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

2009 Champion's Cup final

Well it is finally here, the 2009 Champion’s Cup final. The top team from the West (and the league overall) will host the top team from the East in a one game showdown. The mighty Titans from New York will make the long trek to Calgary to face off against the home town Roughnecks. Many expected to see a rematch from the 2004 Champion’s Cup but an almost flawless defensive effort by the Titans last weekend crushed the hopes of a repeat for Banditland.

Allowing just three goals against the star-studded Bandits surely has the Titans entering the game as favourite's right? They not only defeated the defending champs but embarrassed them. Lead by Casey Powell on offense and Matt Vinc on defense, with a hard working supporting cast, these Titans really live up to their team name but are still considered underdogs for tonight’s game. Do they care? Not at all. They will play a full 60 minutes and give the Roughnecks all they can handle. Will that be enough to hoist their first cup? I personally don’t think they will be able to contain all the offensive threats Calgary has.

Calgary has been the top team in the league since game one. They easily handled their two playoff opponents so far and look to do the same to the Titans. Coming in as favourites, Calgary is looking to Matt King to continue his stellar play between the pipes. Even with their many offensive threats (Sanderson, Kelusky, Toth…), the Roughnecks will also need to put in a solid 60 minutes if they plan on raising a second banner to the rafters. They will also be out to prove a point as not a single player from the Roughnecks earned any end of year hardware (except their coach) despite being the top team all year. They only had one player named to the all-pro teams and that was Josh Sanderson for the second team.

Along with Casey Powell, I think containing Brendan Mundorf and Jordan Hall will be key to Calgary’s victory. Calgary plays as a team and will come back hard if they get down early. In the end Calgary will prevail in a close game. The score at the end may not reflect how close this game will be.

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

Tonight is the season!

For any Toronto Blue Jays fan, tonight is the season for the Jays. A win tonight and the fans will think this season was a success. Tonight the Jays not only face the Yankees for the first time this season but their ace, Roy Halladay, takes to the mound against the villified A.J. Burnett. The same Burnett who left the Jays nest in the off season in search of more money. It has the making of a great game. Let's hope the idiots stay home so the real fans can enjoy this encounter.

NLL division finals

Since I got one of my first round predictions wrong, I figure I should revise my comments on the rest of the playoffs. Well, actually, all comments are still relevant except for the one series. Rochester was unable to finish the upset and in the last five minutes allowed New York (or should I say Casey Powell) to come back to tie the game and eventually lose it in overtime.

So with Rochester loss, New York Titans advance to the East division final to host the Buffalo Bandits. Buffalo lost both meetings against New York this year, which is why the Titans get to host this game and not Buffalo, all else being equal. In my opinion, Buffalo is the better team in this game although New York has played more consistently this year. I think Buffalo is going to avenge their two regular season losses in a big way. Bandits by a few, let’s say four.

I would like to see San Jose defeat Calgary so I can attend another game live but I think Calgary will pull out the win in the West final. Still backing the Bandits in the Cup final too, in overtime. With luck the Bandits will have the East final well in hand early so I can flip to the West final at the start. Otherwise, it’s split screen for me.

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!

Look quick!

The Toronto Blue Jays are the best team in Major League Baseball.

It may not last long though because the Boston Red Sox are only a game behind them and are on fire. They have just swept a nine game homestead and have won ten straight. A couple easy series coming up for the birds so they should hold onto the division lead heading into May.

Ready for NLL playoffs

Well we’re a week and a half away from the NLL playoffs and I can’t wait for the drive down the QEW on May 2. The East division finished with a three way tie for first once again but due to tiebreakers, the Bandits (10-6) finished 2nd. New York (10-6) finished on top with Boston (10-6) in third and Rochester (7-9) in a distant fourth. Out West, the Roughnecks of Calgary topped the league with a 12-4 record while Portland (9-7) finished in second, San Jose (7-9) in third and Colorado (7-9) barely made the fourth spot.

Calgary, with top seed, will look to host their second Champions Cup but will have to win two games starting with the always tough Colorado team. Portland’s quest for a return trip to the finals starts with a home game against San Jose. Buffalo will seek revenge against Boston at the HSBC while their western New York rivals travel to the big city to take on the New York Titans. All eight teams have the ability to win and no team is guaranteed the win so these four games should be awesome to watch.

Starting in the East:

New York plays a consistent game, putting in sixty hard minutes every game so they could earn the respect of the league this year with a Champions Cup final appearance. Rochester finished fourth but came on strong late in the season and are still mad they missed the playoffs last year for the first time in franchise history. If the ‘time’ is right Rochester could steal the first round game from New York but I don’t think they can get by either Boston or Buffalo. Buffalo is perhaps the best team in the East but has lacked the consistency this year. They started strong, as in unbeatable, but have gone 5-6 since then with 4 of those losses to the other top teams in the East. Boston has already surpassed most people’s expectations this season. I thought they’d do okay but tied for first in the East, not a chance. If Cosmo stands on his head and the team in front of him plays like they have been, they could easily find themselves in the finals. Any team with Dan Dawson on it can’t be ruled out come playoff time.

Over in the West:

The West is Calgary’s to lose. They are solid from front to back, including both tenders. If their record gets to their heads, Colorado will be there to pull them back out of the clouds. I am not giving Colorado much chance but I am also not writing them off. Portland is looking to give their fans one more reason to get their season tickets for next year with a home victory. Not sure if the win will help but it can’t hurt. Difference in the game will be Matt Disher for the Jax and Colin Doyle for the Stealth. San Jose has a potent offence that can steal this game and Colin Doyle has the ability to take control of this game with rookie Rhys Duch as his more than able sidekick.

This is now a god time for my picks but I am hesitant to make them, anything can happen in one game. Alright, here goes but I reserve the right to change my picks for games after the first round when I get the first round wrong.

Division Semi-finals:

• Colorado at Calgary - May 3: Calgary, they are too good to lose so early in the playoffs.
• San Jose at Portland - May 1: San Jose, double D’s will lead the Stealth to victory
• Rochester at New York - May 1: Rochester, O’Toole and Williams will have great games
• Boston at Buffalo - May 2: Buffalo, they are not going to lose three games in a row, JT will ensure that.

Division Finals:

• San Jose at Calgary - Calgary, but in a close one; Sanderson and Doyle will compete for top points
• Rochester at Buffalo - Buffalo, the place will be electric giving the Bandits the extra edge (I like to think Bandit fans can actually make a difference)

Champions Cup:

• Buffalo at Calgary - Buffalo, in overtime. Payback for the loss in 2004, it’s that simple. If only I had more vacation time…and money…I’d be back in the saddle(dome) again.

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.