Scout
05-22-2008, 08:35 AM
Chiefs find out perfection has its perks
By Christine Rivet
RECORD STAFF
Ah, the good life.
Sleeping in, leisurely practices, a sightseeing excursion to Toronto.
The Spokane Chiefs plan to enjoy their four-day Memorial Cup holiday while they can.
The Western Hockey League champs punched their tickets for Sunday's Memorial Cup final (from the seats, no less) back on Monday, as the Belleville Bulls downed the Gatineau Olympiques 6-3, guaranteeing the Chiefs first place.
Even though the tournament's only undefeated team already knew its destiny, these western boys refused to take their foot off the pedal, ousting the Olympiques 3-1 on Tuesday, in a game only Gatineau had to win.
So Spokane rolls into the championship game at the Aud on Sunday at 4:30 p.m. flawless in three games.
Perfection has its perks.
The Chiefs will have four days between games.
Spokane practised yesterday and will work out again tomorrow and Saturday in Kitchener.
Today, the Chiefs travel to Toronto to visit the Hockey Hall of Fame and then its off to the Rogers Centre to scarf down hotdogs at the Blue Jays-Angels baseball game.
Chiefs coach Bill Peters said he doesn't worry the layoff will stall his club's momentum. "This is the most competitive group I've ever been involved with, whether it's a card game or a hockey game.
"I knew it wouldn't take much to get their juices going," he said following Spokane's win over Gatineau.
Chiefs spokesperson Jay Stewart said the team's players more than earned the day off today, their first away from the ice in a week.
Spokane's sheer dominance meant it was three and out for the Olympiques here.
"Obviously, we are not lucky," said coach-GM Benoit Groulx, whose winless Olympiques were beset with injuries to their blueline, "because we played our best game against probably the best team at the tournament (Spokane)."
Gatineau's star forward, Claude Giroux, departed with just two points in three games, handcuffed by a wrist injury.
Meanwhile, the Kitchener Rangers and Belleville Bulls will duke it out again tomorrow in the semifinal at 7 p.m. at the Aud. Last night's round-robin finale pitting these familiar Ontario Hockey League rivals against each other for the eighth time in a month was little more than a dress rehearsal for tomorrow's showdown.
And only then will the survivor confront the decidedly unflashy Chiefs, the superbly disciplined Big Red Machine that seldom strays from its system.
"It was important to get better and better as the tournament went along," said Peters. "And I thought we've done that."
There are no tournament games scheduled today.
By Christine Rivet
RECORD STAFF
Ah, the good life.
Sleeping in, leisurely practices, a sightseeing excursion to Toronto.
The Spokane Chiefs plan to enjoy their four-day Memorial Cup holiday while they can.
The Western Hockey League champs punched their tickets for Sunday's Memorial Cup final (from the seats, no less) back on Monday, as the Belleville Bulls downed the Gatineau Olympiques 6-3, guaranteeing the Chiefs first place.
Even though the tournament's only undefeated team already knew its destiny, these western boys refused to take their foot off the pedal, ousting the Olympiques 3-1 on Tuesday, in a game only Gatineau had to win.
So Spokane rolls into the championship game at the Aud on Sunday at 4:30 p.m. flawless in three games.
Perfection has its perks.
The Chiefs will have four days between games.
Spokane practised yesterday and will work out again tomorrow and Saturday in Kitchener.
Today, the Chiefs travel to Toronto to visit the Hockey Hall of Fame and then its off to the Rogers Centre to scarf down hotdogs at the Blue Jays-Angels baseball game.
Chiefs coach Bill Peters said he doesn't worry the layoff will stall his club's momentum. "This is the most competitive group I've ever been involved with, whether it's a card game or a hockey game.
"I knew it wouldn't take much to get their juices going," he said following Spokane's win over Gatineau.
Chiefs spokesperson Jay Stewart said the team's players more than earned the day off today, their first away from the ice in a week.
Spokane's sheer dominance meant it was three and out for the Olympiques here.
"Obviously, we are not lucky," said coach-GM Benoit Groulx, whose winless Olympiques were beset with injuries to their blueline, "because we played our best game against probably the best team at the tournament (Spokane)."
Gatineau's star forward, Claude Giroux, departed with just two points in three games, handcuffed by a wrist injury.
Meanwhile, the Kitchener Rangers and Belleville Bulls will duke it out again tomorrow in the semifinal at 7 p.m. at the Aud. Last night's round-robin finale pitting these familiar Ontario Hockey League rivals against each other for the eighth time in a month was little more than a dress rehearsal for tomorrow's showdown.
And only then will the survivor confront the decidedly unflashy Chiefs, the superbly disciplined Big Red Machine that seldom strays from its system.
"It was important to get better and better as the tournament went along," said Peters. "And I thought we've done that."
There are no tournament games scheduled today.