tournament.
Rockets' Chance Braid with his first goal of the Memorial Cup would make it 1-1 before the ten minute mark. Zach Fucale and his goalposts held the score tied at one to end the first.
Chance Braid with a dustup. (Photo Credit - KelownaNow)
Kelowna outshot Quebec 14-6 and clearly had the edge in opportunities.
In the second, Kelowna exploded with four unanswered goals to make it 5-1. Justin Kirkland had a pair, while Leon Draisaitl had his fourth of the tournament and Josh Morrissey had his first.
Zach Fucale held the Remparts in the game for the first period. (Photo Credit - KelownaNow)
The Quebec fans were unhappy with the calls and littered the ice with beer, popcorn, and whatever else they could get their hands on. The game was delayed while officials cleaned the ice and brought in visible police to control the crowd.
The third period was only mildly better for the Remparts, as they allowed four more goals but managed to score two of their own for 9-3.
Three more Rockets scored their first goals of the tournament: Rourke Chartier with a pair, and Cole Linaker and Tyson Baillie with singles.
Jackson Whistle with the win. (Photo Credit - KelownaNow)
The semi-final was a wild one, with twelve goals scored, a penalty shot that Dillon Dube was stopped on, and delays for debris several times. Kelowna outshot the Remparts 44-23 and Kelowna was 3/6 on the man advantage while Quebec went 1/7.
The 12 combined goals were the most in a semi-final since 1986 when Hull defeated Kamloops 9-3.
Leon Draisaitl was named the game's first star with a goal and two assists, Kirkland was second star with two goals and two assists, and Morrissey was third with one goal and two assists.
The Rockets will now face the Oshawa Generals in Sunday’s final. The Rockets aim for their second MasterCard Memorial Cup title and first since 2004 following a 2-1 victory over Gatineau, while the Generals have hoisted the Memorial Cup four times with their last title in 1990 in a 4-3 2OT win over Kitchener.
The Memorial Cup final will take place on Sunday at 4:00 pm PST.
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