'Sick play': Easton Cowan scores game winner to send Knights to Memorial Cup final
Easton Cowan grew up watching the London Knights from his home just west of the city in Mt. Brydges, Ont.
Wednesday night he sent his childhood team to the Memorial Cup final when he scored the tie-breaking, game winning goal with 1:24 to go in regulation as London beat Saginaw 4-2.
“I actually have chills right now,” said Cowan who would add an empty net goal to seal the win. “It's a dream come true.”
He had multiple chances earlier in the game, and had yet to score in the tournament, but his first goal was the biggest of the national championship thus far.
“I thought I was getting my chances throughout the first couple of games, couldn't really find my legs there,” added Cowan, the Toronto Maple Leafs first round pick. “I felt like in that third period, I really got back to my game and fore-check and stops and starts and it felt good to get that one in.”
Cowan finished off the play from close range after Sam O’Reilly won a puck battle by lifting the stick of a Spirit player before feeding Cowan.
“That’s what you expect from your best players,” said teammate Max McCue. “Guys like that you lean on in the hard moments, and you know, they tend to come through. If you give the puck to Cow [Cowan] in the slot with two minutes to go, he’s usually going to score.”
After the game, Saginaw head coach Chris Lazary called the contest a “hell of a game.”
“One good break there at the end and they capitalized on it,” he said. “Easton Cowan is a good hockey player, and they made a sick play on entry and he’s a dangerous player to score.”
Knights head coach Dale Hunter knew Cowan’s time would come, as he was getting chances.
“He's got the skill and he is good skater who knows the game and pushes through,” said Hunter. “It's hard skating out there with both teams running three lines. It’s a battle, and lots of ice time for the guys, so it's the ones that overcome so much ice time and keeps pushing.”
The win pushes London into Sunday’s Memorial Cup final, as they search for the third national title in franchise history.
It’s a thought that puts a smile on Hunter’s face.
“It's a battle to get here,” said Hunter. “You're battling against real good teams and top teams from the leagues, so it makes it fun hockey.”
They will face the winner of Saginaw-Moose Jaw, who will play in Friday’s Semi-final.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
BREAKING B.C. serial killer Robert Pickton dead following prison attack
Convicted B.C. serial killer Robert Pickton, who preyed on women he lured from Vancouver's Downtown Eastside to his rural pig farm, has died.
'We will go with the majority': Liberals slammed by opposition over proposal to delay next election
The federal Liberal government learned Friday it might have to retreat on a proposal within its electoral reform legislation to delay the next vote by one week, after all opposition parties came out to say they can't support it.
DND moving 1,000 employees out of Ottawa office building due to safety concerns
The Department of National Defence is moving approximately 1,000 employees out of an office building in Ottawa's Lowertown neighbourhood, citing safety concerns for its employees.
Baby dead after being delivered via emergency C-section to woman who was in police custody
A newborn is dead after being delivered via emergency C-section to a woman in police custody.
Biden speaks after Donald Trump's conviction in hush money case
A day after a New York jury delivered a historic guilty verdict in Donald Trump's criminal hush money trial, the presumptive Republican presidential nominee held a press conference Friday where he spoke publicly about the conviction and his White House bid.
How did Ontario's bankrupt 'Crypto King' travel the world on Scene+ points?
Newly released documents suggest Ontario’s so-called ‘Crypto King’ paid for months of world travels with $13,000 worth of Scene+ points while bankrupt – but how?
More counterfeit drugs seized, hot water boiler causes fire: Here are the recalls for this week
Health Canada recalled various items this week, including more unauthorized products, counterfeit drugs and bassinets.
Mediterranean diet helps women live much longer, a large new study finds
Women who closely followed a Mediterranean diet lived much longer than those who did not, according to a new study that followed more than 25,000 women for 25 years.
Solutions coming for piled-up bodies outside Newfoundland hospital
Health officials in Newfoundland and Labrador say they are only weeks away from a solution to move unclaimed human remains out of roadside freezers and into a nearby hospital.