Patience pays off

Growing up with parents raised around the Kitchener area, junior hockey, more specifically, the OHL was held in high regard, although usual from a Kitchener Ranger perspective. From what I understand from my dad, Kitchener is a great town for junior hockey and after sitting in the crowd at the Aud in 2008 for the Memorial Cup, I found out first hand how classy and knowledgeable the Kitchener fans are.

So of course when it was time to 'settle down' I picked a location that has not only an OHL team but one of the most storied franchises (if not the most) in the OHL, Oshawa. Of course, it helped to have friends living there. The Generals have such a storied past and graduated perhaps the best hockey player ever, Bobby Orr, into the NHL. Okay so I am biased towards number 4 but he ranks right up there with the likes of Gretzky, Howe and the Rocket.

Almost five years has passed since first moving to Gens Country (just made this term up if you hadn't realized...it's rather lame) and in that time I have purchased a couple jerseys for OHL teams but not one from my new hometown Generals. (The two were Brian Kilrea's Ottawa '67's and of course the Rangers). That all changed this year with the release of their alternate (a.k.a third) jersey. The retro blue sweater worn at the time Orr was in junior hockey. It was almost a given since I had been trying to decide whether I should buy the red or white Generals jersey for a while now. I saw the blues around the rink last year and was wishing those were an option to buy.

Thanks to the HST cheque that was just received I was able to make this purchase. Of course there was money left so I took a drive to Belleville and purchased their third jersey that I have wanted since the 2008 Memorial Cup. That's right the 'ugly' gold jersey with the red bull dead centre. I don't even like the Bulls but that jersey will definitely stand out wherever it is worn. Perhaps my love for that jersey stems from my sister's dislike of it, who knows. For me it is another jersey to add to my collection. 4 OHL jerseys down, 16 to go...maybe only 14. Brampton's is possibly the worst in sports and I don't know if I can bring myself to buy a Petes jersey, at least not if I want to retain my Oshawa friends.

On to Round 2

The first round of the OHL playoffs seemed to go as expected. Barrie had no trouble getting by Sudbury by winning four straight; the defending Memorial Cup champion Windsor Spitfires also won in four straight against Erie; Mississauga blanked Peterborough in their series; Ottawa, London and Plymouth had little trouble in their series as well as they all won four games to one; but Kitchener had a little more difficulty with Saginaw’s Spirit but still managed a four games to two series victory.

The only series to go the full seven games and the only series where the lower seed won was the Brampton / Kingston series where Brampton pulled out the game seven win for the series. Despite being the ‘underdog’ in the series I think most people expected Brampton to win this series with their star Cody Hodgson back in the lineup. Kingston gave all they had but in the end it was just not enough.

Round two sees Windsor play Plymouth, London play Kitchener, Barrie play Brampton, and Ottawa play Mississauga with the teams listed first having the home ice advantage. These series should be a little more competitive but I’m thinking all the favourites will win except for Ottawa so the true top teams in the league will battle for the league title. The second round action begins tomorrow night for all four series.

Visiting fans

On a recent road trip to the Bunker, I was decked out in my barber pole jersey showing my allegiance to the visiting team from Ottawa when a lady stopped by to ask about an entrance. I guess she was meeting someone at the main entrance. Since I travel a fair bit to the Bunker I answered her question but she didn't seem to believe me. She continued asking similar questions throwing in street names that I had to think about for a bit. Thankfully someone, presumably from the area, interceded and saved me from the redundant questions. (By the look on his face after I think he was sorry he stepped in).

First off, if you are not going to believe someone when they answer you, don't waste your time asking that person your question. Second, if the person is wearing a visiting team jersey chances are they may not know the answer to any question regarding the building or area. Thirdly, if you are unsure of things before you leave the house, take some time and look up the building or area.

Perhaps she didn't realize I was cheering for the visiting team but given the fact that I was the only person around at the time wearing barber poles instead of white or puke green of the Battalion she should have figured it out. At least I got a bit of a chuckle out of the whole situation.

Narrow minds amuse me

I realized today how much I enjoy wearing junior teams jerseys to work, especially those that resemble NHL teams. For those unfamiliar with Toronto, most Torontonians only care about professional teams and sports and can only assocaite with professional sports teams even though some amateur sports are more entertaining (there are those who enjoy the semi-pro and even amateur sports but from my experience these people are in the vast minority in Toronto).

Today I am wearing a Kitchener Rangers jersey and since they are (or at least were) very closely linked to the NHL Rangers, their jerseys are almost a spliting image of each other with the exception of the word Kitchener instead of New York on the shoulder emblems. But, man, am I getting a lot of looks today.

I love these narrow minded people in Toronto.

What's up with the Generals?

Just when I think the Oshawa Generals have come together as a team and are playing to their potential, they go and lose three in a row. Not to very good teams either. Last Friday they lost 2-1 to the Guelph Storm before getting manhandled by the Sarnia Sting Sunday night (6-2 loss) and then last night they lost 6-4 in Peterborough.

It is looking like it will be a long roller coaster type season for the Gens unless they can find a way to play a full 60 minutes every game. They do have some talented kids on the team but perhaps they are too young to be much of a threat this year. I'm just hoping they continue to improve and the entertainment level also continues to increase.

Slow start leads to history books in Rimouski

The Windsor Spitfires started the Memorial Cup going 0-2 with a game to play against the perfect 2-0 Kelowna Rockets last Tuesday. It has been suggested that Kelowna took it easy in that game leading to a Windsor win that forced a tiebreaker game. Obviously, this will never been proven but this game gave the Spits the confidence they were in desperate need of.

In the tie-breaker the OHL champion defeated the host Rimouski Oceanic 6-4 and then went on to defeat the QMJHL champion Drummondville Voltigeurs 3-2 in overtime. That led to a rematch of Kelowna versus Windsor in the final game. Windsor did not allow for any doubt as they scored on their first three shots to take a 3-0 early first period lead. They traded singles between the next two periods and the game ended 4-1 Windsor. In winning the Cup, Windsor became the first team to ever win the Memorial Cup after losing the first two games.

Despite losing some players for next year, the Spitfires could be even better. But we will let them all enjoy the win for the next couple months.

As for the tournament awards, Taylor Hall, Windsor Spitfires, was named tournament MVP, Jamie Benn, Kelowna Rockets, was the tournaments Top Scorer, Yannick Riendeau, Drummondville Voltigeurs, was the Most Sportsmanlike and Marco Cousineau, Drummondville Voltigeurs, was the Most Outstanding Goaltender. Finally, the all-star team is as follows:

Forward – Taylor Hall, Windsor Spitfires
Forward – Jamie Benn, Kelowna Rockets
Forward – Patrice Cormier, Rimouski Oceanic
Defence – Ryan Ellis, Windsor Spitfires
Defence – Tyler Myers, Kelowna Rockets
Goaltender – Marco Cousineau, Drummondville Voltigeurs

Big night for sports

Not only is today a Friday before a long weekend but it is also a big day for sports. The 2009 MasterCard Memorial Cup gets underway tonight in Rimouski when the Kelowna Rockets take on the host Oceanic. The 2009 season of Major League Lacrosse also begins tonight in Annapolis as the Toronto Nationals take on the Washington Bayhawks in Toronto’s first MLL game. Perhaps the biggest game of the night will be the National Lacrosse League’s Champion’s Cup final in Calgary between the Roughnecks and the visiting New York Titans. As an added bonus for those in the Durham region, Rogers TV will be broadcasting the Clarington Green Gaels at Newmarket Saints lacrosse game this evening starting at 8:00 PM.

2009 Memorial Cup teams are set

The Calgary Hitmen got through the first three rounds of the Western Hockey League playoffs without losing a single game. Then they met up with the Kelowna Rockets in the Ed Chynoweth Cup final series and lost the first three games. The Rockets couldn’t complete the sweep in game four but finally won the series in overtime in game 6 in front of their home fans. Kelowna swept the first round before winning both the next two series four games to two.

The Ontario Hockey League was a showdown between the top team in the league, the Windsor Spitfires, and the second place team from the East division, the Brampton Battalion. It took Brampton until the second period of game two to wake up and play well but they were simply over matched in this series. Windsor won game five in overtime to win the J Ross Robertson Cup. Windsor defeated the Owen Sound Attack, Plymouth Whalers and London Knights to reach the final series while Brampton downed Peterborough, Mississauga Majors, and Belleville Bulls before losing to Windsor.

Over in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League, the Drummondville Voltigeurs swept the first three series before meeting a challenge in the final series against the Shawinigan Cataractes. In game two of the finals, Drummondville suffered their first loss in the playoffs but managed to rebound and win the series and the President Cup in seven games. Drummondville will now head to the Memorial Cup just one year after finishing in last place in the league.

The 2009 MasterCard Memorial Cup begins this Friday night as the Kelowna Rockets take on the host Rimouski Oceanic. The full schedule is as follows (times in EDT):

Friday, May 15 – WHL vs HOST, 7:00 pm
Saturday, May 16 – QMJHL vs OHL, 4:30 pm
Sunday, May 17 – HOST vs OHL, 4:30 pm
Monday, May 18 – QMJHL vs WHL, 7:00 pm
Tuesday, May 19 – OHL vs WHL, 7:00 pm
Wednesday, May 20 – HOST vs QMJHL, 7:00 pm
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Thursday, May 21 – Tie-breaker (if necessary), 7:00 pm
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Friday, May 22 – SEMI-FINAL, 7:00 pm
Sunday, May 24 – CHAMPIONSHIP FINAL, 4:30 pm

Battalion shelled by Spitfires

The Windsor Spitfires put a licking on the Brampton Battalion in game one of the OHL Championship Series. The game started out close but then they dropped the puck. Okay so it was close for a few minutes in the first period as the game was tied 1-1 at one point. By the time the first was over, Windsor had a commanding 4-1 lead. That lead was extended to 6-1 after two and 10-1 by the end of the game.

Leading the Spitfires was Justin Shugg with a hat trick, Andrei Loktionov with two goals and an assist and both Taylor Hall and Adam Henrique with one goal and two assists. Josh Day got the lone goal for the Battalion.

Both teams head to The Bunker in Brampton on Friday night where the home tropps will look to even the series. After the shelling they took last night, I expect Friday's game to be very spirited and Brampton to come out hungry and show all they belong in this series. It should be a fun game anyhow as I will be in attendance for my first hockey game in The Bunker. You won't catch me wearing one of those ugly Battalion jerseys but I will be cheering for the home team. Bring the J Ross Robertson Cup back to the East!

The Second Round

Well, Brian Kilrea's coaching career in the OHL is officially over. The Niagara IceDogs came back from a two goal deficit in the third period of Tuesday night's game to beat the 67's in overtime. That was the only series to make it the full seven games. Other teams to win were Brampton in four games, Belleville in six and Mississauga in five from the East and Windsor in four, London in five, Saginaw in four and Plymouth in five from the West.

With all four conference semi finals beginning tonight, it is a good time to make my predictions on them. Let's see if I can do better than the first round.

Belleville vs Niagara - Belleville's inconsistency continues to plague them as they needed six games to defeat the Sudbury Wolves. To be fair some of that could be due to the lengthy travel between the two cities. Niagara is coming off an emotional win in game seven on the road. This is an interesting match up as the teams will go from the largest ice surface in the league in Belleville to the smallest ice in Niagara. Belleville will take game one but the series will go six before the Bulls advance.

Brampton vs Mississauga - Travel is almost non existent in this series and both teams should be well rested as neither team had much trouble in the first round. Mississauga will give Brampton a good challenge but Brampton is too good and will win the series in six.

Windsor vs Plymouth - Both teams had an easy time in round one and should also be well rested. Windsor will look for another sweep but I think the Whalers will steal a game. Spitfires in five.

London vs Saginaw - This series will be a lot closer than the Knights will want it to be but will be a good test for the Conference final against Windsor. London has too many good players, several with big game experience, to lose at this point and will edge out the Spirit in a thrilling seven game series. This series will be a good lead into the remaining rounds.

2009 OHL Playoffs Begin Tonight

The road to Rimouski begins tonight for the Ontario Hockey League as Owen Sound travels to Windsor and Sudbury enters the large confines of the Yardmen Arena in Belleville. Since I've got nothing better to do with my time, I am going to make some predictions for the OHL playoffs.

Western Conference:

8. Owen Sound Attack vs. 1. Windsor Spitfires - Windsor in four straight. Windsor is that good and the Sound is really that bad.

7. Erie Otters vs. 2. London Knights - London in five. I think overconfidence will cost the Knights a game but coach Hunter will make sure it doesn't happen a second time.

6. Guelph Storm vs. 3. Saginaw Spirit - Saginaw in five. Guelph plays hard and that hard work will result in a win but Saginaw is the team that I feel can upset London in round two and give Windsor a tough go for the West title.

5. Sarnia Sting vs. 4. Plymouth Whalers - Plymouth in six. These teams finished close in the standings and this will be a battle but the Sting just don't have it this year.

Eastern Conference:

8. Sudbury Wolves vs. 1. Belleville Bulls - Belleville in five. Belleville knows what it takes to win and should make fairly quick work of the Wovles. The lengthy travel will cost the Bulls a game.

7. Peterborough Petes vs. 2. Brampton Battalion - Brampton in six. Brampton is good but the Petes play hard and will be a good test for Brampton.

6. Niagara Ice Dogs vs. 3. Ottawa 67's - Ottawa in seven. Although Niagara all but owned Ottawa in the regular season, Kilrea will motivate his players to a series win.

5. Barrie Colts vs. 4. Mississauga Majors - Barrie in five. If the Colts can stay out of the penalty box I think this series is theirs.

Even though I predict only one upset in round 1, there will still be lots of great hockey to see. Other than the Belleville series, I can see all the Eastern series ending in upsets but Brampton is too good to lose and Ottawa is my team so I have trouble picking them to be upset in round 1. Ottawa has a team that could surprise a lot of teams and I hope they do but I see a round 2 exit for them. The Western Conference should go t the favourites, at least in the first round.

Generals Miss Playoffs

The Oshawa Generals just missed taking part in the OHL playoffs this year. They had a chance to tie Peterborough for seventh place in the Eastern conference Friday night when they travelled to Kingston but the Frontenacs wouldn't allow that. Oshawa left Kingston with a 6-3 loss but still had a chance to enter a tie break game for the final playoff spot with a win Sunday against the second seeded Brampton Battalion.

Oshawa entered Brampton with a large task at hand, a win in the bunker, and they had to do it without their top scorer, Brett Parnham, who was sidelined with an injury. They came out strong and played a solid game but every time the Generals scored a goal, the Battalion countered shortly after. A two many men penalty late in the third by Oshawa gave Brampton a chance to tie the game and send it to overtime. A misplay by a Generals player led to Kang being left alone in front of the net where the puck found him and Kang easily tied the game. Brampton eventually dashed the hopes of the Generals in the shootout.

It was a tough end to the season for the Generals without doubt. Losing their two best players obviously hurt them but there were some bright spots for them. Brett Parnham excelled once he stepped out of Tavares' shadow and De Haan had a good rookie season, even if he slowed down some once Del Zotto left. With the younger players and the draft picks received from London, Oshawa Generals hockey shows some promise for the future.

Another Tavares Sets Career Goal Mark

Not every day does a visiting player get a standing ovation for scoring a go ahead goal in a hockey game, especially in the third period, but that is exactly what happened Sunday afternoon in Windsor. John Tavares entered the WFCU in Windsor as a member of the London Knights needing two goals to surpass Peter Lee for career goals in the Ontario Hockey League. After some recent verification by the league, Peter Lee’s total goals during the 1971-1976 seasons was 213.

Tavares scored his record tying 213th goal of his career to open the scoring at 4:51 of the first period. With the game tied at two midway through the third period Tavares scored to take the lead in career goals and gave his London Knights the lead back. After Tavares’ feat was recognized by the public address announcer and a short standing ovation from the 6590 fans in attendance, Windsor was able to tie the game once more. Tavares struck again though completing the hat trick and giving the Knights a 4-3 lead with under two minutes to play.

Tavares not only scored a hat trick on the game winning goal and took the lead in career goals but he also dashed the hopes of the Windsor Spitfires to become the winningest team in OHL history. The London Knights earned 120 points in their Memorial Cup winning 2004/2005 season. Windsor came into this game against London with 113 points and four games to play (therefore needing to win all four remaining games to achieve that distinction).

On The Outside Looking In?

It looks as though the Oshawa Generals will be on the wrong side of the standings once the OHL playoffs begin. They have 6 games left, half of which against the top two teams in the East (2 vs Brampton and 1 vs Belleville) and only 2 games against teams with a worse record than them (Kingston and Peterborough). In the past ten games Oshawa has only two wins, including a 5-4 overtime victory in Peterborough. They are 4-16 in their last 20 and 6-17 since the trade deadline.

The team chasing them, the Peterborough Petes, only have one game against Belleville remaining and only one game against a team below them in the standings (Kingston). They do face the always dangerous Ottawa ‘67’s team twice though so their last six games are not going to be easy. Peterborough is 5-5 in their last ten games, 7-13 in their last 20 and 8-13 since the trade deadline. Peterborough is currently one point behind Oshawa for the last playoff spot in the Eastern Conference.

March 8 could be the deciding day as Peterborough travels to the GMC in Oshawa. For both teams just making the playoffs would benefit them as they would get their young kids some post season experience, even if only four games worth.

Shootouts Have To Go!

A couple years ago someone (it was likely several someones) thought shootouts were a great way to decide a National Hockey League game when the game ends in a tie. That's right, a team sport, when tied after regulation and a brief five minute overtime period, will now be decided on the performance of individual players. But what was wrong with a tie in the first place? Sometimes a game is played between two evenly matched teams who give their all but neither team can get any advantage on the other. Oh that's right, our society has become one of winners and losers; the eternal quest to be better than our neighbours; bragging rights between fans, people who have very little say in how "their team" is put together or performs.

In today's society, the entertainment value is no longer part of the 60 or so minutes of regulation time and overtime but it has been reduced solely to the final outcome. We need to have a winner at any and all cost. After all, it is hard to berate the opposing team if the game ends in a tie, except in Philadelphia of course. People these days need closure and a tie game doesn't give them that. A clear cut winner does. The NHL, on the other hand, was looking for a way to add excitement and in the process, try to stop teams from "playing for a tie" late in the third period and through overtime. Not sure the shootout idea has helped in this regard quite as expected.

Let's use Saturday night's 'Battle of Alberta' as an example of why shootouts are not a good way to break ties. Out of the six shots only one found the back of the net. All three of Edmonton's skaters not only missed the net but didn't even get a shot off while Calgary's skaters were about as fun to watch as the zamboni cleaning the ice just before the shootout. In my opinion a tie in any game would be better than the pathetic display witnessed in Edmonton Saturday night.

History Is Repeating Itself

As bad as the Kingston Frontenacs are this year, sitting dead last in the league with a mere 29 points, they have picked up their game a lot in the past week. Last Friday they defeated a strong London Knights team (2nd in the Western Conference) 3-2 at home while last night they went into Brampton (now tied for first in the Eatern Conference) and forced overtime before suffering the 4-3 loss. Last year they were only a slightly better team but were one of the best teams in the last month or so of the season and made a real surge towards the playoffs.

If only they were a better team this year they could make the playoff situation more interesting. As it is, they will only be a thorn in the side of every team they play in the last few weeks of this season. Any team that doesn't bring their 'A' game will suffer what will be considered an embarrassing defeat.

Things of note:
1. Kingston is roughly ten games away from being eliminated from the playoffs.
2. The top three teams in the Western Conference has not lost in the 5-minute overtime period at all this year.
3. Windsor is the most penalized team so far this year (1115 mins), followed by the Soo (1004 mins) and then London (1002 mins).
4. Ottawa is the least penalized team so far this year (608 mins).
5. Brampton is on another long win streak, currently at 11 games.
6. John Tavares has opened up a 7 point lead in the league scoring race with 78 points, Taylor Hall is next with 71.
7. Brampton's Evgeni Grachev is leading rookie scoring with 53 points, three ahead of London's John Carlson.
8. John Tavares is also leading in goals scored with 41 in 42 games while Mike Murphy of the Bulls is the top goalie with a 2.00 GAA and 0.943 save percentage.

Don't Forget the Little Guys

The focus lately in the Ontario Hockey League has been on the top four teams: Windsor, London, Belleville and Brampton. The teams below them have seemed to fade into nothingness, mentioned only when they face any of the top four. Maybe that is the way they like it though. Having the attention elsewhere allows these teams like Saginaw and Guelph in the West and Ottawa and Mississauga in the East to quietly go about their business.

I am not too familiar with the West but I do know that forgetting about Ottawa in the East could be a mistake these top teams do not want to make. London came in to Ottawa on the weekend looking for an easy two points but Ottawa had a solid team effort and came out of the battle with the victory. This team will no doubt have an extra edge to them come playoff time as they look to give the legend Brian Kilrea one last championship before he deservedly gives up his coaching duties. Can they beat London or one of the other top teams in a seven game series? No one knows but they will definitely leave everything on the ice.

Odds & Ends

- Led by the tournament MVP, John Tavares, Team Canada claimed their fifth straight title at the 2009 IIHF World U20 Hockey Championship. One week ago today, Canada dominated Sweden in the gold medal game in Ottawa, ON winning 5-1 in front of 20,000 plus at ScotiaBank Place. Canada goes for an unprecedented sixth straight title in the co-host cities of Regina and Saskatoon. For ticket or other information about next years tournament click here.

- Canada's under 22 women's hockey team won silver at the 2009 MLP Nations Cup in what was only their second loss in the tournament since it's inception back in 2003. The Canadian team didn't surrender a goal in the tournament until late in the second period of the final game. Canada opened the tournament with a 3-0 victory over Finland before beating Russia 11-0 in the other round robin game and Germany 3-0 in the semi-final.

- Canada's under 18 women's hockey team also brought Canada a silver medal in their championship tournament. After scores of 16-1 against Switzerland, 6-0 against Finland and 13-0 against the Czech Republic, Canada beat Sweden 6-1 in the semis before losing 3-2 to Team USA in the gold medal game.

- The NLL season has begun and so far the defending champion Buffalo Bandits are looking good to repeat. They dominated the Philadelphia Wings in their season and home opener January 3 and found a way to beat a much improved Toronto Rock team on Saturday (Buffalo had not beat Toronto since January 2006 and hold a losing record all-time against Toronto).

- For this NLL season, all games are being broadcast live online free of charge. Just log on to www.nll.com and click the watch live link. It is nothing like experiencing the game live but it is great for those who cannot make it to the arena...or for those on the opposite coast. I hope this experiment works because I really enjoyed watching Colin Doyle and the San Jose Stealth take on the Calgary Roughnecks Friday night.

USA Spoils Canadian Sweep at U17

After losing a tight game 6-5 to Team Pacific in overtime Saturday night, Team USA regrouped for Sunday afternoon and went on to defeat Team West 4-2 to claim the Bronze medal in the 2009 World Under-17 Hockey Challenge in Port Alberni, BC. Jacob Fallon scored a hat trick to lead the USA to their first ever bronze medal in this tournament.

Team USA jumped out to an early lead when Fallon scored the first of his three goals before the five minute mark. Fallon scored again in the last five minutes of the first to give Team USA a 2-0 lead heading into the first intermission. Team USA's lead was doubled in the second period on goals by Stuart Higgins and Fallon. The third period started well for Team West as they broke the shutout just over a minute into to the period on Quinton Howden's (Moose Jaw Warriors, WHL) first goal. Just over two and a half minutes later Howden connected for his second goal of the game and it looked like the Canadian side was on their way to a comeback. Will Yanakeff had other thoughts and shut the door in net for the USA to give them the 4-2 win and prevent a medal sweep by Canada.

Team Ontario hosted Team Pacific in the gold medal game Sunday night. During the preliminary round Team Ontario defeated Team Pacific 6-3 for a perfect round robin record. The loss to Ontario was the lone loss for Team Pacific in preliminary round play.

Penalties prevented either team from building much momentum in the first period but Team Ontario was able to open the scoring in the last minute of the period on a goal by Tyler Seguin from the Plymouth Whalers of the OHL. Jeff Skinner from the Kitchener Rangers (OHL) increased Team Ontario's lead on his goal early in the second period on a wrap around that fooled everyone. The tempo picked up some after the second Ontario goal and both teams had their chances. With under a minute remaining in the second period and after some great saves by the Ontario keeper, JP Anderson (Mississauga Majors, OHL), Team Pacific gets their first goal of the game from Justin Feser of the Tri City Americans (WHL).

John McFarland (Sudbury Wolves, OHL) scored to open up the third period and restore the two goal lead for Team Ontario. After over sixteen minutes of uptempo, high intensity hockey, Team Ontario's Steve Shipley (Owen Sound Attack, OHL) pretty well put the game away with a partial breakaway goal to increase the lead to 4-1. John McFarland scored his second goal of the game on a late power play to give Team Ontario the 5-1 win and their second consecutive championship win.

Next year's tournament will be played in Timmins, Ontario where the host team will look for the three-peat.

Canada Fails to Repeat in Davos

Canada's strong third periond in the 2008 Spengler Cup was not enough for the win against the Moscow Dynamo. After beating the Dynamo one day earlier, the Canadian squad was outplayed in the first two periods of the final giving the Russian team a 3-0 lead to work with. Canada ended the second with two goals and some momentum heading to the intermission. That momentum was quickly shattered in the third as Peter Cajanek scored the last of his three goals just 23 seconds into the last period. Maxim Pestushko put the game away with Dynamo's fifth goal shortly after Randy Robitaille brought the Canadians to within one goal.

Last year Canada defeated another Russian team, Salavat Yulaev Ufa, 2-1 to win their eleventh Spengler Cup.