CHL down to final four for the MasterCard Memorial Cup
The 2008-09 Canadian Hockey League season started last September with 60 teams looking to make their way to the 2009 MasterCard Memorial Cup in Rimouski, Quebec. After 2,312 regular season and playoff games, four teams remain in the hunt for the CHL’s national championship.
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The Memorial Cup opens on Friday with the host Rimouski Oceanic against the WHL champion Kelowna Rockets (7:00 p.m. Eastern on Rogers Sportsnet and RDS) while the OHL champion Windsor Spitfires and QMJHL champions Drummondville Voltigeurs hook up on Saturday.
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All four teams will play each other once in the round robin before the semi-finals on Friday May 22. If a tie-breaker game is needed to decide the top three teams, it will be played on Thursday May 21 and the championship game will be played on Sunday May 24.
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Here is a look at how the participating teams stack up.
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Drummondville Voltigeurs (QMJHL Champions)
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The Voltigeurs swept their way through the first three rounds of the playoffs, eliminating the Lewiston MAINEiacs and Montreal Juniors in the first two rounds before a four-game sweep of the MasterCard Memorial Cup host Rimouski Oceanic. After jumping out to a 3-1 lead in the QMJHL finals against the Shawinigan Cataractes, the Voltigeurs needed a 3-2 win in Game 7 on home ice on Tuesday to lock up their first QMJHL championship.
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The Voltigeurs will be playing in the Memorial Cup for the third time in franchise history. They played in the tournament in 1989 in Chicoutimi and then 1991 in Quebec City as QMJHL representatives. In 1991, they advanced to the final game before losing to the Spokane Chiefs.
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QMJHL scoring champion Yannick Riendeau (29-23-52 in 19 games) continued to lead the way offensively for the Voltigeurs in the playoffs, including two goals and an assist in Game 7 of the finals. Dany Masse (15-21-36 in 19 games) and Mike Hoffman (21-13-34 in 19 games) were also dynamic offensive producers in the post-season while Team Canada forward Chris DiDomenico (4-31-35 in 15 games) was having a solid playoff run as well before suffering a leg injury that knocked him out of the final series.
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In net, Marco Cousineau went 13-3 with a 2.47 goals against average and .904 save percentage in 16 games. He made 45 saves in the deciding game of the finals, including all 12 shots he faced in the third period to preserve the lead.
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Guy Boucher is in his third season behind the bench in Drummondville. He helped Canada’s Under-18 Team win the gold medal at the World Championships last April and then helped the World Junior Team win gold in Ottawa at Christmas. He was an assistant coach with Rimouski when they won the QMJHL championship and played in the 2005 Memorial Cup in London.
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Regular Season Record: 54-10-0-4
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Playoff Record: 16-3
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Windsor Spitfires (OHL Champions)
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After putting together a team-record 57-10-0-1 regular season record, the Windsor Spitfires claimed the J. Ross Robertson Cup for the second time in their history. They started the OHL playoffs with a four-game sweep of the Owen Sound Attack and then advanced to the semi-finals with a six-game win over the Plymouth Whalers. They knocked off the London Knights in a thrilling five-game series that needed overtime in every game to settle it and then they beat the Brampton Battalion in five games in the Rogers OHL Championship Series.
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The Spitfires won the OHL championship for the first time since 1988. After going 3-0 in round robin, they Spitfires lost to the Medicine Hat Tigers in the championship game of the Memorial Cup in Chicoutimi in 1988.
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Sensational sophomore Taylor Hall (16-20-36 in 20 games) was the top scorer in the post-season and won the Wayne Gretzky “99” Award as the most valuable player in the playoffs as voted by the media covering the final series. Andrei Loktionov (11-22-33 in 20 games) and Dale Mitchell (14-15-29 in 20 games) also had good offensive numbers while defenceman Ryan Ellis (8-23-31 in 20- games) regularly contributed as well.
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In net, overage Andrew Engelage experienced some criticism along the way this season but responded with an outstanding playoff effort. He may have had his best game in a Spitfires’ uniform in the championship series finale that the Spitfires won 2-1 in overtime on home ice.
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Behind the bench, former OHL and NHL player Bob Boughner has led the Spitfires’ renaissance. The two-time OHL coach of the year is a part owner of the team, along with general manager Warren Rychel.
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Regular Season Record: 57-10-0-1
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Playoff Record: 16-4
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Kelowna Rockets (WHL Champions)
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The Rockets started the WHL playoffs with a sweep of the Kamloops Blazers before a six-game series win over the Tri-City Americans. They knocked off the number four rated Vancouver Giants in the semi-finals and then took out the top-rated Calgary Hitmen in the WHL Championship Series to claim the Ed Chynoweth Trophy as league champions for the third time in the past seven years. The Rockets will be playing in the Memorial Cup for the fourth time after making three consecutive trips to the CHL’s championship tournament from 2003 through 2005. They won the Memorial Cup on home ice in 2004.
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The Rockets have been led offensively in the post-season by Jamie Benn (13-20-33 in 19 games), Cody Almond (10-17-27 in 22 games) and Mikael Backlund (13-10-23 in 19 games) while big defenceman Tyler Myers (5-15-20 in 22 games) has been a dominant presence on the blueline. Benn missed three games in the championship series before returning to pick up two assists in the championship-clinching game on Saturday.
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Mark Guggenberger has been the man between the pipes for the Rockets and was sensational in their final series win over Calgary. His outstanding play helped them jump out to a 3-0 series lead that proved to be insurmountable. He was 16-6 with a 2.36 goals against average and .907 save percentage and posted three shutouts in the playoffs.
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Rockets’ coach Ryan Huska is making his record-setting seventh trip to the Memorial Cup. He helped the Kamloops Blazers win three national titles in 1992, 1994 and 1995 and was an assistant coach with the Rockets when they made three straight appearances in the tournament from 2003 through 2005. He has four Memorial Cup championship rings.
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Regular Season Record: 47-21-1-3 (98 points)
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Playoff Record: 16-6
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Rimouski Oceanic (QMJHL – Host)
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After a ho-hum start to the regular season, the Rimouski Oceanic put together an impressive winning streak down the stretch drive of the regular season and into the playoffs. They swept the Chicoutimi Sagueneens in the first round and then eliminated the Moncton Wildcats in five games in the second round. They fell to the Drummondville Voltigeurs in four straight games in the league semi-finals.
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Keven Veilleux (7-12-19 in 13 games) was their top scorer in the playoffs while Philippe Cornet (4-11-15 in 13 games) and defenceman Marc-Andre Bourdon (1-12-13 in 13 games) also made significant contributions. Team Canada forward Patrice Cormier (4-6-10 in 13 games) is also a big part of the Oceanic offence.
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Maxim Gougeon is the regular netminder for Rimouski and he posted an 8-5 record with a 3.08 goals against average and .896 save percentage to go along with one shutout in 13 playoff games.
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Rimouski coach Clement Jodoin is no stranger to success. He guided the Lewiston MAINEiacs to a QMJHL championship in 2007 and has won three gold medals in the past three years as an assistant coach with Canada’s National Junior Team.
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The Oceanic will play in the Memorial Cup for the third time. They won the national championship in Halifax in 2000 and lost to the London Knights in the championship game of the 2005 tournament in London.
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Regular Season Record: 44-23-1-0
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Playoff Record: 8-5
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2009 MasterCard Memorial Cup Schedule
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Friday May 15 – Kelowna vs. Rimouski, 7:00 p.m.
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Saturday May 16 – Drummondville vs. Windsor, 4:40 p.m.
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Sunday May 17 – Rimouski vs. Windsor, 4:30 p.m.
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Monday May 18 – Drummondville vs. Kelowna, 7:00 p.m.
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Tuesday May 19 – Windsor vs. Kelowna, 7:00 p.m.
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Wednesday May 20 – Rimouski vs. Drummondville, 7:00 p.m.
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Thursday May 21 – Tie-Breaker Game (if necessary), 7:00 p.m.
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Friday May 22 – Semi-Final, 7:00 p.m.
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Sunday May 24 – Championship Game, 4:40 p.m.
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(All games on Rogers Sportsnet and RDS. All times Eastern)