Remparts claim first Memorial Cup title in 17 years with win over T-Birds

The Quebec Remparts left no doubt on Sunday.

In a rematch that followed some questioning if it could come away with the same result, Quebec put a bow on a dominant year with one of its finest performances of the major junior hockey season.

William Rousseau had the tournament’s first shutout with 32 saves and the Remparts defeated the Seattle Thunderbirds

5-0 to claim the Memorial Cup title. Quebec also defeated Seattle 3-1 in the round-robin stage on Monday.

“I think after the first game a lot of people were doubting us, maybe saying: ‘Oh, they got lucky,’ ” Remparts forward and tournament MVP James Malatesta said. “We didn’t play as good as we wanted to, but I think tonight our defence showed up, offence showed up.

“All around, I think we played one of our best games of the year. I think it speaks to the group of guys we got, we always believe in ourselves and we would never get scared of any opponent.”

Head coach and managing director Patrick Roy — who had Gatorade dumped on him during the on-ice celebrations, which also included Justin Robidas and Nathan Gaucher doing the Griddy dance — shared a similar sentiment on his team’s performance.

“I thought we played our best game of the Memorial Cup,” Roy said. “I was a bit nervous, I won’t lie, before the game started.

“I was impressed to see how the guys were jumping and focused, controlling their emotions and physically involved. That was so nice to see and I was really proud of our group for what they’ve done tonight.”

Vsevolod Komarov, Kassim Gaudet, Malatesta, Zachary Bolduc and Charles Savoie scored for Quebec, which won its third title in franchise history and first since 2006.

The Remparts had won the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League regular-season and postseason crowns leading up to the Memorial Cup.