Blues prospect Toropchenko scores natural hat trick in Memorial Cup victory
HALIFAX, Nova Scotia — Alexey Toropchenko scored a natural hat trick in the first period and the Guelph Storm beat the Rouyn-Noranda Huskies 5-2 Saturday in the Memorial Cup opener for both teams.
Mackenzie Entwhistle and Nick Suzuki also scored for the Ontario Hockey League champion Storm, and Sean Durzi chipped in three assists. Anthony Popovich made 22 saves.
The 19-year-old Toropchenko, a St. Louis Blues prospect, has been on fire after scoring seven goals in the OHL championship to beat the Ottawa 67’s in six games and advance to the national major junior hockey championship.
Vincent Marleau and Jakub Lauko scored for the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League champion Huskies, who entered the four-team tournament as the No. 1 ranked club in the Canadian Hockey League.
Samuel Harvey stopped 24 of 29 shots in defeat.
