Seattle Thunderbirds beat Peterborough Petes 6-3 to open Memorial Cup
Seattle Thunderbirds' Lucas Ciona, center, and Kyle Crnkovic, front left, celebrate after Ciona's goal against Peterborough Petes goalie Michael Simpson (31) as Petes' Donovan McCoy (19) skates past during second-period Memorial Cup hockey game action in Kamloops, British Columbia, Saturday, May 27, 2023. Credit: AP/DARRYL DYCK
KAMLOOPS, British Columbia — Kyle Crnkovic had a hat trick and the Western Hockey League champion Seattle Thunderbirds opened Memorial Cup play Saturday with a 6-3 victory over the Ontario Hockey League champion Peterborough Petes.
Lucas Ciona, Nolan Allan and Jordan Gustafson also scored for Seattle, and Thomas Milic made 23 saves.
Seattle will return to action Monday night against the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League champion Quebec Remparts, an 8-3 winner over the host Kamloops Blazers on Friday night in tournament opener.
J.R. Avon, Owen Beck and Avery Hayes scored for the Petes. They will face Quebec on Sunday night.
