There will be a Memorial Cup Champion on the ice when the Ottawa Senators take to the ice for their annual rookie camp in early July. Who that champ will be has yet to be determined, but a pair of Senators prospects will be going head to head in London on Sunday to determine Canadian Junior Hockey supremacy.
With Ben Harpur and the Guelph Storm rolling through the tournament with a perfect record and waiting for their opponent knowing they would be in the final since their win in Game 2 on Monday, it was Curtis Lazar who ended the longest game in Memorial Cup history on Friday night to get the Edmonton Oil Kings into the final.
Lazar tipped home Cody Corbett’s point shot 2:42 into the third overtime period to get the Oil Kings past the Val D’Or Foreurs after the Quebec League champs had tied the game with just 24 seconds left to force extra time.
Lazar, an offensive force for the Oil Kings, has 4 points (2G, 2A) in his 4 games in the tournament. He was the Senators first round pick in the 2013 NHL draft and will have a shot at playing with the club next year.
On the other hand, Harpur is a longer-term project and was the Sens 4th round pick in 2013. The 6’6″ defenseman is a stay at home blueliner who will be a shutdown player when he eventually reaches the NHL. He is pointless in his 3 games at the tournament, but will likely see a lot of Lazar head to head in Sunday afternoon’s final.
Guelph will be favored to win after steamrolling their way through the round robin. They beat the Oil Kings 5-2 in their respective tournament opener last Saturday.