2008 Memorial Cup Schedule

[Terry]

Date Team Result/Time

Friday, May 16 Gatineau vs. Kitchener 5pm MT

Saturday, May 17 Spokane vs. Belleville 2pm MT

Sunday, May 18 Kitchener vs. Spokane 2:30pm MT

Monday, May 19 Belleville vs. Gatineau 5pm MT

Tuesday, May 20 Spokane vs. Gatineau 5pm MT

Wednesday, May 21 Kitchener vs. Belleville 5pm MT

Thursday, May 22 Tiebreaker Game (if required) 5pm MT

Friday, May 23 Semifinal - Second vs. Third Place 5pm MT

Sunday, May 25 Memorial Cup Final - First Place vs. Semifinal winner 2:30pm MT

All games on Rogers Sportsnet

[Terry]

Host Kitchener opens Memorial Cup with 6-5 overtime win over Gatineau
Canadian Press
May 16, 2008, 10:56 PM EDT

KITCHENER, Ont. - Justin Azevedo snuffed out Gatineau's comeback bid with an overtime goal, which gave the host Kitchener Rangers a 6-5 win to open the 2008 MasterCard Memorial Cup on Friday.

Azevedo wired a wrist shot high over the outstretched glove of Olympiques goaltender Ryan Mior at 6:59 of the extra period for the power-play winner.

The Olympiques, who forced overtime after trailing most of the game, had been called for too many men on the ice 14 seconds earlier.

"We got a break," Azevedo said. "It's an unbelievable feeling especially in overtime.

"Game 1, you don't want to go into overtime, but we got the win and that was crucial. A win's a win in this tournament."

Azevedo, named the Ontario Hockey League's best player in both the regular season and playoffs, also had three assists. He and linemates Matt Halischuk and Nick Spaling combined for four goals and five assists on the night.

Rookie Justin Akeson and Danish NHL prospect Mikkel Boedker also scored for the host club and OHL champs in front of a full house of 6,705 at Memorial Auditorium.

Kitchener outshot Gatineau 53-28 and thanks to his team's firepower in front of him, Rangers goaltender Josh Unice needed only 23 saves for the win.

Darryl Smith and Michael Stinziani each had a goal and two assists for the Olympiques, while Paul Byron, Nicholas Valliere-Mayer and Alex Quesnel also scored for the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League champions.

The Western Hockey League's Spokane Chiefs meet the OHL runner-up Belleville Bulls on Saturday (4 p.m. ET).

The team with the best record at the conclusion of the round-robin gets a bye to the final May 25 and the second-and third-place teams meet in the semifinal May 23.

The Rangers had the upper hand for two periods and led 3-2 and 5-3 at breaks, but the Olympiques revived in the third to tie the score 9:05 into the period.

Kitchener took advantage of Gatineau's porous defence below their own faceoff circles to score three unanswered goals in the first 12 minutes of the game and shell Mior with 42 shots over the first two periods.

But the Rangers went cold in the third with just four shots on Mior.

"A two-goal lead is the worst lead to have in a game," Azevedo said. "I wouldn't say it messes with your concentration, but you do think about it."

Kitchener recovered its firepower in overtime and outshot the Olympiques 7-0, but it was Gatineau's gaffe on a line change that was their downfall.

"We chose to pass it back into our own zone instead of going forward," Gatineau head coach Benoit Groulx said.

Friday's game marked the first meeting between the two franchises and the two head coaches since Groulx's Olympiques lost to Peter DeBoer's Rangers in the final of the 2003 Memorial Cup in Quebec City.

After a terrible start, Gatineau kept Kitchener from running away with it early by scoring a pair of goals in the last six minutes of the first period. The Olympiques stayed within striking distance with a power-play goal late in the second.

"It was a good test for us coming into the host team's building and the crowd was wild," Smith said. "It shows how much character we have to come back from getting down so early.

"I don't know if it was nerves, but we just weren't ready to play."

Claude Giroux's backhand pass against the flow of play gave Quesnel time to get a shot away from one knee and tie it at 9:05 of the third period.

Valliere-Mayer's off-speed shot skimmed past Unice's outstretched pad for a power-play goal at 2:03.

Halischuk was the overtime hero for Canada at the world junior hockey championships in January as he scored the winner against Sweden in the gold-medal game.

Halischuk, a New Jersey Devils draft pick, enjoys an uncanny chemistry around the net with linemates Spaling, a Nashville Predators prospect, and Azevedo.

"I wouldn't say magic, but we're just really comfortable with each other," Azevedo said. "We know where each other is going to be on the ice and I don't think I could be happier with those two."

Azevedo set up Halischuk's second goal of the night with a feed from behind the net at 9:29 of the second period to pad Kitchener's cushion, before Gatineau countered with a power-play goal from Smith at 12:57.

Boedker, ranked No. 11 among North American skaters by Central Scouting, blasted Azevedo's backhand pass past Mior at 2:30 of the second period for a power-play goal and a 4-2 lead.

Byron, the QMJHL's leading goal-scorer in the playoffs, banged a rebound past Unice's right pad at 16:40 of the first period to temporarily pull Gatineau within a goal.

Stinziani converted Smith's feed from behind the net into Gatineau's first goal at 14:13.

The Rangers swarmed Gatineau's net to get Mior off balance and Halischuk scored his first of two over the prone Gatineau goalie at 11:57.

Gatineau's Joey Ryan and Kitchener's Brandon Mashinter dropped the gloves on the ensuing faceoff and fought.

Mior got a piece of Spaling's wrist shot from the high slot, but couldn't control it enough to keep it from skidding by him for Kitchener's second goal at 7:49.

Akeson scored his first goal of the post-season by winning a battle in the corner with Olympiques defenceman Mike Mallette.

Akeson came out of the corner with the puck and beat Mior with a wrist shot at 6:17.

Gatineau defenceman Hubert Labrie left the game in the third period after an apparent knee injury. Boedker had knee on knee contact later in the third period and skated to the bench in pain, but was able to keep playing.

Notes: Rangers defencemen Yannick Weber (ankle) and Robert Burtuzzo (shoulder) remained out of the Rangers lineup Friday and forward Scott Tregunna continued to fill in on the back end. ... Olympiques defenceman Mike Mallette had his first game action since January when he injured his shoulder and required surgery. ... The Rangers wore retro jerseys in Friday's game with the decal of a soldier on the front. The design was taken from an English recruiting poster during the First World War. The Memorial Cup trophy has been given our since 1919 in honour of men and women who died in that war.

www.nhl.com/nhl/app?articleid=363705&page=NewsPage&service=page

Game summary

[Brae]

I have a ticket package to the whole tournament.

Enjoyed last night's game, watching Gatineau battle back! Would have been better if Gatineau had won though

[Terry]

I'd like to go to a Memorial Cup one day. Get to see the mix of fans in the crowd.

Was there much in the way of Spokane fans tonight?

[Terry]

Koper scores in overtime as Chiefs edge Bulls 5-4 at Memorial Cup
Canadian Press
May 17, 2008, 8:56 PM EDT

KITCHENER, Ont. - Early three-goal leads haven't meant comfortable wins at the 2008 MasterCard Memorial Cup.

For the second straight game to start this year's Canadian Hockey League championship, the team up 3-0 after the first period has needed overtime to close out the victory.

Levko Koper was the overtime hero for the Spokane Chiefs on Saturday in a 5-4 win over Belleville Bulls.

The host Kitchener Rangers were up by three goals after 20 minutes in the tournament opener the previous night, but it took Justin Azevedo's goal in extra time to clinch a 6-5 win against the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League's Gatineau Olympiques.

"I've been here two days and seen two three-goal leads evaporate. It's hard on the heart," said relieved Spokane head coach Bill Peters.

The Rangers, also the Ontario Hockey League champions, take on the Western Hockey League's Chiefs on Sunday in a clash of the unbeaten teams.

The winner can secure at least a berth in Friday's semifinal.

Gatineau and Belleville meet Monday in a meeting of winless teams.

The club with the best record at the conclusion of the round robin gets a bye to Sunday's final, while the second-and third-place teams meet in the semifinal.

Koper was moving into the high slot in front of Belleville goaltender Mike Murphy when a rebound from a Justin McCrae shot deflected out to him. The 17-year-old from Edmonton made the most of his good fortune with the winner at 4:46 of the fourth period.

"I was in the right place at the right time and caught a five-hole," said an elated Koper. "I've never had anything like this goal."

Carolina Hurricanes prospect Drayson Bowman paced the Chiefs with a hat trick and an assist. Mitch Wahl got a goal and captain Chris Bruton had three assists.

Goaltender Dustin Tokarski, ranked No. 9 among North American goaltenders by Central Scouting for this year's NHL draft, made 28 saves for the win.

Spokane pelted Murphy with 54 shots and the OHL's goaltender of the year gave the Bulls a chance to win as they scored four unanswered goals to temporarily take the lead early in the third.

Cory Tanaka scored twice on his 20th birthday for the Bulls in front of a pro-Belleville crowd of 6,624 at Memorial Auditorium.

Florida Panthers prospect Shawn Matthias contributed a goal, Los Angeles Kings draft pick Bryan Cameron had a goal and an assist and Adam Perry, the younger brother of Anaheim Ducks forward Corey Perry, had two assists.

Spokane was more rested than Belleville after completing a sweep of Lethbridge in the WHL final May 7. The Bulls lost Game 7 of the OHL final to Kitchener on Monday.

Spokane isn't offensively explosive, but they're opportunistic. Their quick transition game allows them to score off the opposition's mistakes.

Belleville couldn't handle Spokane's tight-checking style in the first period and repeatedly coughed up the puck, which gave Spokane a three-goal lead and a 20-4 advantage in shots after 20 minutes.

"I think we counted 11 or 12 turnovers in the first period and that's too many for an entire game, let alone one period," Belleville head coach George Burnett said.

Belleville got their game together in the second period and scored three times to tie it up. Tanaka's second goal of the game early in the third gave the Bulls the lead for the first time in the game.

But Spokane kept the pressure on Murphy and Bowman's third of the game with less than three minutes left in regulation meant overtime again. The Chiefs outshot the Bulls 19-8 in the third.

"You look at our defence and to a man we weren't strong," Burnett said. "We left Murph high and dry on too many occasions and that's going to have to improve quickly."

Drayson's third goal was a wrist shot top shelf at 17:04. Murphy had tried to smother the puck, but lost control of it to give Bowman the top of the net as a target.

The winger from Littleton, Colo., was a third-round pick (72nd overall) by the Hurricanes last year and scored two of Spokane's three goals in the opening period.

Peters can't understand why USA Hockey did not invite his star winger to play for the U.S. at the world junior championship this year as an 18-year-old.

"I think he would at 19," Peters said. "I don't know what they're waiting for him to do in order to get that opportunity."

It was the second disheartening loss in a row for Belleville at the Auditorium. They'd trailed Kitchener 3-0 in the OHL final series and 4-1 in Game 4, but won that game in overtime and the next two to force Game 7 which they lost.

The 49 shots they gave up in Game 7 and the 54 against Saturday is a lot for even the OHL's top goalie.

"We're playing for the Memorial Cup here and it's one of the hardest trophies to win and the pace of play is going to be a lot higher," Matthias said. "We can't go in thinking it's a regular-season game."

Only five minor penalties were called in the game and the first one wasn't until 12:31 of the second period.

Belleville scored its third goal of the game four seconds after a power-play expired and its second came with a man advantage.

Notes: Matthias played just his second game of the post-season following a bout of mononucleosis. He scored his first two NHL goals Jan. 19 during a short call-up by the Panthers . . . Olympiques defenceman Hubert Labrie is said to be day-to-day after suffering an apparent knee injury Friday against Kitchener.

www.nhl.com/nhl/app?articleid=363752&page=NewsPage&service=page

Game summary

[Terry]

Spokane Chiefs give no quarter to Kitchener in 2-1 win at Memorial Cup
Canadian Press
May 18, 2008, 7:56 PM EDT

KITCHENER, Ont. - The Spokane Chiefs were at their suffocating best in a 2-1 win over the Kitchener Rangers at the Memorial Cup on Sunday.

The Western Hockey League champions' calling card is taking away time and space from the opposition and they executed that style much better than in the previous night's 5-4 overtime win over the Belleville Bulls.

"If we stick to our systems and get pucks in deep, we're not playing that river hockey game where you're going back and forth," Spokane captain Chris Bruton said. "We're a systematic team and tonight we did that and that's Chiefs hockey."

Spokane's reward for a 2-0 record is a guaranteed berth in Friday's semifinal.

But the Chiefs can get the bye to Sunday's championship game either with a Belleville win over Gatineau on Monday or by beating the Olympiques themselves on Tuesday.

"I'm cheering for who tomorrow? Belleville? Is that what I'm doing?" Chiefs head coach Bill Peters joked. "No, we've played twice and won twice so what more can you ask for?"

Drayson Bowman had a goal and an assist for the Chiefs. The Carolina Hurricanes draft pick leads the tournament in scoring with four goals and two assists.

Mitch Wahl, a prospect for the NHL draft next month, contributed two assists. Defenceman Justin Falk, a Minnesota Wild draft pick, also scored for Spokane.

Dustin Tokarski made 36 saves for his second victory of the tournament. He's ranked No. 9 among North American goaltenders by Central Scouting for the draft.

While he faced a lot of rubber, the defence in front of him kept shots to the outside where he could see them.

The host and Ontario Hockey League champion Rangers briefly led 1-0 on Matt Halischuk's short-handed goal in the first period.

Staggered penalties to Spokane's Stefan Ulmer and Falk gave Kitchener a two-man advantage for 45 seconds to start the third period. But Kitchener was unable to get the tying goal then or for the rest of the game, much to the disappointment of the pro-Rangers 6,668 at Memorial Auditorium.

Both clubs were 0-for-4 on the power play.

"I think the five-on-three at the beginning of the third was our turning point," Rangers head coach Peter DeBoer said. "We've been money in those situations pretty much all year and tonight we weren't.

"You're not going to win many games at this tournament scoring one goal."

Chicago Blackhawks prospect Josh Unice stopped 28 shots in the loss. The Rangers are idle for two days and face Belleville on Wednesday.

Kitchener's top line of Halischuk, Justin Azevedo and Nick Spaling combined for nine points in the opening game of the tournament, but was smothered by Spokane's checking trio of Levko Koper, Justin McCrae and Jared Spurgeon.

"They're right on them and giving them not an inch," said Bruton. "To have a line like that committed to shutting down their top line, it's a great bonus for us."

Peters was happy to see his top forward trio of Wahl, Bowman and Bruton rein in their game to play tighter defensively, while still producing.

"They didn't score three or four goals like they had in Game 1, but weren't such a high-risk unit," he said.

The Chiefs swept Lethbridge in the Western Hockey League final May 7 and had over a week's rest heading into the tournament.

That was a double-edged sword for the club as they showed some game rust Saturday against Belleville, but had the legs to beat Kitchener in their second game in as many nights.

"We weren't going to practise originally if we got off to a 2-0 start, but I think we need to," Peters said. "We'll stay on the ice and stay in the rhythm of being on the ice."

Wahl inherited the Chiefs' yellow hard hat from Bowman the previous night and was relieved to be going into a day off with the best record in the tournament.

"That's a really good feeling," he said. "We knew the stakes coming into this game and went out there and got a win."

Bowman scored what turned out to be the game winner at 5:24 of the second period. He collected a drop pass from Wahl in the high slot and beat Unice with a wrist shot.

Falk evened the score at 16:45 of the first period with a shot from the blue-line and Wahl providing traffic in front of Unice.

Halischuk's short-handed goal energized the Rangers faithful at 'The Aud' at 4:21.

The New Jersey Devils' prospect corralled Trevor Glass's pass at the Rangers blue-line and beat Tokarski five-hole on his ensuing breakaway.

Notes: Kitchener defenceman and Montreal Canadiens prospect Yannick Weber played his first game since injuring his ankle in Game 4 of the Ontario Hockey League final series. DeBoer said his plan was to use him sparingly, but he ended up playing 30 minutes. Forward Scott Tregunna continued fill in on the blue-line in place of Robert Bortuzzo (shoulder) . . . This year's Memorial Cup opened with back-to-back overtime games for only the second time in the tournament's history. London beat Rimouski and Ottawa edged Kelowna in extra time to start the 2005 Memorial Cup in London.

www.nhl.com/nhl/app?articleid=363800&page=NewsPage&service=page

Game summary

[Terry]

Matthias scores twice in Belleville's 6-3 win over Gatineau at Memorial Cup
Canadian Press
May 19, 2008, 10:26 PM EDT

KITCHENER, Ont. - The recovery of Belleville Bulls forward Shawn Matthias should be cause for concern for the other three teams at the Memorial Cup.

Matthias had the go-ahead goal and also scored short-handed in the Bulls' 6-3 win over the Gatineau Olympiques on Monday at the Canadian Hockey League championship.

It was just the third post-season game for the towering winger after a bout of mononucleosis. His legs, wind and timing are coming together.

"I feel better every game," Matthias said. "Tonight I felt more that I had my breathe back and more like my old self."

The Florida Panthers' prospect, who has already scored his first two NHL goals during a call-up in January, is difficult to contain with his big powerful strides and puck skills.

When Matthias is in the corner, he can be at the net in two strides and is a threat to score every time he gets there.

That's how he set up Matt Halischuk's overtime goal for Canada in the final of the world junior hockey championship in January, as Halischuk scored on a rebound.

Gatineau's loss was the Spokane Chiefs' gain as the Western Hockey League champions clinched the bye to Sunday's final game with a 2-0 record following victories over host Kitchener and Belleville.

The Olympiques dropped to 0-2 and the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League champs must beat Spokane on Tuesday to force a tiebreaker game and avoid elimination.

"I don't think one guy in the room is ready to go home," Olympiques forward Claude Giroux said. "Spokane is the hottest team in the tournament right now, but we'll just have to play as hard as we can."

The second-and third-place teams meet in Friday's semifinal.

The Bulls and Kitchener Rangers (1-1) conclude the round robin Wednesday in a rematch of the Ontario Hockey League championship series.

The Rangers needed seven games to get by Belleville for the title.

"It's going to be so much fun, this place is going to be so frigging crowded and it's going to be crazy," defenceman Nigel Williams said. "We loved it during the OHL championship and we get to actually play them again and get to try and have some revenge on them."

Williams had a goal and two assists for Belleville in front of 6,639 at Memorial Auditorium. Jan Mursak, Cory Tanaka and Keaton Turkiewicz also scored and Adam Perry added two assists.

Tanaka scored one of two short-handed goals for the Bulls in the game. Goaltender Mike Murphy made 30 saves for his first win of the tournament.

Hugo Laporte, Michael Stinziani and Claude Giroux replied for the Olympiques. Defenceman Takuma Kawai had two assists and Ryan Mior stopped 41 of 47 shots in the loss.

The Olympiques have yet to lead a game this tournament, but have been tenacious in their pursuit of opposing team's leads.

They're thin on the blue-line. Top defenceman Maxime Mallette played his first game since January in Gatineau's first game of the Memorial Cup, but did not play again Monday.

Jonathan Carrier, their No. 4 rearguard, has been sidelined since mid-season.

Hubert Labrie played after limping off the ice Friday and Kawai, a forward, continues to fill in on defence.

Gatineau's defence has occasionally struggled below the top of the faceoff circles and Mior has faced 100 shots in two games.

"We can't win if we allow 47 shots," Gatineau head coach Benoit Groulx said. "We can't give space to the opposition.

"Two short-handed goals was devastating for us."

Matthias, six foot four and 213 pounds, played Game 7 of the OHL final and in Saturday's 5-4 loss to Spokane at the Memorial Cup.

"The first game I played more on adrenaline and it took a toll on my body and timing wasn't there," he said. "I wasn't comfortable with the puck and made some mistakes I don't usually make.

"Right now, it's all starting to come back and I don't always feel like I'm always under pressure with the puck anymore, so that's a nice feeling."

Belleville head coach George Burnett wants to be cautious with his star winger.

"We were concerned about giving him too much ice time and expecting too much of him," Burnett said. "He wants to play and finish off the season strong."

Matthias re-directed a Williams shot from the blue-line off the post and behind Mior at 13:04 of the third for the winning goal.

That opened the floodgates for Belleville as Turkiewicz also struck on a re-direct from Williams at 15:35 and Williams scored a power-play goal at 17:43.

The two clubs traded goals in the second period, which ended deadlocked at 3-3.

Giroux, who played two games for the Philadelphia Flyers in February, scored his first of the tournament at 9:35 of the second period.

Quick-handed Paul Byron sent a pass through the top of the crease and Giroux deflected the puck low on Murphy's glove hand.

Tanaka's third goal of the tournament and Belleville's second short-handed was from the top of the faceoff circle between Mior's pads at 1:49.

The Bulls took an early two-goal lead, but the Olympiques had tied it up by the end of the opening period.

Stinziani scored his second of the tournament at 18:05 on an odd-man rush with Darryl Smith and beat Murphy glove side.

Laporte's floater through traffic from the blue-line fooled Murphy as the puck sailed over his shoulder at 13:46.

Mior came out of his net to play the puck with Matthias bearing down on him and instead of staying on the big forward, defenceman Patrik Prokop went to Gatineau's net.

Matthias stole the puck from Mior and backhanded it under a sprawling Prokop for a short-handed goal and a 2-0 lead at 10:26.

Mursak, a Detroit Red Wings draft pick, got a deflection off Prokop with a shot from the point at 8:13, just as Giroux was stepping out of the penalty box after serving a high-sticking minor.

www.nhl.com/nhl/app?articleid=363865&page=NewsPage&service=page

Game summary

[Terry]

Gatineau eliminated from Memorial Cup with 3-1 loss to Spokane
Canadian Press
May 20, 2008, 9:56 PM EDT

KITCHENER, Ont. - The Gatineau Olympiques were the first team eliminated from the 2008 MasterCard Memorial Cup with a 3-1 loss to the Spokane Chiefs on Tuesday.

The Quebec Major Junior Hockey League champions (0-3) held a lead for the first time in the tournament in the first period, but didn't have enough gas in their tank to defend it and force a tiebreaker game Thursday.

The Olympiques didn't want to blame a blue-line decimated by injuries for their early exit from the Canadian Hockey League championship. But the mistakes, turnovers and 143 shots allowed on Ryan Mior during the tournament took its toll on Gatineau.

"Eventually it's going to catch up to you and when you play the best, that's when it's going to happen," Mior said.

The Western Hockey League's Chiefs (3-0) had already secured a berth in Sunday's final prior to the game against the Olympiques, so they played a more conservative game than in their first two.

"The point of this tournament is knocking teams out. We wanted to get one out and we did," said Chiefs captain Chris Bruton.

The Chiefs' reward for finishing first in the round robin is four days off before the final.

"It'll be an eternity probably," forward Drayson Bowman said. "We've been looking forward to this all year. To wait four days is going to be tough."

The Belleville Bulls and host Kitchener, both 1-1, conclude the round robin Wednesday (7 p.m. ET).

Gatineau's elimination makes that game a preview of Friday's semifinal. Wednesday's winner will be the home team in the semifinal and have right of last line change.

The two clubs know each other well as the Rangers needed seven games to beat Belleville in the OHL championship series.

The Olympiques led 1-0 after the first period on Alexandre Quesnel's power-play goal at 15:57. Mitch Wahl scored the go-ahead goal in the second period for Spokane and he also assisted on Bowman's fifth goal of the tournament. Levko Koper added an empty-netter goal against the Olympiques.

Chiefs' goalie Dustin Tokarski extended his record to 3-0 in the tournament with 26 saves. Mior made 40 saves in the loss.

The Olympiques came from behind to tie the score three times in their first two games of the tournament, but were unable to repeat that trick this time despite two power-play chances in the third.

They looked like a team out of steam.

"This is probably the most courageous group I've ever coached," Gatineau head coach Benoit Groulx said. "I told them to walk out the door with their heads held up."

Top defenceman Maxime Mallette played just his second game since injuring his shoulder in January.

He was inserted into the lineup after sitting out the previous night's game, which was a 6-3 loss to Belleville. Mallette was a substitute for Hubert Labrie, who hurt his knee Gatineau's opening game, but played in the second.

Jonathan Carrier hasn't played since mid-season shoulder and knee surgery and Julien Machabee (ankle) did not play in the tournament.

Winger Claude Giroux, who had 51 points in 19 QMJHL playoff games, was hampered by an injured wrist in the tournament and mustered just two points.

The first-round draft pick of the Philadelphia Flyers played over 90 games this season starting Aug. 27 in Ufa, Russia, with Canada's junior team in the Super Series against the Russians.

He also helped Canada win gold at the world junior tournament.

"For everything that happened to me, world juniors, Super Series, two games with the Flyers, I think it's the best season I ever had," Giroux said. "I'll remember this season forever for sure."

Paul Byron, the leading goalscorer in the QMJHL playoffs with 21, was held to one goal.

Gatineau finished third in the QMJHL during the regular season and wasn't considered a favourite to get to the Memorial Cup.

The Olympiques have been to the Memorial Cup seven times in franchise history and three of them with Groulx.

He is considered one of the most talented coaches in junior hockey, but a Memorial Cup eluded him for a third time after his Olympiques lost in the finals in 2003 and 2004.

"Our goal is to be back at the Memorial Cup as soon as possible and win it," Groulx said. "Our goal is to win the Cup sooner than later."

Notes: After the loss the Olympiques unfurled a bilingual banner thanking the host city and circled the Memorial Auditorium with it. . . . The last QMJHL team to win the Memorial Cup was the Quebec Remparts in 2006.

www.nhl.com/nhl/app?articleid=363970&page=NewsPage&service=page

Game summary

[Terry]

Belleville edges Kitchener 4-3 in overtime in Memorial Cup semifinal preview
Canadian Press
May 21, 2008, 10:56 PM EDT

KITCHENER, Ont. - The game didn't mean much, but the players didn't seem to know that.

The Belleville Bulls edged the Kitchener Rangers 4-3 in overtime on Wednesday in what was a preview of the semifinal at the 2008 MasterCard Memorial Cup.

The winner of Friday's rematch (7 p.m. ET) meets the Spokane Chiefs in Sunday's final.

Keaton Turkiewicz ended it at 8:55 of extra time with his second goal of the tournament.

It was the eighth meeting of the post-season between Kitchener and Belleville with the series now split 4-4.

Game 9 will end one team's season and catapult the other to the championship game against Spokane, which earned the bye to the final with a 3-0 record in the preliminary round.

Kitchener needed seven games to beat Belleville in the Ontario Hockey League championship series.

Both clubs knew prior to Wednesday's game they would meet again it the semifinal, so neither team wanted to give the other bragging rights ahead of their semifinal rematch.

"For a game everybody chalked up as nothing all 40 kids at ice level played their guts out," Rangers head coach Peter DeBoer said.

Bulls goaltender Mike Murphy has faced 50 or more shots from Kitchener in their last three meetings.

He has an unorthodox style, but his 54-save heroics Wednesday gave the Bulls the chance to claw their way back into the game after falling behind 3-0 after the first period.

"He continues to hear that he can't and continues to prove he can," Bulls head coach George Burnett said. "He gives us the confidence we can crawl back in."

Shawn Matthias scored his second short-handed goal of the tournament and had an assist for Belleville (2-1). Cory Tanaka collected his fourth goal of the Memorial Cup and defenceman P.K. Subban also scored.

Scott Tregunna, Mikkel Boedker and Yannick Weber replied for Kitchener (1-2). Justin Azevedo had two assists and goalie Josh Unice made 25 saves in the loss.

The Chiefs eliminated the Gatineau Olympiques from the tournament Tuesday, so there was little at stake in Wednesday's final round-robin game other than the winner earning right of last line change as the home team Friday.

Matthias said that was enough to motivate him.

"We wanted that last line change because it's just another advantage," he said. "It's hard to win in this arena.

"It meant a lot more than a lot of the fans might have thought. It was a confidence booster. It's a nine-game series and the series is tied 4-4 so we still have a chance to beat these guys in Game 9."

As you might expect from two clubs that know each other too well meeting in a non-elimination game, it was penalty-filled and often sloppy for two periods before both sides sharpened their games in an attempt to get the victory.

"No one on our team is going to accept losing," Turkiewicz said. "We're an older bunch of guys. For a lot of the guys, this is going to be their last couple games in junior hockey."

The Rangers haven't defended leads well in this tournament although they got away with it in a 6-5 overtime win over Gatineau to open the tournament. They were up 3-0 after the first period in that game.

Kitchener was up 1-0 against Spokane before losing 2-1. The Rangers again had a three-goal lead after 20 minutes Wednesday on the strength of two power-play goals.

But Belleville scored short-handed and power-play goals in the second period and Subban tied it up 20 seconds into the third.

"The margin for error right now is slim," Kitchener captain Matt Pepe said. "We let them back in and that can't happen."

Kitchener had chances to end it in regulation on a power play starting at 17:15. Boedker rang a shot off the post and then and Murphy made two spectacular saves with less than two minutes remaining.

Bulls second-line winger Jan Mursak and Kitchener forward Nick Spaling made knee-on-knee contact almost eight minutes into the extra period with Mursak getting the worst of it.

Mursak, a Detroit Red Wings prospect, grimaced in pain as he was assisted off the ice.

"I think he's OK," Burnett said. "I don't know a lot more than that at this point."

In a moment of levity at the post-game news conference, DeBoer was asked if he'd had enough of Belleville.

"Tired isn't the word for it," DeBoer said. "I"m sick, sick of George."

Burnett replied: "I'm sick of Pete."

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Game summary

[Brae]

There are 2 sports at the Memorial Cup. Hockey & Jersey spotting.

Spokane has a nice representation, but not as much as Gatineau. I think I've seen 3 Spokane jerseys. Belleville is very well represented, and of course Kitchener is as well.

After those teams, London has a large representation (GO AJ!), as does Calgary. I have seen 1 Oil Kings jersey so far. The people I have been hanging out with all week and I have been keeping a list of all the CHL jerseys we've seen. I'll post it after I get home on Monday.

I'm heading out now for the Semi-Final, been staying with my sister-in-law's sister this week, she lives a stones throw from the arena.

[Terry]

Kitchener Rangers reach Memorial Cup final with 9-0 win over Belleville
Canadian Press
May 23, 2008, 10:26 PM EDT

KITCHENER, Ont. - The Kitchener Rangers made sure the Belleville Bulls weren't getting up off the mat this time.

Justin Azevedo had a hat trick and assisted on two goals to lead the Rangers to a 9-0 thrashing of the Bulls in the Memorial Cup semifinal Friday. It was the most lopsided Memorial Cup semifinal since the tournament went to a four-team format in 1983.

The host and Ontario Hockey League champion Rangers meet the Western Hockey League's Spokane Chiefs in Sunday's championship game (4:30 p.m., ET).

"We've got to do exactly what we did tonight," Azevedo said Friday.

Spokane went 3-0 to top the preliminary round and thus earned the bye to the final.

The Chiefs haven't played since eliminating Gatineau from the tournament Tuesday and they beat Kitchener 2-1 on Sunday.

Azevedo, the OHL's MVP of the regular season and playoffs, and linemates Matt Halischuk and Nick Spaling combined for 15 points.

Halischuk, a New Jersey Devils' prospect had two goals and three assists. Spaling, property of the Nashville Predators, contributed a goal and four assists.

With five points each, all three were one off the Memorial Cup's single game record of six.

Prior to Friday, the Rangers had all kinds of trouble putting the Bulls away this post-season.

Kitchener was up 3-0 in the OHL championship series and 4-1 in Game 4, but the Bulls won that game and the next two to force a Game 7, which the Rangers won with their best game of the series.

The Rangers had led 3-0 after the first period of Wednesday's preliminary round game against Belleville at the Memorial Cup, but the Bulls charged back to win 4-3 in overtime.

But as they had in Game 7 of the OHL championship, the Rangers played their best against the Bulls when the stakes were the highest.

"When we know that there's a game on the line, I think everybody knows we have to step up," Azevedo said.

Nazem Kadri, Mike Duco and Scott Tregunna also scored for Kitchener in front of a full house of 6,767 at Memorial Auditorium, while Rangers goalie Josh Unice earned the shutout with 25 saves.

Bulls goaltender Mike Murphy, the OHL's goalie of the year, stopped 29 of 38 shots in the loss.

Belleville head coach George Burnett said Murphy wanted to finish out the game even though his team trailed 7-0 after two periods.

"It's disappointing to see nine (goals) on the board," Burnett said. "He doesn't deserve that.

"We're a little devastated at how it ended."

Kitchener dominated Belleville in the faceoff circle and along the boards in the Bulls' end of the ice. The Rangers' top trio of Azevedo, Halischuk and Spaling doing most of the damage.

"That whole line stepped up," Kitchener head coach Pete DeBoer said. "They took our team to another level."

Unice rarely gave up a rebound to the Bulls. Kitchener also stayed out of the penalty box and Belleville didn't get a power play until the third period.

"We got caught running around and I think we were scared to lose out there and when that happens you tend to make mistakes," Bulls forward Shawn Matthias said.

"I'm not taking anything away from the Kitchener Rangers. They deserved that win, but I don't think they deserved to win 9-0. I think it should have been a closer game."

The Rangers led after the first period for the fourth time in four games in this tournament, but they had yet to defend those leads in losses to Belleville and Spokane and an overtime win over Gatineau in which the Olympiques scored twice in the third to tie it.

But Friday's four-goal cushion after 20 minutes was their thickest yet and the Rangers kept the pressure on this time.

"Seven goal going into the third, we were joking around 'we can't be blowing this one,"' Azevedo said.

The drums and chants of "go Rangers go" at the Auditorium started a full 10 minutes before the opening faceoff and "we want the Cup" rang out in the final minute of the game.

The Bulls were ousted in the semifinal in a second appearance at the Memorial Cup, as the franchise suffered the same fate in 1999 in Ottawa.

Matthias and Belleville defenceman P.K. Subban helped Canada win a fourth straight gold medal at the world junior hockey championship in January.

"I've played on the biggest stages in junior hockey, but I thought my year would end a lot better than it did," Subban said.

Sunday's final will be the first matchup of OHL and WHL clubs since 1999, when the host Ottawa 67's defeated the Calgary Hitmen 7-6 in overtime.

Notes: Bulls winger and Detroit Red Wings draft pick Jan Mursak played for Belleville despite limping off the ice Wednesday following knee-on-knee contact with Spaling....Winger and Anaheim Ducks' property Eric Tangradi was back in the Bulls' lineup after sitting out of Wednesday's game....Rangers defenceman Robert Bortuzzo played a few shifts even though he'd been out since Game 5 of the OHL championship series with a shoulder injury.

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Game summary

[Terry]

Broken trophy still beautiful for Memorial Cup champion Spokane Chiefs
Canadian Press
May 25, 2008, 7:26 PM EDT

KITCHENER, Ont. - The Memorial Cup was in two pieces, which meant there was more of it for the Spokane Chiefs to hoist above their heads.

Spokane beat the host Kitchener Rangers 4-1 to win the 90th Memorial Cup on Sunday.

Captain Chris Bruton lifted the trophy over his head twice and kissed it and then as he was about to hand it to teammate Trevor Glass, the cup became separated from its heavy base, which fell to the ice.

While that prompted boos from spectators at Memorial Auditorium already disappointed that their home team lost, the good news is that it's a replica trophy.

The one that has been handed out to the junior hockey champion since 1919 is in the Hockey Hall of Fame.

"It just kind of crumbled in my hands and I'm sure I'll be all over YouTube and I'll get e-mails for the rest of my life over that, but I don't care because we won the Cup and that's all that matters," said Bruton.

"It's just as beautiful and maybe more beautiful that we have that top off and we can drink from the cup a little easier."

Chiefs goaltender Dustin Tokarski is rated No. 9 among North American goaltenders by Central Scouting for next month's NHL draft and his stock should soar after his 53-save performance.

The 18-year-old from Watson, Sask., was chosen the most valuable player of the tournament. The Rangers were all over him in the third period as they outshot Spokane 25-7, but Tokarski weathered the storm.

"That was the longest third period of my life," he said. "When we got that fourth goal, it was an amazing feeling."

The Rangers were the favourite heading into this tournament, as they were the No. 1 ranked team in the Canadian Hockey League 15 of the last 16 weeks of the season.

Spokane may have been ranked No. 2 at season's end, but came into this tournament somewhat under the radar.

The Chiefs don't have the high-octane offence that Kitchener has, but Spokane dismantled that attack Sunday by taking time, space and the middle scoring lanes away, while making the most of turnovers and power-play chances.

A U.S.-based team won the Canadian Hockey League championship for only the fourth time in history after Spokane (1991) and Portland (1993 and '98).

Spokane, a city of about 225,000 in eastern Washington, has had a WHL franchise since 1985.

Drayson Bowman, a Carolina Hurricanes draft pick, Judd Blackwater and defenceman Trevor Glass scored for the Chiefs with Jared Cowen adding an empty-net goal.

Bruton, from Calgary, had two assists.

Glass, from Cochrane, Alta., has seen both sides of a Memorial Cup final after losing to Vancouver last year when he played for Medicine Hat. Spokane acquired him at the January trade deadline.

"You put your heart and soul into the game and last year the outcome didn't come and it was always in the back of my mind throughout the whole season," Glass said. "I definitely wanted to leave with no regrets and it's something you'll remember for the rest of your life."

Brandon Mashinter replied for the Rangers and goalie Josh Unice made 23 saves.

The Chiefs' checking line of Levko Koper, Tyler Johnson and Justin McCrae silenced Kitchener's top trio of Matt Halischuk, Justin Azevedo and Nick Spaling, who had combined for 28 points in the tournament prior to the final.

Spokane held Kitchener scoreless on four power-play chances.

"They're a great team defensively," Halischuk said. "They block a lot of shots. We were around the net tonight and fired everything at them and unfortunately didn't come up on the right side tonight."

The Chiefs went 4-0 in the Memorial Cup and earned the bye to Sunday's final with the best record in the round-robin.

Spokane had four days of rest before the championship, while Kitchener played Belleville twice during that span in a preliminary-round game and the semifinal.

The Rangers carried the play for the first 10 minutes Sunday as they used their speed to relentlessly pressure the Chiefs in their own zone. They scored five minutes in to take a lead for the fifth time in five games in the tournament.

But Kitchener then ran into penalty trouble, which opened up the ice for the Chiefs. Two of their next three goals came on a man advantage and they led 3-1 going into the third period.

While the Rangers had problems defending leads earlier in this tournament, the Chiefs have no such trouble. They were 41-3 when leading after two periods during the regular season.

"It's the first time I've ever been able to walk off the ice and say I won my last game," Spokane head coach Bill Peters said. "It's an overwhelming feeling, but (I feel) a lot of pride, especially for our city, our organization and 24 guys."

The Chiefs, owned by brothers and former baseball players George and Bobby Brett, finished tied for last in the Western Hockey League two seasons ago and have put together a remarkable turnaround.

Tokarski was also named top goaltender of the tournament and Halischuk most sportsmanlike. Azevedo, the CHL's player of the year and top scorer, led the Memorial Cup in scoring with four goals and seven assists in five games.

Tokarski, Azevedo, Bowman, Spokane's Mitch Wahl and Justin Falk, and Kitchener defenceman Ben Shutron were named to the all-star team.,

Notes(at) - The 2009 Memorial Cup will be held in Rimouski, Que. . . . The WHL has won the Memorial cup 18 times, the OHL 11 and the QMJHL seven . . . Chiefs general manager Tim Speltz was the team's GM on the Cup-winning team of 1991 . . .. . . The Memorial Cup trophy has been handed to the junior hockey championship since 1919 in honour of those who died in the First World War . . . Former Kitchener Rangers and Memorial Cup winners Derek Roy (2003) and Scott Stevens (1982) took part in the pre-game ceremonial puck drop. ...Total attendance for the tournament was 53,545.

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Game summary