The favored Spitfires start off 0-2?

After a great effort against Drummondville from the Spitfires and a poor effort against Kelowna from the Oceanic. Many would expect a poor effort from the Oceanic against Windsor. Well, that was not the case. Rimouski certianly brought out their game legs against Windsor potting 5 and letting in 4. While doing that there were many scrums and a couple fights. When a game has 3 minors at the 20:00 mark you know these teams dont like eachother.

The first fight started off after McMillan leveled a Spit cleany into the boards. McMillan agreed to the fight but nothing was really thrown. A headlock each way and this is a non event. The 2nd fight was better though. After a scrum in front of the Oceanic goal. Spit Henrique and Oceanic Piche tussle a little too far and drop the gloves. Much to the fans enjoyment, Piche had Henrique in a headlock and fed him plenty of mini uppercuts. When it was all said and done Henrique had to get some repairs.

Oceanic led 1-0. But then Windsor scored 2 goals in 2:30. The Oceanic tied it back up and potted 2 more. Windsor struck within 1 before the 3rd. Although the Spitfires would start the 3rd on a PP. It would be the Oceanic striking first just 34 seconds in McMillan bangs home his rebound to really take the wind out of Windsors sails. Lokionov would circle the net and release a wirster that Gougen got a good part of but not enough and its a 5-4 game. After some glorious chances from Windsor the clock would eventually run down and the home team improves to 1-1 while Windsor goes 0-2.

What went wrong for Windsor? IMO it coulda been a couple things. After watching the pitful effort the Oceanic gave against Kelowna, Windsor may have thought this match would be a walk in the park. Also, Rimouski played day 1 and have had a couple days rest. The Spitfires had to play 2 games in 2 nights and may have been out of gas as they went to Overtime last night then had to play this afternoon. Combine those reasons and an "upset" doesnt seem too far fetched.

Tomorrow is the matchup im most looking forward to! Kelowna VS Drummondville. Who will stay undefeated?

All 4 teams have played!

Kelowna and Rimouski kicked things off yesterday. It seemed like Kelowna was out of Rimouski's league as they peppered the Oceanic goalie with shots. The puck crossed Kelowna's blueline 3 times in the 1st 5 minutes, all of which were icing calls. Tyler Myers scored the 1st goal of the tournament and Kelowna rolled from there. Rimouski made it a little respectable as they potted 1 late to cap off the scoring at 4-1.

Then we got our 1st look at the OHL and QMJHL Champions. The Windsor Spitfires and the Drummondville Voltiguers. Few people gave Drummondville a chance. But the Voltiguers knew what they had to do. They used their speed against Windsors skill which made for a heck of a very close faught match. Windsor had a 1 goal lead twice in the game. Including the first goal with under 1/4 of a second left!!! But the Volts didnt let that stop them. They fought back and kept coming. 60 minutes wasnt enough but 68 was. As a point shot tipped to the right of the goal and a glorious rebound gave Drummondville the win.

Rimouski will have to prove themselves as they take on the Spitfires tomorrow. Windsor will not be in a good mood and will be desparate for a win. This could be bad for Rimouski. If they are not back in game shape tomorrow we will see another blow out.

The 2009 Mastercard Memorial Cup!

          Well the Memorial Cup experience got started a day early for me as i recieved a 2009 top prospects signed CHL jersey in the mail yesterday for placing 2nd in the Rightgaurd CHL most extreme fan contest.  My favorite tournament kicks off today with the WHL Champions Kelowna Rockets facing off against the host team the Rimouski Oceanic.  As the Rockets appear healthy the Oceanic is anything but.  Defenseman Marc Bourdon (NHL3rd rounder) has battled injury.  Heart and soul player 2-way forward (NHL3rd rounder) Olivier Fortier has also battled through injury.  Thats the 2nd best D-man and the best forward with status in question.  Should those 2 key players be ready then we are in for 1 hell of a match.  If they are not ready to go then it may be a long night for the home team fans.

         The QMJHL Champions (to no suprise) are the Drummondville Voltiguers.  This highly favored team was CHL ranked most of the season and didnt disappoint.  The OHL Champions(to an even lesser degree of suprise) are the Windsor Spitfires.  A team that has IMO the best forward of the tournament, and the best offensive D-man of the tournament.  Those 2 being Forward Taylor Hall(The hands down fav to be #1 in the NHL draft in 2010)  And Ryan Ellis(should be a top pick in this years draft)  Taylor Hall is a complete package player.  He doesnt take a shift off and is good in all aspects of the game.  Ryan Ellis is a 5'11 tremendously talented in the offensive department form the bluline.  He is always thinking offence and has that ability to sneak into high priced offensive real estate when opposing teams least expect it.  Before they turn their heads-BAM! the puck is in the back of the net.

          Aside from all the talent that team has, the Spitfires also have another motive at the Memorial Cup.  They are wanting to win it all for their late captain Mickey Renaud who passed away suddenly February 22nd last year.  A little more then a year later the players have not forgot about their captain.  If you look at their OHL Championship picture, youll see the teamates draping Renauds jersey over the cup.  That motivation i believe will be enough for Windsor to win the Memorial Cup as they ice arguably their best team ever.

          Next blog will be about the NHL playoffs.

Kyle Beach

Hes the kind of player that you either love or hate. And to alot of "away" fans he's very easy to hate. The 6'3, 210 lb Kyle Beach has made the type of impact that seemingly everyone notices. Aside from looking like a mean guy, he plays with a mean streak. He hits, fights, chirps, crosschecks, slashes, and scores. Theres nothing that Beach doesnt do. Theres no question that sometimes his temper gets the better of him and causes him to take untimely penalties. But the talent is there.... Kyle Beach has been a point per game player ever since his rookie 16 yr old season in the dub.

A question that many have asked is "Would you want Beach on your team? Though many have answered no, i will answer yes. I think Molleken would be able to handle Beach and that his attitude would improve as a Blade. Beach would also provide a scorers touch which is something the Blades havent had alot of since the Setoguchi, Rabbit, Barnes, Green days. He would take some bad penalties and there will be a refs eye on him, but i truely believe he would end up being a huge help to the club the may challenge for the WHL title next season. Maybe Lorne will try for him? Who knows.

Another question that has been raised is: "Will Kyle Beach make the NHL" My answer"yes" Beach is a mean 6'3 210lb power forward would can put the puck in the net, plays with a gritty style, and will drop the gloves. His physical attributes and stats would make him a dream player for any NHL club. Kyle Beach was selected in the 1st round, 11th overall by the Chicago Blackhawks. As far as talent goes, i think Beach was the 2nd most talented forward in that draft. Im going to make a bold prediction and say that Kyle Beach will be a full time NHLer within 3 years. He will fit in well with Chicagos systems.

In my next blog, i will post about my favorite tournament of all time! The Memorial Cup.

Another exciting WHL season comes to an end.

When i think of the Saskatoon Blades season, the word "1st" comes to mind. Some of which is in a positive way and some of which is in a negative way. The Blades finished 1st in the division. The Blades captured their 1st banner in 15 years. The Blades were out in the 1st round of playoffs. They were also considered to be on the losing end of the 1st WHL playoff upset. To cap it off in a positive manner they tied the all time(1st place) WHL road record.

Now, according to who you ask: The Blades in some minds had a successful season and had an unsuccessful season in other minds. In the negative minds you will hear comments such as "Still no WHL championship" The Blades were so good in the regular season then choke in playoffs. They will never win. All the regular season hard work was for nothing.....

Well thats where i would like to respectfully disagree. To begin not many people had the Blades to finish anywhere near the top. So any extra regular season success was a bonus. Now the playoff exit was hard, but it did go to a very entertaining game 7 in front of 10,000 strong. Burke Gallimore made a name for himself, Adam Morrison made a name for himself. The Blades inked the record books putting their name right beside the Hitmen in the road wins category. Also i had the privilage of experiencing live in PA something that Blades fans had longed for, for over 15 years. It happened as Stefan Elliott came up with some late game heroics ironically with 6 (his jersey number) seconds left in regulation to give the Blades the point they needed to bring home a division banner. That victory was bittersweet as it was the Blades last chance to set the Road record but they fell short in the S.O. However after seeing the reactions on the bench as they scored, im sure the boys in blue still had a great ride home.

Having said that it brings me to another point. A friend of mine currently resides in Brandon. And we had a friendly debate on who had a more successful season. The Saskatoon Blades or the Brandon Wheatkings. The Wheatkings made it to the 3rd round then got swetp by the Hitmen. The Blades captured an East div banner then lost in 7 to the Hurricanes. When the returning Blades players come back in Sept and start playing again, during every national anthem they will be looking at "2008/2009 East divsion champions - Saskatoon Blades" And knowing that they were a part of that will spark the players and leave a good feeling inside. Whereas the last season memories the returning Wheatkings will have is a 0-4 sweep from the Hitmen. Personally, id rather have the banner and the tied road record.

Thats all for now! In my next blog i will talk about a touchy subject, Kyle Beach.