Knights open MasterCard Memorial Cup 8PM

SASKATOON, SK – The 2013 MasterCard Memorial Cup begins tonight with the host Saskatoon Blades taking on the OHL Champion London Knights in the first round robin contest of the tournament at Credit Union Centre in Saskatoon, SK (6:00pm MT Sportsnet)

The CHL’s Championship tournament, which wraps up with the Championship game on Sunday, May 26th, features four teams – the host Saskatoon Blades, the OHL Champion London Knights, the WHL Champion Portland Winterhawks and the QMJHL Champion Halifax Mooseheads – who will battle for the storied Memorial Cup trophy.

The Blades have been gearing up for their first MasterCard Memorial Cup game since they were officially named tournament host back in the fall of 2011.  Saskatoon put together a solid 44-22-2-4 record during the 2012-13 regular season, capturing the East Division title, but were eliminated in the opening round of the 2013 WHL playoffs by the Medicine Hat Tigers.

A veteran-laden Club, the Blades are led by 20-year-old captain Brenden Walker, who put up 33 goals and 76 points, and 19-year-old offensive stars Josh Nicholls (47g-38a) and Matej Stransky (40g-45a) who shared the team scoring lead with 85 points apiece.  Russian goaltender Andrey Makarov, a Buffalo Sabres prospect, shared the WHL lead among goaltenders with 37 wins this season.

The Knights captured their second consecutive OHL Championship just four days ago, defeating the Barrie Colts in the seventh and deciding game of the 2013 OHL Championship series.  London fell in the Championship game of the 2012 MasterCard Memorial Cup tournament, losing in overtime to the host Shawinigan Cataractes.

Led by 17-year-old top prospects Max Domi and Bo Horvat, the Knights are a young team with plenty of talent and experience, despite their youth.  Domi led the team in post-season scoring, racking up 11 goals and 32 points in 21 games while Horvat exploded for seven goals and 11 points in the OHL final, earning MVP honors.  Veteran defencemen Olli Maatta and Scott Harrington head up a Knights’ defence corps that allowed the third-fewest number of goals among all OHL teams during the regular season.

The MasterCard Memorial Cup tournament format sees each team play one another in a round-robin format. The team with the best record after the round-robin advances directly to the Championship game, while the second and third-placed teams play a semi-final game to determine the other tournament finalist. If there is a tie for third place after the round-robin, a tiebreaker game will be played to determine the second semi-finalist.

The round-robin portion of the tournament continues on Saturday with the QMJHL champion and Halifax Mooseheads taking on the WHL champion Portland Winterhawks. 

All games of the 2013 MasterCard Memorial Cup tournament can be seen live on SPORTSNET.

2013 MasterCard Memorial Cup Schedule:
Round Robin
Game 1 – London vs Saskatoon; Friday, May 17; 6:00pm
Game 2 –  Portland vs Halifax; Saturday, May 18; 5:00pm
Game 3 – Saskatoon vs Halifax; Sunday, May 19; 5:00pm
Game 4 – Portland vs London; Monday, May 20; 6:00pm
Game 5 – Halifax vs London; Tuesday, May 21; 6:00pm
Game 6 – Saskatoon vs Portland; Wednesday, May 22; 6:00pm

Tie-Breaker (If Necessary); Thursday, May 23; 6:00pm

Semi-Final; Friday, May 24; 6:00pm

Memorial Cup Championship Game; Sunday, May 26; 5:00pm

The 2013 MasterCard Memorial Cup is proudly supported by MasterCard, title sponsor of this event for 15 straight years

For more information about the event please visit www.mastercardmemorialcup.ca