Montreal Canadiens: Cale Fleury hoping for redemption in final game of round-robin
By Omar L
The Round-Robin of the Memorial Cup is at its final game where Montreal Canadiens prospect Cale Fleury will be looking for redemption against the Broncos.
After today, the 2018 Memorial Cup will be moving on to its playoff rounds. Acadie-Bathurst has been the story of the tournament after winning their first game in franchise history against the Swift Current Broncos in overtime. How the rest of the Memorial Cup plays out will depend on the outcome of tonight’s Regina-Swift Current game that will give Montreal Canadiens prospect Cale Fleury a shot at WHL redemption.
The two teams previously squared off in the first round of the WHL Playoffs. The series went the distance and the Broncos came out as the winner. Fleury had 4 assists over the course of those 7 games.
Defeating Swift Current will not only right the wrong the Pats have been sitting on, but secure a spot in the semi-finals. In a way, it’s a repeat of that Game 7 matchup. Regina winning is the less complicated scenario for the Memorial Cup as the Broncos would be eliminated with 0 wins. However, if the opposite happens, a tie-breaker game would be required.
Will Bitten and the Hamilton Bulldogs are already guaranteed at least one game in the next round. The 19-year-old has failed to record a single point for his team. Monday’s win must’ve been the most frustrating as Bitten had six shots on net with nothing to show for it.
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The team are strapping wins together though which should be his focus. There were moments against the Broncos where Bitten would stay a little high to get sprung on the breakaway leaving his teammates to pick up the pieces. It makes sense for the 2016 third-round pick seeing how many goals have gone his way when streaking in alone. But it could turn around to bite him.
The Bulldogs could’ve advanced directly to the final game if they were able to score two more goals. Now they must wait to see the result of the Pats-Broncos match. If fellow prospect Fleury and his team come away with the win, Hamilton makes it. Otherwise, the Titan go to the final leaving the Bulldogs with another obstacle in their path.
Fleury can play a big role in this game. Team Captain Sam Steel has been on fire leading all players in points with a goal and five assists. Additionally, the Pats have the most dangerous power play at the Memorial Cup firing at 28.6%. Fleury is on the verge of breaking out offensively and could get it done on the man advantage.
He and Steel have combined for goals ever since he was traded to the team, and there is no better time to get back to that than now. Although his defensive game has improved, what has stuck out more is his ability to carry the puck into the offensive zone. Skills like that can lead to a lot of scoring chances for, and it would benefit the Pats to have that going during the game.
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Puck drop is scheduled for 10:00 PM ET. Tune in on Sportsnet to watch what looks to be an exciting match.