Spitfires and Rockets earn Memorial Cup berths

The Windsor Spitfires of the Ontario Hockey League and Kelowna Rockets of the Western Hockey League have earned their tickets to play in the 2009 MasterCard Memorial Cup in Rimouski and with five days left until the tournament opener, there is one spot left.

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Taylor Hall scored in overtime to lead the Spitfires to a 2-1 win over the Brampton Battalion on Friday to give them a 4-1 win in the Rogers OHL Championship Series and the J. Ross Robertson Cup as OHL champions.

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The Spitfires are making their second appearance in the Memorial Cup after advancing to the final game of the tournament in 1988.

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Meanwhile out west, the Rockets won their third WHL title in the past seven years after Tyson Barrie scored in overtime to give the Rockets a 3-2 win over the Calgary Hitmen in the deciding game of the WHL championship on Saturday. The Rockets win the Ed Chynoweth Cup after defeating the number-one ranked Hitmen in six games.

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The Rockets made three straight appearances in the Memorial Cup from 2003 through 2005. They won the national championship on home ice in 2004.

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The Drummondville Voltigeurs and Shawinigan Cataractes will play game seven of their Championship Series Tuesday night in Drummondville after Shawinigan won game six 2-1 in overtime to tie the series.

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The 2009 MasterCard Memorial Cup opens on Friday with the host Rimouski Oceanic facing the Rockets (7:00 p.m. Eastern on Rogers Sportsnet and RDS). The Spitfires play their first game on Saturday against the QMJHL champions.

For more information please visit www.mastercardmemorialcup.com