The 2018 Memorial Cup started Friday night that saw Montreal Canadiens face off against each other leaving Cale Fleury and the Regina Pats with the win.
The 100th Memorial Cup began Friday night. Three teams clawed their way to the opportunity to take part while the host city had a chance to right the wrong of an early playoff exit. Luckily, the Montreal Canadiens have two prospects taking part in Will Bitten and Cale Fleury.
It was a high-impact match between the OHL Champions and the Pats. Bitten was at his usual spot on the third line with Mackenzie Entwistle and Arthur Kaliyev. Fleury slotted in on Regina’s top pair next to Libor Hajek.
Hamilton got on the board first thanks to Robert Thomas in the opening period. The Bulldogs were determined to keep the lead of the game in their favour scoring again after Sam Steel tied things up. Regina wouldn’t go away making it 2-2 with less than five minutes left in the second. Nick Henry came up big for his team scoring with what would be the game-winner in the third period.
Both Bitten and Fleury were held off the score sheet to start the tournament off. The young forward kept his feet moving making some shifty plays to get past the defence. He was only held to one shot on goal which shouldn’t be a recurring event as the Memorial Cup continues for the Bulldogs.
Fleury got more rubber on net with three shots in total. The defenceman also brought a physical presence to the Pats’ blue line. The highlight of that was his hit on Brandon Saigeon. Fleury was along the boards to play the puck noticing Saigeon skating towards him to finish a check. However, the 20-year-old had a different layout in store for the Hamilton forward.
Brandon Saigeon still missing from the Hamilton bench after taking this hit from Regina's Cale Fleury #MMC100 pic.twitter.com/inVEf1Llu8
— Brandon Rivers (@BriversWHL) May 19, 2018
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Fleury and the Regina Pats will be looking to extend their winning ways on Sunday against Acadie-Bathurst Titan. Bitten and the Hamilton Bulldogs have a few extra days to get their heads back into the game as they don’t play until Monday. That game will see them take on the Swift Current Broncos who won the WHL this year.