Knights and Rebels open 2016 MasterCard Memorial Cup
(Photo Credit: Knights – Terry Wilson/OHL Images, Rebels – Rob Wallator)
Game 1: London Knights (OHL) vs. Red Deer Rebels (WHL)
6:00pm MT
After months of preparation, excitement has reached a fever pitch in Red Deer as the hometown Rebels hit the ice to open 98th MasterCard Memorial Cup at a sold out ENMAX Centrium tonight.
The Rebels, who haven’t seen action since April 29th when they were ousted from the Eastern Conference Finals, have the city behind them as they take on the OHL Champion London Knights.
No light task, the Rebels are confident in their preparation over the past few weeks, staying active in advance of their biggest games of the season to date.
“We’ve done a lot of work in game-like situations and have worked hard to stay sharp so that we’re executing this week,” noted overage veteran Adam Helewka, a 42-goal scorer this past season. “We’re in good shape mentally and physically.”
Sportsnet’s Sam Cosentino and RJ Broadhead preview tonight’s matchup:
The Rebels, who feature a skilled cast that includes highly touted NHL prospects in defenceman Haydn Fleury (Carolina) and forwards Conner Bleackley (Arizona), Jake DeBrusk (Boston), Michael Spacek (Winnipeg) and Russian sniper Ivan Nikolishin, are ready to go under veteran head coach Brent Sutter.
Sutter, who is one of seven brothers from a Viking, Alberta-based hockey family, faces a coaching counterpart who shares a similar background. London Knights head coach Dale Hunter, whose brothers Mark (Knights co-owner, Director of Player Personnel with the Toronto Maple Leafs) and Dave also had NHL playing careers, is the second-winningest active coach in the Ontario Hockey League. The upcoming matchup brings back playing memories from the 80’s and 90’s.
“I always respected Dale as a player,” said Sutter on Thursday. “He played centre, I played centre and we had our share of battles. He was a tough customer and not an easy guy to line up against.”
Hunter echoes those sentiments.
“Brent was a skilled guy, but he competed as hard as anyone on the ice,” he said. “You know when you come to play against him he competes and that’s what his team does too. They compete with skill and it’s hard to defend.”
Hunter’s Knights enter action on an OHL-record 13-game playoff winning streak following a four game sweep of the Niagara IceDogs to earn their third OHL title in five years.
Knights co-captains Mitch Marner and Christian Dvorak hit the ice tonight on 16-game point streaks. Marner is making his second appearance at the MasterCard Memorial Cup after the Knights went 0-3 as hosts in 2014.
“It’s kind of surreal,” he said. “Remembering this in my first year, it didn’t feel this exciting. It’s a lot of fun to be here in Red Deer and to have this opportunity.”
The well-documented unit of Marner, Dvorak and Matthew Tkachuk filled OHL scoresheets this past season. The 100-point trio looks to bring their impressive production westward this week in Red Deer.
“Me and Devo (Dvorak) have been here for three years and I grew up playing against Matt and knowing how he plays the game,” said Marner, who received OHL MVP honours in both the regular season and playoffs. “Me and Devo knew what we would get out of him and things have just continued to go uphill since we got together.”
The Rebels continue the MasterCard Memorial Cup tradition of opening the tournament as the host team in front of an excited fan base. Tournament hosts have won just two of the last ten MasterCard Memorial Cup openers, with the most recent instance happening last year in Quebec when the Remparts defeated the Kelowna Rockets 4-3. The Rebels look to continue reversing the trend tonight against a dangerous offensive London team.
With plenty happening off the ice at Fan Fest in the Parkland and Prairie Pavilions with fun, games, live entertainment and music happening throughout the week, the Knights and Rebels will get the action started on the ice tonight at 6:00pm MT, a game that can be seen across the country on Sportsnet and TVA Sports 2.
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