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From Gregg Drinnan... 1990
1990 MEMORIAL CUP
Kamloops Blazers, Oshawa Generals, Kitchener Rangers and Laval Titan
at Hamilton (Copps Coliseum)
They were already calling him The Next Great One. Already, hockey fans either liked him or despised him.
There wasn't any middle ground with Eric Lindros.
And that's just how he played the game of hockey. When he was on the ice, there wasn't any grey area.
He was like that at the 1990 Memorial Cup. And he was only 17 years of age.
This was to be his coming-out party, primarily because four of the tournament's games would be televised by The Sports Network, meaning a national audience would get its first concentrated look at Lindros.
He didn't disappoint.
Neither did this tournament which is at or near the top of the list whenever hockey fans debate which one was the greatest of all time. Why? Well, it featured four overtime games, including two that went into double overtime.
"In my mind, it ranks as No. 1, OHL commissioner David Branch would say later. "When you put all these things together, you have the finest Memorial Cup ever.
Lindros and his Oshawa Generals, under head coach Rick Cornacchia, were in this tournament as the OHL champions.
The Kitchener Rangers, coached by Joe McDonnell were in as the OHL runners-up, beaten by the Generals in the championship final.
That's right. There wasn't a host team. The Hamilton Steelhawks were to have filled that role. But with the Steelhawks en route to an 11-49-6 regular-season record, the decision was made to make a change.
Thus, the venue stayed the same, but it was decided that both teams that qualified for the OHL final would get Memorial Cup berths.
In the end, it was a decision no one would regret.
The Generals had acquired Lindros's rights from the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds -- they had drafted him but he refused to report -- in time for him to suit up for 25 games, during which he totaled 17 goals, 19 assists and 61 penalty minutes.
In the end, the Generals had a 42-20-4 regular-season record and, with Lindros fully ensconced in the lineup now, they were ready for the playoff run.
Team captain Iain Fraser was the club's top gun, with 40 goals and 105 points. Brent Grieve chipped in with 46 goals and 47 assists, and Jarrod Skalde had 40 goals and 52 helpers. And Mike Craig turned in 36 goals and 40 assists in only 43 games.
Grieve and Fraser, by the way, were real veterans. Both had played for the Generals in the 1987 Memorial Cup in Oshawa. Grieve had two assists in four games; Fraser got into one game.
In goal, the go-to guy all season had been Kevin Butt, who had a 3.75 GAA. Fred Brathwaite (2.91) was coming on as the season wound down.
The Generals opened postseason play by ousting the Cornwall Royals from a Leyden Division quarterfinal in six games to earn a bye to the division final.
In that final, they smoked the defending-champion Peterborough Petes in four games, setting up the final with the Rangers.
The Generals, a team that was formed in 1908, would win that series in seven games -- after trailing 3-1 -- to win the organization's 11th OHL crown. In 10 previous Memorial Cup appearances, Oshawa had three titles -- 1939, 1940 and 1944.
Lindros finished the playoffs with 18 goals and 18 assists in 17 games.
Yes, he was ready.
The Rangers were making their fourth Memorial Cup appearance and, having won it in 1982, were going for title No. 2.
They had gotten through the regular season with a 38-21-7 record, thanks in large part to the offensive talents of Gilbert Dionne, Joey St. Aubin and Jason Firth.
Dionne, younger brother of NHL star Marcel Dionne, finished with 105 points, including 48 goals; St. Aubin scored 36 goals and set up 68 others; and, Firth had 100 points, including 64 assists. Steve Rice helped out with 39 goals and 37 assists in 58 games.
In goal, the load fell on Mike Torchia, who put up a 3.58 GAA in the regular season. He played every postseason minute and finished with a 3.51 GAA.
In the playoffs, the Rangers opened in an Emms Division quarterfinal and took out the North Bay Centennials in five games to earn a bye to the division final where they ousted the Niagara Falls Thunder in five.
That, of course, sent them into the final against Oshawa.
Kitchener's hottest player going into the Memorial Cup was Shayne Stevenson, thanks to 16 goals and 20 assists in 17 playoff games. Stevenson, who suffered a broken finger in the second game of the OHL final, would have a superb Memorial Cup.
"To get (to the OHL final) and watch someone else carry around the trophy, it hurts, Stevenson said. "Hopefully, Oshawa and us will get to the final because we'd be able to play them again and beat them.
The Laval Titan, under head coach Pierre Creamer who was two seasons removed from being fired as head coach of the NHL's Pittsburgh Penguins, were making their second straight Memorial Cup appearance.
This was a team that really didn't make a lot of regular-season noise. Laval finished at 37-30-3, good for fifth place in the 11-team QMJHL.
The Titan, without a scorer in the top 10, scored 332 goals, second only to the Trois-Rivieres Draveurs, who totaled 345 over the 70-game schedule. However, Laval gave up 274 goals during a season in which seven teams allowed fewer than 300 goals.
Denis Chalifoux, a veteran of the 1989 Memorial Cup, was Laval's leading regular-season scorer, with 109 points, including 41 goals. Martin Lapointe followed with 96 points, including 42 goals, tying the franchise record for most points in a season by a rookie. That record had originally been set by Mario Lemieux in 1981-82.
The big line featured Chalifoux and Lapointe, with Claude Boivin supplying the muscle.
All told, the Titan brought with them eight players who had played in the 1989 tournament _ Chalifoux, Eric Dubois, Patrice Brisebois, Michel Gingras, Sylvain Naud, Patrick Caron, Normand Demers and Gino Odjick. With Sandy McCarthy also on this team, the Titan didn't lack for muscle.
In goal, there wasn't any doubt about the No. 1 guy. That was Eric Raymond, who had posted a 3.57 regular-season GAA and then set a QMJHL rookie playoff record with a 2.27 GAA.
Raymond, then, took a hot hand into the tournament, as did Chalifoux, who had led the QMJHL in postseason scoring, with 32 points in 14 games.
Laval opened the playoffs with a 4-2 series victory over the fourth-place Shawinigan Cataractes and then swept the sixth-place Hull Olympiques.
The Titan met up with the first-place Victoriaville Tigres in the final. It was no contest. Laval won four straight games, outscoring Victoriaville 23-9 in the process.
The QMJHL, which hadn't had a Quebec-based team win the Memorial Cup since the Quebec Remparts in 1971, had high hopes, indeed.
Still, it was Ken Hitchcock's Kamloops Blazers -- sparked by Len Barrie, Phil Huber, Dave Chyzowski, Mike Needham and goaltender Corey Hirsch -- who rode into this tournament in the favorite's role.
The Blazers were hoping to become the fourth straight WHL team to win the Memorial Cup, following the Medicine Hat Tigers (1987, 1988) and Swift Current Broncos (1989).
Kamloops had posted the WHL's best regular-season record -- 56-16-0 -- and wasn't challenged in the postseason, winning 14 of 17 games.
The Blazers opened with two West Division best-of-seven series. First, they ousted the Spokane Chiefs in six games and then in the division final they took care of the Seattle Thunderbirds, also in six games.
In the championship final, a best-of-seven affair, Kamloops polished off the Lethbridge Hurricanes, 4-1.
The Blazers were led by Barrie, a 20-year-old centre who had been picked up from the Victoria Cougars with whom he had spent three losing seasons.
"This is the first year I've even won a playoff series, said Barrie, who led the WHL in goals (85), assists (100) and points (185). "It seems I've always gone out in the first round against Kamloops.
"If you can't beat 'em, join 'em.
Barrie was also the playoff scoring champion, with 14 goals and 37 points.
Kamloops could also boast of Huber (53 goals, 152 points), Needham (59 goals, 125 points) and Brian Shantz (39 goals, 114 points) up front. Trevor Sim, who had won the Memorial Cup with Swift Current in 1989, was with the Blazers and had totaled 39 goals and 67 points in 49 games.
Kamloops got a boost in midseason, too, when Chyzowski, a left winger, was returned by the NHL's New York Islanders.
In the playoffs, the Blazers regularly got a lift from a line featuring Cal McGowan, Zac Boyer and Paul Kruse, a threesome that frequently rattled the opposition with some fierce forechecking.
The best of the Kamloops defencemen were 17-year-old Darryl Sydor, 16-year-old Scott Niedermayer and Dean Malkoc.
Hirsch was the No. 1 goaltender, coming off a regular season in which he went 48-13-0 with a 3.82 GAA. Hirsch played every minute of every playoff game, going 14-3 with a 3.45 GAA.
Things didn't go at all as planned for the Blazers, however, and it would be a week they'd rather forget. You might call it a case of close, but no cigars.
The Blazers played on the tournament's first two days -- losing 8-7 in overtime to Kitchener before 7,003 fans on May 5 and then dropping a 7-6 overtime decision to Oshawa in front of 7,465 fans on May 6.
"You have to give Kitchener and Oshawa a lot of credit, but we're not playing well collectively, Hitchcock said.
In the opener, the Rangers got the winner from Stevenson, who scored his second goal of the game at 7:41 of overtime.
That came after St. Aubin tied it on a power play at 15:41 of the third period.
Kitchener actually trailed 6-4 going into the third period.
Mark Montanari, Rice, John Uniac, Firth and Rival Fullum also scored for Kitchener. Chyzowski and Sydor, with two each, Kruse, McGowan and Needham replied for Kamloops, which outshot the Rangers 45-37.
Also on May 5, Oshawa downed Laval 6-2 before 8,066 fans.
The Generals scored three goals in the game's first nine minutes, counted five in all in the first period and never looked back.
Cory Banika, with two, Fraser, Grieve, Paul O'Hagan and Skalde had Oshawa's goals, with Lindros earning one assist. Chalifoux and Naud finding the range for the Titan.
Oshawa went to 2-0 and the Blazers well to 0-2 the next day as Fraser netted the winner at 3:55 of the extra period. The Blazers, 7-6 losers in this one, outshot the Generals 50-21.
Craig struck for three first-period goals for the Generals, who gave up the first goal and then scored five in a row. It was the second straight game in which Oshawa put five on the board in the opening 20 minutes.
Skalde, Scott Luik and Grieve also scored for the Generals. Lindros set up three goals.
The Blazers, who trailed 6-2 going into the third period and 6-3 with 4:30 to play, tied it on third-period goals by Barrie (3:32), Niedermayer (15:37), Sydor (17:15) and Chyzowski (19:30).
Chyzowski finished with two goals, giving him four in two games. Barrie also scored twice.
And it seemed there was more to this game than met the eye.
"I'd like to take this opportunity to thank Len Barrie in public, Cornacchia said. "He insulted us and said we had no character.
"Things got a little emotional, Barrie said, "and there was a lot of yapping going on. We totally outplayed them and should have won this hockey game. A team that gives up a four-goal lead doesn't have any character anyway.
"We're not out of this thing yet.
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1990 continued......
On May 9, Kitchener downed Laval 5-3 to improve to 2-0 and drop the Titan to 0-2. Attendance was 5,249.
Montanari, who had opened the season with the American Hockey League's Maine Mariners, broke a 3-3 tie at 2:08 of the first period and Firth wrapped it up with an empty-net goal at 19:49.
Dionne, Rice and Stevenson also scored for Kitchener, as the Rangers continued to get production from their big guns.
Gingras, with two, and Carl Boudreau scored for Laval, which would now meet Kamloops to decide one semifinal berth.
The other berth would be decided when Oshawa met Kitchener -- the winner moved into the final, the loser got a spot in the semifinal.
But first things first.
On May 9, the unthinkable happened -- Laval dumped Kamloops 4-2 which meant the Blazers, the top-ranked team in the CHL just a few days earlier, were the first team eliminated. Attendance was 4,075.
"Give (Laval) full marks, Hitchcock said. "They did the best job that anyone did here checking us.
Laval scored twice late in the second period and then added two more in the third -- Caron got the winner six minutes into the period and Chalifoux added an empty-netter -- as it earned a spot in the semifinal game.
The Titan ended a five-game losing streak by QMJHL teams against OHL and WHL opposition at the tournament.
Sim gave Kamloops a 1-0 lead on a late first-period power play.
The Titan took the lead late in the second period, scoring two power-play goals five seconds apart in the last minute. Boivin struck with a two-man advantage at 19:49 and Lapointe sent Laval out front at 19:54.
Kruse forged a tie five minutes into the third period, setting the stage for Caron and Chalifoux to round out the scoring.
"They're not a skilled team but they work hard, said Hirsch, who played by far his best game of the tournament. "I didn't play well at all in the first two games and that may become the most memorable thing in my life.
Kamloops finished up 0-3, the first WHL team to go winless at the Memorial Cup since the Edmonton Oil Kings went 0-2 in the first tournament, in 1972.
Oshawa moved into the final on May 10, but it wasn't easy. In fact, it took double overtime.
Dale Craigwell finally ended it, scoring at 4:16 of the second extra period to give the Generals a 5-4 victory over Kitchener. It was Oshawa's fourth straight victory over the Rangers.
Attendance was 11,134, the second-largest crowd to watch a Memorial Cup round-robin or preliminary game, behind only the 12,699 who were in the Montreal Forum on May 11, 1973 to watch Quebec beat the Medicine Hat Tigers 7-3.
Craigwell won it with a 15-foot wrist shot that beat Torchia under the right arm.
Banika, Luik, Craig and Fraser also scored for the Generals, with Lindros setting up two goals. Firth, Stevenson, Dionne and Rice countered for the Rangers, who were outshot 53-44, including 20-15 in overtime.
By now, everyone was waiting for Lindros to score his first goal. Still, he had only gotten better as the tournament progressed.
"I'm kind of a slow starter, he explained. "But I'm warming up and the best is yet to come.
"It seems that the further we get into this tournament, the better I'm playing.
The Rangers now had to meet Laval in the semifinal game.
"We have to forget about this one and focus on Laval, Rice said. "It's not like we're out of the tournament.
"I would love it to be an all-Ontario final, Cornacchia said. "I hope to see them on Sunday.
Cornacchia got his wish when the Rangers beat Laval 5-4 on May 12 in front of 10,188 fans.
That set up an all-OHL final, the second straight season in which two teams from the same league would meet in the final. A year earlier, the WHL's Swift Current Broncos and Saskatoon Blades had met in the final. The Broncos won 4-3 in overtime in Saskatoon.
In the semifinal, Laval led 3-2 after one period and Kitchener took a 4-3 lead into the third period.
Dionne stretched that to 5-3 earlier in the third period. Laval cut it to 5-4 when Boivin scored on a power play at 8:32 but the Titan weren't able to tie it.
Montanari, with two, St. Aubin and Rice also scored for the Rangers. Laval got two goals from Boivin, with Naud and Dubois adding the others.
All of which set up the final. And what a game it was. For the second consecutive season, the Memorial Cup championship was decided in overtime.
Oshawa won it all when Bill Armstrong scored at 2:05 of the second overtime period to give the Generals a 4-3 victory in front of 17,383 fans.
That was the largest crowd ever to watch a Memorial Cup game. The previous record (13,460) was set on May 14, 1977 for the final game of the 1977 tournament -- New Westminster Bruins 6, Ottawa 67's 5 -- in Vancouver's Pacific Coliseum.
The 1990 tournament totaled 70,563 spectators, second only to the 1989 event in Saskatoon, which drew 77,256 fans. However, the Saskatoon tournament featured nine games (average: 8,588) to Hamilton's eight (average: 8,820).
Armstrong, a 6-foot-5 defenceman, drifted a shot from the left point that made its way through traffic and beat Torchia over the left shoulder.
It was Oshawa's first Memorial Cup championship since 1944.
This final, just like the one a year earlier, was one for the ages.
The Generals were without Craig, who was sidelined with an ankle injury. And things looked bleak when Butt went down with an ankle problem in the second period.
But that's when Brathwaite came on and stole the show, allowing just one goal in more than 50 minutes of action. He made 23 saves in the biggest game of his life.
"I was really nervous to start off with, Brathwaite said. "I haven't seen that many people in a long time. I thought I might blow it, but I said to myself, "I can't screw up.
He didn't.
Oshawa got two goals from Grieve, who stepped in for Craig on the line with Lindros and Fraser, with Banika adding the other. Lindros set up three goals, giving him nine assists (and no goals) in the tournament.
Dionne, St. Aubin and defenceman Jason York scored power-play goals for the Rangers, who were outshot 54-38, including 20-12 in overtime.
(Fraser was named the tournament's most valuable player, with Firth winning the sportsmanship award and Torchia being named the top goaltender. The all-star team comprised Torchia, O'Hagan and Kitchener's Corey Keenan on defence, with Lindros, Fraser and Rice up front.)
York and Banika exchanged first-period goals, with St. Aubin and Grieve doing the same in the second. Oshawa took its first lead when Grieve scored again, this one at 3:47 of the third. Dionne forced overtime when he scored just 50 seconds later.
On St. Aubin's goal, the puck struck Butt on the right ankle and deflected into the net. More importantly, Butt was injured and unable to continue.
Brathwaite, who had joined the Generals midway in the season, stepped off the bench and into Memorial Cup history.
Grieve remembered back to 1987.
"In '87, I remember our team coming out flat and (Medicine Hat) got a couple of quick goals, Grieve said. "When (Medicine Hat) won, that was one of the worst feelings I've ever had. Winning it feels so much better.
"We went through a lot of adversity, Fraser said, "and it's the greatest feel bringing the Memorial Cup back to Oshawa.
As well as going through the heralded arrival of Lindros, the Generals had suffered through the deaths of two people -- receptionist Marg Armstrong and chief scout Jim Cherry -- during the season.
"It would have been easy to fold, but we have a character group of players, said Cornacchia.
Game's end also signaled the beginning of one of the Memorial Cup's better stories.
As soon as Armstrong scored the winning goal, Brathwaite raced the length of the ice, fell to his knees and seemed to embrace Torchia.
"I felt bad for him and I thought he was awesome, Brathwaite was quoted as saying later. "I knew we would have all sorts of time to party and I didn't know when I would see him again.
Torchia recounted: "He just said, Keep your head up, you had a great series.' I can't remember saying anything.
"It was like someone had just ripped my heart right out of my chest. I didn't know what to say.
Some time later, Cornacchia may have set the record straight with Toronto Star hockey columnist Bob McKenzie.
"I hate to burst the bubble, Cornacchia told McKenzie, "but Freddie's primary reason for going down to that end of the ice was to get the game puck.
"If you watch the video on that, he's down on his knees, with one arm wrapped around Torchia and the other arm moving out to get the puck, which was right beside Torchia.
"I'm not saying Freddie didn't want to give Torchia a pat on the back, because he did, but I have to be honest -- Freddie wanted the puck.
"That's Freddie. Larcenous Freddie.
Cornacchia also remembered the exact moment when he turned to Brathwaite on the bench.
"I looked down the bench and told Freddie to get ready, Cornacchia recalled. "He said, Sure, Coach,' and started yawning like mad as he put his mask on. I looked at (assistant coach) Larry (Marson) and said, Is he ready?' Larry said, He's ready, don't worry. That's Freddie.
The final was the tournament's fourth overtime game, something that didn't go unnoticed.
"All I could think about, Cornacchia said, "was that in that first overtime period, we were defending the goal at which every overtime goal in the tournament had been scored. I was worried.
He admitted to feeling better once the Generals got to the second extra period.
"I was feeling a lot better because at least we were at the right end of the ice to score on that same goal, he explained.
The game-winner came with all the suddenness of a bullet.
Armstrong intercepted a clearing pass and drifted the puck towards the Kitchener net. Just like that, it was over.
"I think every guy in this dressing room had dreamt about scoring the winning goal in the Memorial Cup final, Armstrong said. "Sure I had dreamt about it. But, realistically, I never thought it would be me who scored.
Armstrong had scored just two regular-season goals.
NEXT: 1991 (Spokane Chiefs, Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds, Drummondville Voltigeurs and Chicoutimi Sagueneens)
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From Gregg Drinnan...1992
1992 MEMORIAL CUP
Seattle Thunderbirds, Kamloops Blazers, Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds and Verdun College-Francais
at Seattle (Coliseum and Center Ice Arena)
The Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds didn't do so well in the 1991 Memorial Cup in Quebec City where they played three games and lost them all.
You can bet that gnawed at their very being all through the 1991-92 season.
And when the 1992 tournament rolled around, the Greyhounds were there again. Coached by Ted Nolan, the Greyhounds became the first OHL team to capture consecutive titles since the Kitchener Rangers did it in 1981 and '82.
"Some people never win this once -- and we've done it two years in a row now, Sault Ste. Marie left-winger Jason Denomme said.
"It's a great accomplishment but this is a totally different feeling than last year -- but how can you compare two great feelings? They both feel good so how do you know if one's better than the other?
The Greyhounds finished on top of the Emms Division for the second straight season, their 41-19-6 record good for 87 points, one more than they recorded the previous season.
The 1991-92 team scored more goals than the previous one (335-303) and also allowed a few more (229-217).
For the second straight season, goaltender Kevin Hodson got his name on the Dave Pinkney Trophy, which goes to the "goalkeeper of the team which has had the least number of goals scored against at the end of the regular schedule. A year earlier, Hodson shared the honor with Mike Lenarduzzi; this time around, he went it alone, recording a 3.33 GAA in 50 games.
Still, it seemed the Greyhounds were the Rodney Dangerfield of the OHL -- they just couldn't get any respect from their peers.
In 1990-91, the 'Hounds had only two players selected to one of the OHL's three all-star teams. In 1991-92, that total was zero. That's right . . . not one member of the league champions was selected to an all-star team. Nolan didn't even make it.
All they did was win their second straight championship, with players like Colin Miller, Jarret Reid, Tony Iob, Ralph Intranuovo, Rick Kowalsky, Shaun Imber, Drew Bannister, Tom MacDonald, Brian Goudie, Denomme, Hodson, Mark Matier, Perry Pappas and David Matsos -- all of whom had played in the 1991 Memorial Cup.
The Greyhounds opened the postseason with a first-round bye, and then took out Kitchener in seven games in one Emms Division semifinal series. In the division final, the Soo got past the Niagara Falls Thunder 4-1.
The championship final went the distance, with the Greyhounds winning the seventh game 4-2 over the visiting North Bay Centennials.
Verdun College-Francais was easily the best regular-season team in the QMJHL, its 101 points (48-17-5) good for first place in the Robert Lebel Division, 14 points ahead of the Hull Olympiques. The Trois-Rivieres Draveurs finished on top of the Frank Dilio Division, with 94 points.
This was the first season in Verdun for the franchise which had moved from Longueuil.
College-Francais did it all in the regular season, scoring a QMJHL-high 350 goals and allowing just 233, the second-lowest figure in the league.
The offensive leader had to be Robert Guillet, who had 118 points, including 56 goals, the second-highest total in the league. He finished seventh in the points race.
Dave Chouinard helped out with 97 points, including 63 assists, and David St. Pierre had 95 points, including 40 goals. And, Marc Rodgers, who came over from the Granby Bisons in a trade, had 109 points on the season, 33 of them in 29 games with his new club.
Defenceman Yan Arsenault was the only College-Francais player selected to the first all-star team, while Guillet was a second-team selection.
Philippe DeRouville and Andre Bouliane shared the goaltending through most of the regular season, but Eric Raymond was acquired from the Laval Titan and would play a key role down the stretch.
In 12 regular-season games with College-Francais, Raymond went 10-1-1 with a 2.43 GAA.
In the playoffs, DeRouville and Raymond split the time, but Raymond would play his club's three games in the Memorial Cup tournament.
College-Francais opened the playoffs with a six-game victory over St. Hyacinthe, even though they outscored the Laser only by one, 23-22.
Next up were the Shawiningan Cataractes. They, too, fell to College-Francais in six games.
And, in the championship final, the Verdun-based team took out Trois-Rivieres in seven games, winning the deciding game 5-3. College-Francais was outscored 26-25 in the series.
Guillet and teammate Dominic Rheaume led the league in playoff goals (14), with Guillet tops in points (25 in 19 games).
Of note, too, was the postseason play of defenceman Karl Dykhuis. He didn't score a goal, but had 12 assists.
In the west, observers of the WHL were beginning to recognize the Kamloops Blazers as something of a dynasty.
The Blazers, of head coach Tom Renney, finished on top of the West Division for the third straight season as they put together their third consecutive 50-victory season (51-17-4).
Zac Boyer was the premier offensive player on this team, his 109 points, including 40 goals, leaving him seventh in the scoring race. Boyer would go on to lead the WHL's playoff scoring race, with 29 points, including 20 assists.
Craig Lyons (44 goals), Shayne Green (43) and Mike Mathers (30) could score, too, but the strength of this team was its defence -- keyed by defencemen Darryl Sydor and Scott Niedermayer and goaltender Corey Hirsch.
Hirsch led the WHL with a 2.72 GAA and five shutouts in 48 games. When he needed relief it came from Dale Masson.
In the playoffs, Hirsch would go 11-5 with a 2.20 GAA and two shutouts.
The Blazers began the postseason with a four-game sweep of the Tacoma Rockets. In the West Division final, they took out the Seattle Thunderbirds, who would be the Memorial Cup's host team, in six games.
The WHL's championship final would feature the Blazers and the Saskatoon Blades, and it would go seven games.
The Blazers didn't leave any doubt in Game 7, however, as they buried the visiting Blades 8-0.
"This is the greatest, Sydor said after that game. "There's great chemistry on this team.
Chemistry may have been a problem on the Thunderbirds who, knowing they had a berth in the Memorial Cup as the host team, went through the regular season as though they were treading water and finished 33-34-5, good for only fourth place in the seven-team West Division.
The Thunderbirds, of head coach Peter Anholt, didn't have a scorer in the top 20. Nine of the WHL's 15 teams scored more goals than Seattle (292). Mike Kennedy led in goals (42), assists (47) and points (89). Eleven players finished in double figures in goals, but only six of those had more than 20 goals.
The key, then, was on defence where the Thunderbirds, with Chris Osgood providing stellar goaltending, gave up 285 goals, the seventh-best record in the league.
"Everyone thought that because we were in the Memorial Cup, we weren't trying, Seattle defenceman Jeff Sebastian told the Regina Leader-Post. "We were a game below .500 and didn't have the season some people thought we'd have, but it wasn't for a lack of effort.
"It was the toughest year I've had in the league. It put a lot of pressure on the players. We were hosting it but we still wanted to earn our way. We ended up putting too much pressure on ourselves and we didn't play as loosely as we can.
By the time the Memorial Cup started, the Thunderbirds hadn't played a game in three weeks.
"The coaches have been working the hell out of us, Sebastian said. "Despite that, I wouldn't say we're in game shape. There's no substitution for playing.
Kamloops, meanwhile, was eager to get at it.
"We're a little excited and a little nervous, said 20-year-old centre Todd Johnson. "The guys who have been there before have told us that what goes on is incredible. You can't be anything but excited.
Seattle would become only the second American city to play host to the Memorial Cup tournament, Portland having been home to it in 1983 and '86.
But the 1992 tournament didn't quite go the way organizers had planned and hoped.
The original plan was to play all games in the 11,923-seat Seattle Coliseum, the home facility of the National Basketball Association's Seattle SuperSonics.
However, when the Memorial Cup began the SuperSonics were still alive in the NBA playoffs. This necessitated a venue change for some of the hockey games, with the alternate site being the 4,139-seat Center Arena.
In the end, the tournament drew only 39,421 fans to eight games, which was way below expectations.
The tournament opened on May 9 with two games -- Sault Ste. Marie doubled Kamloops 6-3 before an estimated 4,000 fans, and Seattle got past Verdun 5-3 in front of about 5,000 fans.
Iob, Intranuovo, Reid, Kowalsky, Miller and Imber scored for the Greyhounds, who led 3-0 after the first period, upped it to 4-0 early in the second and then held off the Blazers who at one time had closed to within one at 4-3.
Johnson, Jeff Watchorn and Green scored for the Blazers, who outshot the Greyhounds 32-19 and actually drove Hodson from the game (Rob Stopar finished up) when Watchorn scored to cut the deficit to 4-2.
The Greyhounds had Chris Simon in the lineup after OHL commissioner David Branch cleared him to play. Simon, who missed 35 regular-season games due to suspensions, had 20 goals and 26 assists in 33 games. But he was suspended for the final three games of the championship series after a spearing incident.
In the other game, the Thunderbirds got three goals from George Zajankala, a 13-goal scorer in the regular season who wouldn't score again in the tournament. Tyler Quiring and Blake Knox added the other Seattle goals.
The Thunderbirds outshot Verdun 37-28, as Raymond and Osgood each went the distance.
Kamloops got back on track the following day with a 4-0 victory over Verdun in front of 3,587 fans.
Hirsch stopped 20 shots in recording the tournament's first shutout since May 13, 1987, when Mark Fitzpatrick of the Medicine Hat Tigers blanked the QMJHL's Longueuil Chevaliers 6-0.
Boyer and Lyons had two goals each for Kamloops, which fired 40 shots at Raymond.
"We knew this was it for us, Boyer said. "After losing the opener, our leaders had to lead.
"Darryl Sydor and myself had to dominate the game, along with Scott Niedermayer. We had to take charge, something we didn't do against the Soo.
Boyer admitted that the Blazers were doubting themselves a bit after losing to the Greyhounds. That changed with the victory over Verdun.
"Hirsch played great today and now we've got our confidence back, Boyer said. "We don't doubt ourselves any longer.
While the teams were competing on the ice, the CHL admitted it had been considering a format change to the Memorial Cup, taking it back to a best-of-seven championship final.
That, however, wasn't to happen.
"It has been put on hold, CHL president Ed Chynoweth told the Regina Leader-Post. There isn't enough support for it right now to carry it to the next step.
Under a proposal designed by Branch, the OHL and QMJHL would play off to determine one representative, with the WHL champion getting the other berth.
The two teams would play a national final with games being played in both cities.
"Some people were worried there would be a problem generating the same financial return as you can from a successful tournament, Chynoweth said. "As well, the American teams are very concerned about going this late in the season against baseball and basketball.
College-Francais was eliminated on May 12 when it dropped a 4-2 decision to Sault Ste. Marie before 3,454 fans.
Iob, Reid and Kowalsky scored power-play goals for the winners, with Goudie adding the other goal. Rheaume and Martin Tanguay scored for Verdun, which lost all three of its games.
The teams were tied 1-1 after the first period. Reid gave the Soo a 2-0 lead with the second period's only goal, and Kowalsky made it 3-0 early in the third. Goudie upped it to 4-0 before Tanguay ruined Hodson's shutout bid at 13:03 on a power play.
The Greyhounds clinched a spot in the final on May 13 by beating Seattle 4-3 in front of about 5,500 fans.
The winner was Kowalsky's shorthanded goal -- the first shorthanded score of this tournament -- at 17:58 of the third period. It was Kowalsky's third game-winning goal of the tournament, a Memorial Cup record that would be equaled by Boyer later in the week.
Kowalsky blocked a shot at the Soo's blue line and went in alone to beat Osgood.
"I just got lucky, Kowalsky said. "The shot hit me in the skate lace and bounced straight ahead into open ice.
The Soo, loser of all three games it played in 1991, was now 3-0.
"We're pretty excited because you always want the opportunity to play for the Cup, Nolan said. "We were embarrassed going 0-3 last year and a lot of these guys have been preparing for this for a year.
Simon, Bannister and Reid also scored for the Soo, which led 1-0 after the first period. The teams went into the third tied at 2-2.
Sebastian, Eric Bouchard and captain Kurt Seher scored for Seattle.
"I thought we played better tonight than we did in the first game when we won, offered Anholt. "I'm really pleased with the way our guys handled themselves against a very good team.
Next on the agenda would be back-to-back games between Kamloops and Seattle. The first game would be the final game of the round-robin portion of the tournament. The second game would send its winner into the final against the Greyhounds.
The Blazers won the first of those games, 3-1 on May 14 before about 5,500 fans.
Niedermayer was easily the best player on the ice and it showed on the scoresheet, where he had a shorthanded goal and two assists.
"It was important for us to play a full 60 minutes, something we hadn't done in the tournament, Niedermayer said. "It's expected of me to play better and I think I did.
Boyer and Lance Johnson had the Blazers' other goals. Turner Stevenson, likely the best Seattle forward in the tournament, replied for the Thunderbirds, who were outshot 27-19.
The Blazers lost Green to an ankle injury, leaving a void on their top line with Boyer and Mathers.
The Thunderbirds were being hurt by a power play that had inexplicably gone in the tank. After going 3-for-10 in the opener against Verdun, the T-Birds found themselves scoreless in 13 tries in their next two games.
"We have to bank in a couple power-play goals, Anholt said, looking ahead to the semifinal game. "We must put more pressure on the Kamloops defence and work better down low. Some of our veterans have to play better.
It was Mathers who rose to the occasion in the semifinal game on May 16. He totaled a tournament record-tying six points -- three goals and three assists -- as the Blazers won 8-3 before about 7,200 fans.
Others with six points in a game were Joe Contini (Hamilton, 1976) and Guy Rouleau, who did it twice with Hull in the 1986 tournament.
Defenceman David Wilkie opened the scoring on a Kamloops power play -- the Blazers would go 3-for-5, while the Thunderbirds were 1-for-6 with the man advantage.
Duane Maruschak tied it for Seattle at 14:50 of the first period, only to have Mathers score a power-play goal before the period ended.
Mathers added two more second-period goals as Kamloops blew it open.
Todd Johnson, Niedermayer, Steve Yule and Lyons also scored for the Blazers, with Stevenson and Kennedy scoring for Seattle after it trailed 8-1.
(Two days later, Anholt announced that he was leaving the Thunderbirds because of various differences with president and governor Russ Williams.)
By that time the Blazers and their fans were celebrating.
Boyer's goal with 14.6 seconds left in the third period gave them a 5-4 victory over the Greyhounds in the final. It was Boyer's tournament record-tying third game-winning goal and Kamloops' first national title.
"I guess I can thank Ed Patterson because he came off the ice, Boyer said. "He got speared in the stomach and threw up. He came to the bench and I replaced him.
"We did it the hard way and we earned it. There's no better way than that.
Boyer took a lead pass from Niedermayer and scored on the breakaway.
"Niedermayer hit me at the right time, Boyer said. "He could have iced it, but that's why he's such a great player.
Boyer and Johnson each scored twice for Kamloops. Mathers added the other goal and finished with a tournament-high six assists and 10 points.
The Blazers jumped out to a 3-0 lead before the game was 15 minutes old on power-play goals by Mathers and Boyer and an even-strength marker by Johnson.
But the Soo got back into it when Simon and Miller scored before the first period ended.
Miller tied it with the second period's only goal.
Johnson put Kamloops ahead 4-3 at 3:45 of the third period, and Simon tied it at 15:33. That set the stage for Boyer's heroics.
"They got a lucky bounce for that breakaway, Hodson said of Boyer's game-winning play. "I tried to poke-check and missed. It's my job in the Memorial Cup final to make the big saves. When you don't, you lose.
Niedermayer, who made the fine pass that sent Boyer in alone, offered: "I was in the right place at the right time. I just had to go about four feet to get over the blue line and make the pass to Boyer.
"Putting in three years of hard work in the juniors has paid off. The MVP thing was nice, but the Memorial Cup is what it's all about.
While Niedermayer was named MVP, Hirsch was selected top goaltender thanks to his 2.60 GAA over five games. The sportsmanship award went to Miller.
Named to the all-star team were Hirsch, Niedermayer and Bannister on defence, and forwards Miller, Mathers and Stevenson.
NEXT: 1993 (Swift Current Broncos, Peterborough Petes, Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds and Laval Titan)
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From Gregg Drinnan...1993
1993 MEMORIAL CUP
Swift Current Broncos, Peterborough Petes, Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds and Laval Titan
at Sault Ste. Marie (Memorial Gardens)
The debate prior to the 1993 Memorial Cup tournament pertained to which team should be the favourite.
"It's a mystery to me why Swift Current wasn't picked No. 1, Dick Todd, general manager and head coach of the OHL-champion Peterborough Petes, said of the Broncos. "They had 100 points during the regular season. We didn't.
Graham James, the Broncos' general manager and head coach, wasn't so sure. He knew the Broncos were good, but . . .
"Even though we may not be the overwhelming favourite here, I don't think we're sneaking in the back door, either, he said. "When you look at the guys we have, even with Doink The Clown coaching, we'd have a good team.
Ted Nolan, head coach of the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds, differed from Todd. Nolan felt Todd's Petes should have been the favourites; after all, weren't they the CHL's No. 1-rated team for the final 24 weeks of the season?
Meanwhile, Swift Current captain Trent McCleary thought the Greyhounds should be favoured. After all, they were making their third straight appearance in the tournament, 14 of their players had played in the 1992 tournament and eight of those also played in the 1991 event, and they would play the 1993 tournament on home ice.
Around and around it went . . .
One thing, however, was for certain.
No one had the Laval Titan, of general manager and head coach Bob Hartley, in the favorite's role.
A Quebec-based team hadn't won the the Memorial Cup since 1971 when the Quebec Remparts, with Guy Lafleur in the lineup, had done it. Not one of Hartley's players had even been born when Lafleur weaved his magic that season.
"We're tired of answering the same questions, Hartley said.
Not only that, but the Titan had won but two of 11 games in three previous Memorial Cup appearances (1984, '89 and '90).
If you had to pick a favorite -- if you absolutely had to pick the winner -- well, chances are you would have pointed to the Greyhounds.
They were the host team because they had won what the OHL had billed as its Super Series.
It was the OHL's turn to play host to the tournament and rather than take bids, the league chose to have its division winners meet in a best-of seven series.
Peterborough finished atop the Leyden Division, at 46-15-5, with the Soo topping the Emms Division, at 38-23-5.
The Petes were favored in this series, having finished with a franchise record 97 points, 16 more than the Greyhounds. But the team from the Soo surprised most onlookers by sweeping the series.
And so it came to pass that the 1993 Memorial Cup tournament was held in Sault Ste. Marie.
The Greyhounds were in this affair for the third straight season, the first team to make three consecutive trips to the national championship since the Petes (1978, '79 and '80).
As mentioned, eight players appeared in all three tournaments -- goaltender Kevin Hodson and skaters Ralph Intranuovo, Drew Bannister, Rick Kowalsky, Jarret Reid, Tom MacDonald, Mark Matier and David Matsos.
As well, Aaron Gavey, Jeff Toms, Perry Pappas, Gary Roach, Brad Baber and Briane Thompson were back for a second kick at the cat.
Hodson was coming off a brilliant regular season in which he had set a franchise record with a 3.10 GAA.
Offensively, the Greyhounds were without any 50-goal snipers or 100-point men.
Reid, a centre, was the big gun, if they even had one. He had 36 goals and 96 points in the regular season and followed that up by leading the league with 19 goals and 35 points in 18 postseason games.
Left-winger Chad Penney played a key role, too. Acquired from the North Bay Centennials early in the season, he had 73 points, including 29 goals, in 48 games with the Soo.
Still, as in the previous two seasons when they won the league championship, the Greyhounds didn't make any noise in the department of postseason awards. They didn't earn so much as one spot on any of the OHL's three all-star teams. The best they could do was placing centre Steve Sullivan on the all-rookie second team.
In the meantime, the Petes were adding to their trophy case.
Chris Pronger, who was named the league's top defenceman, and right-winger Jason Dawe were first-team all-stars; goaltender Chad Lang, defenceman Brent Tully and centre Mike Harding were named to the second team; and, Todd, who was in his 12th season as head coach, was selected to the third team.
(Todd would leave after the Memorial Cup to become an assistant coach with the NHL's New York Rangers. The head coach with the Rangers? Mike Keenan, a former head coach of the Petes. Keenan and Todd would win the Stanley Cup in their first season together.)
Left-winger Matt Johnson was on the all-rookie first team.
Harding supplied a franchise record 136 points, including 54 goals, during the regular season, while Dawe added 126 points, including 58 goals, and Dave Roche chipped in with 100.
The Petes led the league in defence that season -- so what else is knew? -- as they gave up just 239 goals.
The Greyhounds surrendered 260 goals, while scoring 334, 18 fewer than the Petes.
Dawe won the playoff scoring race, totaling 51 points in 21 games as the Petes went 12-9. The big story, though, was Pronger. After scoring 15 goals in 62 regular-season games, he had 15 goals and 25 assists in 21 postseason games.
After the Super Series, the Greyhounds rolled over the Owen Sound Platers 4-0 and the Detroit Jr. Red Wings 4-1 to reach the championship final.
And the Petes took out the Sudbury Wolves 4-3 and Kingston Frontenacs 4-1 to set up a rematch with the 'Hounds.
The final was a different story than the Super Series, with Peterborough finishing off Sault Ste. Marie in five games. It was the first time the Greyhounds had lost a playoff series under Nolan, whose record now was 11-1.
But both teams were in the Memorial Cup and it was the Greyhounds who would enjoy home-ice advantage.
"We're different from the traditional host team, Nolan said. "We're not only hosts, we earned the right to be here.
The Broncos, who played in the smallest city (16,000 people) and the smallest rink (2,257 seats) in the CHL, were making their second Memorial Cup appearance and they came in with a perfect record -- they won the 1989 championship in their only other appearance. Only McCleary was still around from that 1989 team -- he had played three regular-season games.
Swift Current also represented the league that had won five of the last six tournaments.
The Broncos, as was their tradition under James, were a collection of skaters and gunners. They scored 384 goals -- 37 more than any other WHL team.
Centre Jason Krywulak led the WHL in goals (81, including a major-junior record 47 on the power play), assists (81) and points (162). Rick Girard added 71 goals and 70 assists and Todd Holt reached 113 points, including 56 goals.
Three other forwards put together impressive numbers in an abbreviated schedule -- Andy Schneider had 85 points, including 66 assists, in 38 games; Dean McAmmond totaled 71 points in 48 games; and, Tyler Wright had 65 points in 37 games.
When the postseason was over, the top six scorers were Broncos -- Schneider, with a league-high 26 assists and 39 points, had at least one point in each of the 17 playoff games; Krywulak (37 points); McAmmond (35 points, including a league-high 16); Wright and Girard (26 points apiece); and, Holt (22 points).
Defensively, well, their theory was you didn't have to play defence if you had the puck all the time. Still, they weren't nearly as bad as their reputation would have you believe. In fact, led by big Brent Bilodeau, they allowed only 267 goals, a figure bettered by only four teams.
They finished the regular season at 49-21-2, giving them 100 points and the league's best record.
After a first-round bye, the Broncos took out the Medicine Hat Tigers in six games and then swept the Regina Pats in the East Division final.
They ran up against a gritty bunch of Portland Winter Hawks in the championship final. Swift Current trailed 2-1 and 3-2 in the series but took it to seven games. The Broncos won the final game 6-0 at home with goaltender Milan Hnilicka, perhaps their most under-rated player, posting his second playoff shutout.
Hnilicka, from Kladno in the Czech Republic, played in an amazing 65 regular-season games, posting a 3.36 GAA and two shutouts.
"If we can bottle this game and take it to Sault Ste. Marie, James said after Game 7 of the WHL final, "I think we have a good chance.
There wasn't much doubt about Laval's top player -- right-winger Martin Lapointe, the team captain, played in only 35 games but had 38 goals and 51 assists. He had opened the season with the NHL's Detroit Red Wings, returning to Laval just before Christmas.
"I cannot tell you enough about Martin Lapointe, Hartley said. "He is one of the best players in Canada.
Lapointe didn't cool off in the playoffs, either. He led the QMJHL in goals (13), assists (17) and points (30), all of this coming in just 13 games.
Centre Eric Veilleux led the Titan in regular-season points, with 125, including 55 goals. He added 20 points in the playoffs.
The key on defence was Philippe Boucher, a midseason acquisition from the Granby Bisons who finished the season with 77 points in 65 games. In the 13 playoff games, he added 21 points, including 15 assists.
The Titan would be without defenceman Benoit Larose, the QMJHL's nominee as the country's top defenceman. He was knocked out of action during the playoffs by a blood clot in one leg.
In goal the Titan counted on the magnificent Emmanuel Fernandez, a second-year player who went 26-14-2 with a 3.60 GAA. In the postseason, Fernandez was all but unbeatable, putting up a 12-1 record with a 3.08 GAA.
After going 43-25-2 in the regular season and finishing atop the Robert Lebel Division, the Titan opened postseason play against Verdun College-Francais. The Titan won that series in four games.
Next up were the Drummondville Voltigeurs, who also went under in four games.
In the championship final, the Titan met up with the Sherbrooke Faucons, who had finished first in the Frank Dilio Divison with a 44-20-6 record. No matter. Laval won the final in five games.
The Titan went into the Memorial Cup quite familiar with pressure situations -- their last four QMJHL playoff games had gone into overtime and they had won three of them.
Things got under way on May 15 with the Greyhounds beat the Titan 3-2 in front of 4,156 fans.
Penney broke a 2-2 tie with a power-play goal at 16:11 of the second period. It was his second goal of the game. Wade Gibson had the Greyhounds' other goal.
Jason Boudrias and Boucher scored for Laval.
The following afternoon, Swift Current opened play with a 5-3 victory over the Greyhounds, disappointing the majority of the 4,194 fans in attendance.
The teams were even at 2-2 early in the second period when the Broncos caught fire and scored three straight goals -- an even-strength marker by Holt and two goals from Krywulak, one shorthanded and the other on the power play -- with Schneider setting up all three.
Ashley Buckberger and Girard also scored for the Broncos, who got 41 saves from Hnilicka.
"A lot of them weren't really dangerous shots, Hnilicka said rather modestly.
Pappas, with two, and Intranuovo replied for the Greyhounds.
Nolan wouldn't use fatigue as an excuse, despite the fact his club had played the previous night.
"That wasn't a factor, Nolan said. "In our league, we're used to playing Friday night and Saturday afternoon. We're not saying we're fatigued.
The opening weekend concluded with Peterborough beating Laval 6-4. The 4,044 fans in attendance witnessed a game-ending line brawl.
The donnybrook, which featured several fights, resulted in 10 major penalties and eight game misconducts.
"No one likes to see it, offered OHL commissioner David Branch, "but I would suggest this is more of an aberration than the norm.
As for what he witnessed, Branch said: "The Quebec team, for whatever reason, decided to play that style. The referee (David Lynch) made the calls and did what he could.
"The guy behind the bench dictates the ultimate outcome of the game.
Hartley didn't agree.
"There were 4,000 fans sitting here to see a quality hockey game but that show was not given by the players, he said.
Later, the disciplinary committee would hand out $1,500 in fines. Both teams were fined $500 for failure to control players, with Laval being hit for an extra $500 because members of its training staff had grabbed one Peterborough player and pushed another.
Peterborough opened by scoring four goals before the game was 15 minutes old. The Titan, outshot 48-44, were never able to get back in this one.
Dawe, with two, Tully and Ryan Black scored the first-period goals for the Petes, with Roche and Bill Weir adding the others.
The Titan got two goals from Veilleux, who had been cut for 22 stitches in the mouth area by Gavey's stick in the tournament opener, and singles from Stephane Desjardins and Boucher.
Laval now was 0-2 and history was more often than not the subject of the questions.
"Our team is not responsible for that, Hartley said. "We do not live in the past.
Hartley also found himself being questioned about an incident that occurred in the Soo some three years earlier.
He just happened to be coaching a Quebec team when separatism, language, the constitution and many other political items were on a lot of agendas.
And now he was in Sault Ste. Marie, a city whose council in 1990 had passed a resolution declaring English the official language of city business.
Yes, Hartley was asked about this, even though it was three years after the fact.
"I don't want to talk about what Sault Ste. Marie did, Hartley replied. "I'm not going to answer any questions about language.
"That is a political thing. This is sport.
Going into the next game -- Peterborough versus Swift Current on May 18 -- the Petes and Broncos were unbeaten. To the winner would go at least a berth in the semifinal game.
"It seems like we just started and we could be in the final, James said. "That's why we tell the guys the first game is so important. It gives you options. A lot of times it only takes two wins to get to the final. You have to defeat the other team which has the potential to win two games.
The Petes came out flying, however, and routed the Broncos 7-3 in front of 4,095 spectators.
The teams were tied 2-2 just past the midway point of the first period when the Petes scored twice -- Roche at 11:50 and Dale McTavish, with his second of the game, at 12:50 -- to pull away.
Roche finished with two goals, too, while Tully, Pronger and Harding added one each.
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1993 contiunued....
The Petes suffered two injuries in the game. Tully, whose goal came 16 seconds into the game, left with some dizziness after being hit by McAmmond early in the first period. Tully also needed three stitches to close a cut on his chin. Stillman was gone early in the third period with a bruised left shoulder.
The Broncos got two goals from Holt and a single from Schneider.
Hnilicka was gone at 8:58 of the third period, replaced by Ian Gordon after Pronger scored the game's final goal. The Petes outshot the Broncos 32-25.
"We always seem to do things the hard way, Bilodeau said. "The good thing is that we usually respond to pressure.
James agreed.
"We've been in these situations before, he said. "We can't play much worse than we did in a lot of areas, but we usually respond to a poor performance.
Not this time.
Instead, they were shocked 4-3 by Laval in front of 3,985 fans on May 19.
"We allowed two goals on one shift -- and that proved to be the game, Krywulak said.
Laval, which ended a six-game QMJHL losing streak against WHL teams, got two goals from Yannick Dube within 24 seconds in the third period to break a 2-2 tie.
"All tournament I have had the chances, said Dube, who hadn't scored prior to this game. "I got the chances again and there was no way I was going to miss them.
Lapointe and Veilleux also scored for Laval, which outshot the Broncos 35-33.
Wright, Holt and Schneider replied for the Broncos. Holt left the game in the second period with a bruised collarbone and strained neck muscles. He already was slowed by a sprained ankle and lower back problems.
"It almost looks like we're dead tired when we take to the ice, Rob Daum, the Broncos' assistant general manager and assistant head coach, said. "If we wore down as the game progressed, I could understand that, but we haven't been able to do anything from the start.
To win the Memorial Cup, the Broncos were now faced with playing three different teams over the next three days and having to win all three games.
"It's difficult to envision coming back against three top teams in three nights, James admitted. "It's certainly something we didn't desire, but we have no choice now.
The round-robin concluded on May 20 with the Soo beating the Petes 7-3 before 4,433 fans.
Penney, with two, Reid, Kowalsky, Gavey, Toms and Intranuovo scored for the Greyhounds, with linemates Dawe, Harding and Roche scoring for the Petes.
The victory left both teams with 2-1 records but, because they beat the Petes, the Greyhounds were into the final for a second straight season.
"This is a great feeling, Intranuovo said. "This is the third time in a row we've been to the Memorial Cup and now we're getting a second chance at the final.
"I know how it is to lose. I want to finish my junior career on a high note.
Swift Current and Laval, both 1-2, now would play a tiebreaker, with the winner meeting Peterborough in the semifinal game.
By now, the Broncos were completely distracted by what they saw as inferior officiating.
"We worked on cheating a bit, James said of his team's May 20 practice. "We worked on preventing guys from skating, which seems to be the name of the game here.
"When you're tackling guys and hauling them down, it's cheating. The way they're calling it here, it seems to be within the rules.
James also knew that the Broncos would have to adapt or it would be over for them.
"We're here, so we have to adapt to the way the game is being played, he said. "We have to do a better job of grabbing on to people. There seems to be no limit to the interference.
"As they say, when in Rome . . .
The tournament ended for the Broncos on May 21 when they lost 4-3 to Laval in front of 3,910 fans.
The Titan held 2-0 and 3-1 leads only to have the Broncos tie it 3-3. Swift Current's title dreams ended when Patrick Cassin scored with 34.1 seconds left in the third period. That would be Cassin's only point of the tournament.
"I just wanted to go to the net, Cassin said after scoring off a pass from Marc Beaucage. "I put my stick on it and it went in.
Dube, with two, and Veilleux scored for Laval, which had problems solving Hnilicka, who stopped 33 shots.
Bilodeau, defenceman Darren Perkins and Holt, with his fifth goal of the event, scored for Swift Current.
"There are so many highs and lows in a season, Krywulak said. "We went from being one game away from the final to having our season over.
Bilodeau added: "It's our own fault. We had an opportunity, we didn't grab it and we paid for it.
The Broncos, normally a high-flying offensive team, were outshot 14-0 in the first 17 minutes of the first period.
"We came here and we didn't play as well as we could, said Daum. "That's the bottom line.
Laval took the exit door the following night, losing 3-1 to Peterborough in the semifinal game as the Petes established a Memorial Cup record by advancing to their fifth final. They and the New Westminster Bruins had been tied at four appearances each.
Laval's Michael Gaul ended a scoreless game with the only goal of the second period before 4,101 fans. But the Petes won it with three third-periods goals, two of them by Harding and the last an empty-netter by Tully.
The Greyhounds, who went 0-3 two years previous and then lost in the 1992 final, completed the climb by beating the Petes 4-2 in the final on May 23 before 4,757 celebrating fans.
"The crowd was as big a part of this as the players, Nolan said. "They supported us from Day 1. It was incredible.
If there was a hero of this championship game it had to be Intranuovo, who spent the night before the final in hospital passing a kidney stone.
"I was really scared, he said. "I was crying in the hospital, thinking I might not be able to play. The pain was so bad.
"I said, Please, make the pain go away.' If it was going to come back, I hoped it would be another day. I wanted to play in the Memorial Cup final.
He did. And he set up the first goal and scored the second.
Hodson stopped 45 shots as his mates held period leads of 3-0 and 4-0.
Sullivan and Penney also scored for the Soo, with Toms picking up three helpers. Black and Weir scored for the Petes.
No member of the Greyhounds was any happier than Kowalsky. He had scored three game-winning goals in the 1992 tournament, but it was his errant pass that led to the winning goal in a 5-4 loss to the Kamloops Blazers.
"I tried to put that out of my mind because I didn't want it to affect me, Kowalsky said. "I had enough difficulty trying to sleep over the summer.
"It was tough to see Kamloops carrying the Cup. It drove us to come back and win it. To do that is an incredible feeling.
Dawe was quick to credit Hodson.
"He was unbelievable, Dawe said. "What can I say? He stopped everything we threw at him, except two goals.
"This is one of those things you have to forget. That's hockey. We had lots of opportunities to score and we never capitalized. That's life.
The tournament drew 37,675 fans to its nine games, for an average attendance of 4,186. Not bad for a facility that seated 3,603.
The Greyhounds became the second host team to win the Memorial Cup, the other being the 1983 Portland Winter Hawks.
And, in the end, the Greyhounds finally earned some respect in the awards department.
Intranuovo was named the most valuable player and Hodson was selected the top goaltender. Hodson, Bannister, Intranuovo and Penney were on the all-star team, along with Gaul and Lapointe. Dawe was selected the most sportsmanlike player.
Harding wasn't named to the all-star team although he led the tournament in points, with 13.
As the tournament ended, the Soo's police force was on alert. But a quiet time was had by all.
"It was all good partying, said a police spokesperson. "There was nothing out of the ordinary.
"Everything went very well.
Indeed, it had.
NEXT: 1994 (Kamloops Blazers, North Bay Centennials, Chicoutimi Sagueneens and Laval Titan)
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From Gregg Drinnan...1994
1994 MEMORIAL CUP
Kamloops Blazers, North Bay Centennials, Chicoutimi Sagueneens and Laval Titan
at Laval (Colisee)
Some Memorial Cup tournaments are memorable; some aren't.
Organizers can only hope going in that their tournament will be remembered for all the right things -- Dan Hodgson's 13 assists for the Prince Albert Raiders in 1983, Guy Rouleau's two six-point games for the Hull Olympiques in 1986; Joe Contini of the Hamilton Fincups scoring goals six seconds apart in 1976; Bruce Boudreau's five-goal game for the Toronto Marlboros in 1975; Rick Kowalsky of the Sault Ste Marie Greyhounds scoring three game-winning goals in 1991; and, Zac Boyer of the Kamloops Blazers doing the same thing in the same tournament.
Then there was the 1979 tournament which might have been remembered for the pregame brawl between the Brandon Wheat Kings and Trois-Rivieres Draveurs. Except that the final game -- won 2-1 in overtime by the Peterborough Petes over the Wheat Kings -- erased most memories of the sticks and gloves scattered all over the ice.
And then along came 1994.
Oh yes, hockey fans remember this one.
Unfortunately, they don't remember it because Kamloops won its second Memorial Cup in three seasons.
Rather, this one is remembered because of a postgame confrontation in a parking lot.
There were signs that things might get ugly in this tournament.
The Laval Titan would be the host team, having won that right by finishing with the QMJHL's best regular-season record.
Things went well enough in the playoffs, too, as the Titan rattled off 14 victories in their first 17 games. The last two of those victories were in the championship final against the Chicoutimi Sagueneens, a team coached by Gaston Drapeau, a 51-year-old veteran coach who had never won a QMJHL championship.
Incredibly, the Sagueneens turned it around and beat the Titan, of head coach Michel Therrien, in each of the next four games.
(When Therrien played with the Quebec Remparts in 1981, Drapeau was his coach.)
Never mind that three of the last four games were decided in overtime, with Chicoutimi winning each of them. This was not a happy Laval bunch and Jean-Claude Morrissette, the general manager and one of six brothers who owned the Titan, chose to let the world know all about it.
As Bill Beacon of The Canadian Press wrote:
"After Laval lost its final playoff game . . . Morrissette blasted the referees, suggesting they were either incompetent or biased against his team.
"The Titan had been hit with six consecutive penalties in the first period (of Game 6) by referee Sylvain Bibeau. Morrissette was also angry that referee Luc Lachapelle had allowed a controversial overtime goal in the previous game.
Beacon went on to quote Therrien: "What (Morrissette) said was the truth. It was unacceptable and I support what he said 100 per cent.
All of which was a rather strange way of doing business, especially when one considers that the tournament would be held in Laval's home rink and officiated by QMJHL referees -- including Bibeau and Lachapelle.
Still, Therrien said he didn't expect the referees to try extracting their pound of flesh during the tournament.
"No responsible adult would take revenge on young people, Therrien told Beacon. "The ones who would pay are the 22 players who are trying to realize a dream.
"I would never accept that.
However, as we shall see, Morrissette's verbal attack was only a harbinger -- a small harbinger -- of what was to come.
The Titan and Sagueneens would be the latest teams to try to end Quebec's national championship drought -- a Quebec-based team hadn't won the Memorial Cup since Guy Lafleur led the Remparts to the top of the mountain in 1971.
Laval was in the Memorial Cup tournament for a second straight season and the Titan brought back 11 players off that team, including goaltender Emmanuel Fernandez.
He had posted a spectacular 3.09 GAA in 51 regular-season games. He had also picked up five shutouts along the way. In the playoffs, he was simply amazing, going 14-5 with an incredible 2.63 GAA.
Also returning were Daniel Goneau, Yannick Dube, Michael Gaul, Marc Beaucage, Frederic Chartier, Sylvain Blouin, Jason Boudrias, Brant Blackned, David Haynes, Francois Bouillon and Patrick Boileau.
The best of the Laval forwards was Dube, a centre who led the QMJHL in goals (66) and points (141). Goneau, a left winger, was the best draft prospect. He had totalled 86 points, including 57 assists.
The Titan had the QMJHL's best regular-season record (49-22-1), scored more goals (346) than did any other team, and gave up 247, the league's second-best defensive record.
This season, the QMJHL used best-of-seven series and a round-robin series in its playoffs.
The Titan opened by taking out the Victoriaville Tigres in five games in a best-of-seven series.
Laval then went into a round-robin series with five other teams -- it was a home-and-home series -- and finished at 4-2, good enough to advance.
In a best-of-seven semifinal series, the Titan beat the Beauport Harfangs in four games.
That moved the Titan into the championship series against Chicoutimi.
There wasn't much doubt just who was Chicoutimi's best player.
That honour befell goaltender Eric Fichaud, who led the QMJHL in games played (63), minutes played (3,493), wins (37) and saves (1,707). In the playoffs, he went 16-10 with a sparkling 3.31 GAA.
(It is somewhat ironical, perhaps, that Fernandez and Fichaud are next to each other in the Goaltender Register section of the National Hockey League Official Guide and Record Book.)
The Sagueneens had been second in the QMJHL's regular season, their 43-24-5 record good for first place in the Frank Dilio Division.
They scored 340 goals, second to Laval's 346, while allowing 254, the QMJHL's fourth-best defensive record.
Michel St. Jacques finished tied for third in the points derby, with 126, including 58 goals. Danny Beauregard was right there, too, with 121 points, while rookie Alexei Lojkin, from Minsk, Russia, had 107.
Come the postseason, the offensive stars were Beauregard and Lojkin. They finished tied atop the playoff scoring race, each with 43 points in 27 games. Beauregard had 16 goals; Lojkin had 34 assists.
Yes, the Sagueneens played 27 playoff games just to reach the Memorial Cup.
They began by going seven games with the Granby Bisons and then went 4-3 in the six-team round-robin series.
Their semifinal series with the Hull Olympiques also went seven games, and they they took six games to eliminate Laval in the championship final.
The favorites in this tournament were the WHL's Kamloops Blazers of head coach Don Hay. A firefighter by profession, Hay was enjoying a leave of absence from the Kamloops Fire Department and he was finding out that he definitely had what it takes to be a first-rate coach.
The Blazers made their 11th consecutive appearance in the WHL's West Division final in the spring of '94 and went on to win the division for the seventh time in that period.
They had finished the regular season at 50-16-6, for 106 points. Kamloops was the only one of the league's 16 teams to earn more than 100 points.
The Blazers' leader was centre Darcy Tucker, a feisty sort who played a whole lot bigger than his 5-foot-10 stature would seem to allow. He finished second in the points derby with 140, including 52 goals.
Offensively, he got help from Rod Stevens (109 points, including 51 goals) and Jarrett Deuling (103 points).
They picked up veteran centre Louis Dumont in a midseason deal with the Regina Pats. He would total 97 points, including 44 goals.
The Kamloops lineup also included a trio of young up-and-comers in centre Hnat Dominechelli (67 points in 69 games) and right-wingers Jarome Iginla (29 points in 48 games) and Shane Doan (48 points in 52 games).
And they had perhaps the best young defence in the CHL, with veteran Scott Ferguson surrounded by the likes of Nolan Baumgartner, Jason Holland, Aaron Keller, Jason Strudwick and Brad Lukowich.
In goal, Rod Branch and Steve Passmore pretty much split the time. Passmore had a league-leading 2.74 GAA in 36 games. Branch was at 3.25 in 44 games.
The combination resulted in the Blazers leading the WHL in defence, allowing only 225 goals. The WHL hadn't seen defence like that since the Medicine Hat Tigers gave up 224 goals in 1984-85.
In the playoffs, Passmore would see by far the bulk of the playing time. And he would play every minute of four Memorial Cup games.
Kamloops opened the postseason by winning a best-of-seven division semifinal from the Seattle Thunderbirds in six games. And, in the division final, the Blazers got past the Portland Winter Hawks in six games.
The championship final, against the Saskatoon Blades, went the distance, the Blazers winning the seventh game 8-1 before 5,500 noisy fans in Riverside Coliseum.
Meanwhile, the North Bay Centennials were winning that city's first OHL championship.
Originally in St. Catharines, the franchise moved to Niagara Falls for the 1976-77 season and then relocated to North Bay prior to the 1982-83 season.
North Bay had reached the championship final once before, losing in seven games to the Oshawa Generals in the spring of 1987.
Behind the Centennials' bench in 1993-94 was veteran Bert Templeton, who would be that season's coach of the year. Templeton had coached the Hamilton Fincups to the 1976 Memorial Cup title.
The Centennials put up a 46-15-5 regular-season record, finishing atop the Leyden Division and setting a franchise record with 97 points.
North Bay scored more goals (351) than any other team in the OHL and also led in team defence as goaltenders Sandy Allan and Scott Roche allowed only 226 goals. Allan would be named to the third all-star team, but Roche, a first-year player, would play all three Memorial Cup games.
"A year ago, we finished seventh in our league and the prospects didn't look that bright, Templeton said. "When you look at where we were a year ago to where we are now, we surprised a lot of people.
The Centennials' lineup included right-winger Vitali Yachmenev, from Chelyabinsk, Russia, who led the OHL with 61 goals. He finished with 113 points and was named the OHL's rookie of the year.
Left-winger Jeff Shevalier had 101 points, including 52 goals, and was named to the first all-star team.
The best of the defencemen was Brad Brown, who totalled 32 points and 196 penalty minutes.
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1994 continued....
The Centennials opened the postseason with a first-round bye and then eliminated the Belleville Bulls in six games. The division final lasted five games before the Ottawa 67's were sent packing.
In the championship final, the Centennials met up with the Detroit Jr. Red Wings, who had finished on top of the Emms Division with a 42-20-4 record.
The final went the distance, with the Centennials winning the seventh game 5-4 in overtime.
The Centennials were at somewhat of a disadvantage simply because Game 7 of the OHL final was played on May 11 and, with the Memorial Cup to open on May 14, they spent the next day riding the bus to Montreal.
"We enjoy the bus -- it's home to us, Templeton said. "It was our choice. We took the bus to Detroit and that's farther than Laval.
"If I had a preference, I'd like a couple of days rest. But we start right away and we have to be ready.
The Centennials opened the tournament on May 14 by dropping a 5-4 overtime decision to Laval before 1,836 fans in the 3,003-seat Colisee.
Haynes, with just four goals in 61 regular-season games, potted the winner at 6:45 of the extra period.
The game belonged to Dube, however, as he figured in all of Laval's goals, scoring twice and setting up the other three.
Alain Cote and Chartier also scored for Laval.
Michal Burman, Bill Lang, Denis Gaudet and Yachmenev replied for North Bay. Yachmenev scored on a breakaway at 18:04 of the third period to force the overtime period.
The Centennials fell to 0-2 the next day when they were beaten 3-1 by Chicoutimi before 1,912 fans.
"Obviously, we're in a bad spot, Templeton said. "But we're not losing because we're not trying. We can play better.
The star in this one was Fichaud, who made 39 saves.
"The game was decided by the inability of our people to put the puck in the net, Templeton said. "I give credit to their goalie.
Beauregard, Andre Roy and Allan Sirois, into an empty net, scored for the Sagueneens. B.J. MacPherson had North Bay's lone goal.
It was the aftermath of the second game of May 13 that drew most of the attention.
On the ice, Kamloops outshot Laval 49-20 in posting a 5-4 victory in front of 1,843 fans.
Fernandez was outstanding, making 44 saves, including 21 in the first period.
"I was getting a lot of shots and I wasn't getting much help from my defence on rebounds, Fernandez said. "You could tell we weren't ready.
Deuling, Stevens, Ryan Huska, Tucker and Domenichelli scored for the Blazers.
"We had the shots, but we have to find a way to bury them, said Dumont, who set up three goals. "But that was a good goaltender against us.
Goneau and Beaucage had two goals each for the Titan.
Things turned sour in a big way in a parking lot following the game when Lachapelle, who had refereed the game between Kamloops and Laval, was injured.
Lachapelle, who filed a complaint with police, was left with cuts to his face and head and a slight concussion after being struck by flying glass when the window of the car in which he was riding was smashed.
According to QMJHL referee-in-chief Doug Hayward, Lachapelle and linesman Sylvain Cloutier were leaving the Colisee when their path was blocked by four men.
According to a report by The Canadian Press:
"Hayward said Cloutier told him a man approached Lachapelle on the passenger side of Cloutier's car and that, as the referee was lowering his window, another man punched the glass.
"Lachapelle . . . was treated at the scene in an ambulance and then taken to hospital, Hayward said.
Lachapelle had handed out 15 minor penalties during the game, nine of them to Laval. The Titan were 2-for-6 on the power play; the Blazers were 2-for-9.
After the game, Therrien wouldn't comment about the officiating.
The following day, May 17, Morrissette resigned as Laval's general manager.
"I have resigned, he said. "I have to respect the Memorial Cup committee, the league and my own organization. It's the only conclusion I could come to.
Morrissette was one of three nominees as the CHL's executive of the year. However, he withdrew his name prior to the awards banquet. The award was presented to Kamloops general manager Bob Brown.
Morrissette was later charged with assault and causing property damage under $1,000. He was alleged to have broken the car window with his fist.
A CHL disciplinary committee fined the Titan $10,000 and barred Morrissette from the Colisee for the remainder of the tournament. He was also hit with a three-year suspension from all CHL events. The QMJHL later suspended him from all league activities with any team for the 1994-95 season.
After hearing from the disciplinary committee, Morrissette said: "People asked me what I expected and I said, Life plus a day.' But they wanted to make sure this didn't happen again.
At the same time, Therrien was placed on probation for the rest of the tournament.
Bob Hartley, Laval's head coach at the 1993 tournament, was named the Titan's interim general manager. He had spent the 1993-94 season as an assistant coach with the American Hockey League's Cornwall Aces, a farm club of the NHL's Quebec Nordiques.
Through all of this there was also discussion of what to now had been dismal attendance at the Colisee. None of the first three games had drawn more than 2,000 fans.
Between the assault on Lachapelle and the lack of fans, this was not going the way the QMJHL had hoped it would.
"I feel bad, QMJHL president Gilles Courteau said. "This isn't what we expected.
"We've always had good crowds when we hosted the Memorial Cup, whether it was in Hull, Chicoutimi, Quebec . . . I don't know why it's so difficult this time.
Morrissette was disappointed, too.
"It's a shame, he said. "We've been a very successful organization but we haven't been successful at bringing people in.
"It's the smallest attendance in Memorial Cup history and that hurts me deeply. Everyone worked hard to make this successful. The City of Laval spent about $500,000. Yet people didn't come out.
Attendance picked up a bit on May 17 as 2,621 fans watched Kamloops shut out Chicoutimi 5-0 to earn a bye into the tournament's championship game.
Tucker sparked the Blazers with three second-period goals. Chris Murray and Keller added one each for Kamloops, which outshot the Sagueneens 51-25.
"It was probably the easiest shutout I've ever had, Passmore said.
The Blazers really had things rolling now and, on May 19, they beat North Bay 5-1 before 2,740 fans. That left the Centennials at 0-3 and out of the playoff picture.
Again, Tucker led the way for the Blazers. This time, he had a goal and two assists and now led the tournament in goals (five) and points (eight).
Stevens, Domenichelli, Murray and Tyson Nash also scored for the Blazers, who held period leads of 2-1 and 3-1 as they outshot the Centennials 41-17.
Lang scored for North Bay.
The game was refereed by Lachapelle in his first appearance since the incident four days earlier.
This left Chicoutimi and Laval to meet on consecutive nights, closing out the round-robin portion of the tournament in the first game and following that up with the semifinal game.
In the first game of the doubleheader, on May 19, the Sagueneens got second-period goals from Beauregard and Lojkin and 33 saves from Fichaud in a 2-0 victory before 2,979 fans.
Prior to the game, the Titan players taped the letters J.C. on the backs of their helmets. This was in support of the suspended Morrissette.
"We were flat, Therrien said. "All the ingredients were there for an emotional game and then we didn't have one.
The Sagueneens now had beaten the Titan in five straight games. And by beating the Titan in the round-robin game, Chicoutimi had won the designation as home team in the semifinal game even though it was to be played in Laval's arena.
The home-team designation didn't do the Sagueneens much good, however, as they were beaten 4-2 by the Titan in the May 20 semifinal game.
Laval held period leads of 2-1 and 3-2 in front of 2,953 fans.
Gaul, with two, Goneau and Beaucage scored for the Titan, with Roy and Steve Dulac scoring for Chicoutimi.
The Titan became the first QMJHL team to move into the final since the Drummondville Voltigeurs lost 5-1 to the Spokane Chiefs in 1991 and only the second QMJHL team in the final since 1986. That year, the Hull Olympiques lost 6-2 to the Guelph Platers.
On May 22, Kamloops won the Memorial Cup for the second time in three years, getting goals from five players in beating the Titan 5-3 in front of 3,119 fans.
"I went in there with high expectations and was expected to do well, said Tucker, a draft pick of the Montreal Canadiens who was named the tournament's MVP. "I was in the backyard of the team that drafted me.
"I knew how much pressure there would be from the media and I knew the Canadiens would be watching. I put a lot of pressure on myself to do well.
He scored what turned out to be the winning goal, one that gave Kamloops a 4-1 lead in the second period. It was his tournament-high sixth goal.
Tucker was one of seven players who had also been on the 1992 Memorial Cup champions. The others were Nash, Huska, Deuling, Ferguson, Murray and Stevens. Only Stevens was graduating, meaning the others might be heard from in 1995.
Dumont scored the only goal of the first period, at 12:20, and the Blazers went up 2-0 early in the second on goals by Huska (1:37) and Mike Josephson (2:02).
Goneau got Laval on the board with his fourth goal of the tournament at 3:08, but Tucker restored Kamloops' three-goal lead at 12:03.
Cote and Goneau pulled Laval to within one in the third period, scoring at 13:09 and 14:03.
That's when Hay called a timeout.
"He just said that we were going good until we let a couple of checks get away and unfortunately the shots went in, said Dumont. "He just said we had to screw our heads back on.
The Blazers hung on until Bob Maudie wrapped it up with an empty-net goal at 19:08.
And guess who refereed the final game?
Yes, it was Lachapelle.
Laval was 1-for-7 on the power play; the Blazers were 0-for-7.
While Tucker was hauling away the MVP award, Dube got the sportsmanship award and Fichaud was selected the top goaltender. The all-star team comprised Fichaud, Keller and Baumgartner on defence, and Tucker, Cote and Stevens on the forward line.
While Laval was hoping to win the QMJHL's first title since 1971, the Blazers became the 11th WHL team to win in the 23 years since a round-robin format was adapted. It was also the WHL's eighth title in 12 seasons.
NEXT: 1995 (Kamloops Blazers, Brandon Wheat Kings, Detroit Jr. Red Wings and Hull Olympiques)
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From Gregg Drinnan...1995
1995 MEMORIAL CUP
Kamloops Blazers, Brandon Wheat Kings, Detroit Jr. Red Wings and Hull Olympiques
at Kamloops (Riverside Coliseum)
Not since the halcyon days of the New Westminster Bruins (1975-78) had the WHL seen anything close to what the Kamloops Blazers had accomplished.
While the Bruins won four straight WHL championships and back-to-back Memorial Cup titles, the Blazers went into the 1994-95 season having;
(a) posted six straight seasons of at least 40 victories;
(b) reached the West Division final in each of the past 11 seasons;
(c) reached the WHL final six times in those 11 seasons; and,
(d) won five WHL titles over that span.
On top of all that, the Blazers had won two of the past three Memorial Cups -- winning the 1994 title in Laval and the 1992 championship at Seattle.
By the time the 1994-95 hockey season wound down, the Blazers had added to each of those distinctions.
Make it seven straight seasons with more than 40 victories, 12 straight West Division finals, seven WHL finals in 12 seasons; and, six WHL titles over that period of time.
There can be no denying this was a dynasty.
And the 1994-95 edition of the Blazers, under general manager Bob Brown and head coach Don Hay, would simply add to it.
This team did it knowing that it was already in the Memorial Cup tournament. That's because the 5,122-seat Riverside Coliseum would serve as home to the 1995 tournament.
The Kamloops lineup included three players -- centres Darcy Tucker and Ryan Huska and left-winger Tyson Nash -- with a chance to win three Memorial Cup rings.
The Blazers breezed through the WHL's regular season, posting a 52-14-6 record. Their 110 points left them on top of the West Division, 22 points ahead of the Tacoma Rockets and 15 better than the Brandon Wheat Kings, who topped the East Division with a 45-22-5 record.
Tucker was the spark on this team, both through his offensive talents and his ability to get under the other team's skin.
Offensively, he totaled 137 points, including 64 goals, in 64 games. That left him three points shy of WHL scoring champion Daymond Langkow of the Tri-City Americans, who played 72 games. Tucker went on to lead the WHL playoffs in goals (16) and points (31).
Left-winger Hnat Domenichelli also broke the 100-point barrier, his 114 points including 52 goals.
Centre Shane Doan chipped in with 94 points, while Ashley Buckberger, a midseason acquisition from the Swift Current Broncos, had 82 points.
Although this team led the WHL with 375 goals -- there were eight 20-goal men and nine players with at least 50 points -- it wasn't recognized as a high-powered offensive machine.
For the record, the 50-point men were Tucker, Domenichelli, Doan, Buckberger, defenceman Aaron Keller (80), Nash (75), Ivan Vologjaninov (72), Jarome Iginla (71) and Huska (67).
Rather, this was a team that could play defence with the best of them.
In fact, the Blazers surrendered only 202 goals, the lowest such total in the WHL since the Saskatoon Blades allowed 184 goals over a 68-game schedule in 1972-73.
The defence featured the likes of Keller, Brad Lukowich, Nolan Baumgartner and Jason Holland, who combined for 45 goals and 210 points. And they made a great midseason pickup when they acquired 20-year-old Keith McCambridge, who was a rock defensively, from Swift Current in the Buckberger deal.
In goal, the Blazers counted on Rod Branch and Randy Petruk.
Branch had been the No. 1 guy through most of the 1993-94 season but then took a backseat to Steve Passmore in the WHL playoffs and the Memorial Cup.
In 1994-95, Branch set a franchise record with a 2.60 GAA and tied another Kamloops record with five shutouts. He was 35-11-2 with a .900 save percentage in 50 games.
Petruk was the backup. A 16-year-old rookie from Cranbrook, B.C., who would turn 17 during the playoff run, Petruk got into 27 games, finishing 16-3-4 with a 2.91 GAA.
Come the postseason, Branch would go 10-4 with a league-best 2.19 GAA in 15 games. Petruk would get into seven games and finish 5-2 with a 2.70 GAA.
In the Memorial Cup, however, Petruk would start and finish all four of the Blazers' games.
The Blazers opened the playoffs in a first-round West Division round-robin series. They and the Portland Winter Hawks each went 3-1 to eliminate the Seattle Thunderbirds (0-4).
Kamloops then took out Portland, winning a best-of-seven semifinal series in five games. In the division final, the Blazers got past Tri-City 4-2.
That moved Kamloops into the WHL's championship final, against Brandon. It went six games, with the Blazers wrapping it up at home, thanks to a 5-4 overtime victory on May 7.
That gave them their third WHL title in four seasons, as close as a team can get to New Westminster's record streak of four in a row.
"I think when we're working hard, we're unbeatable, offered Brown, the primary architect of this organization. "And when we're not working hard, we're just average.
"As far as team camaraderie and work ethic goes, this has to rank up there with the best ever.
With the Blazers already in as the host team, the Wheat Kings, as WHL runner-up, also moved into the Memorial Cup tournament.
They had come awfully close to winning the WHL championship. After all, they had opened the final series by winning the first two games right in Kamloops. Alas, they would lose the next three games in Brandon and then lose Game 6 in overtime in Kamloops.
Brandon had not been in a Memorial Cup since 1979 when it lost the final 2-1 in overtime to the Peterborough Petes in the Verdun Auditorium.
The Wheat City was still the only city to have had a team in the final for the Stanley Cup, Allan Cup and Memorial Cup, and to never have won.
It wasn't that long ago that the Wheat Kings were the laughingstock not only of the WHL but of junior hockey in general.
This franchise had bottomed out in 1990-91, when it won only 19 games, and in 1991-92, when it posted just 11 victories.
But through it all general manager Kelly McCrimmon had a plan. He stuck to that plan and now it was paying off.
The Wheat Kings finished second in their division in 1992-93, with a 43-25-4 record, but were upset by the Medicine Hat Tigers in a first-round playoff series.
In 1993-94, Brandon again was second in its division (42-25-5) and this time made it to the East Division final.
And then came 1994-95.
The Wheat Kings, under head coach Bob Lowes, went 45-22-5 to finish first in the East Division.
Like the Blazers, the Wheat Kings had two 100-point men (Marty Murray, the league's most valuable player, with 128, and 62-goal man Darren Ritchie, with 114). And, like Kamloops, Brandon had nine players with at least 50 points -- Chris Dingman (83), Alex Vasilevskii (83), Mike Leclerc (69), Bryan McCabe (69), Wade Redden (60), Peter Schaefer (59) and Bobby Brown (51).
(Redden's father, Gord, had played in the 1959 Memorial Cup final with the Regina Pats. A postseason pickup from the Weyburn Red Wings, Gord scored the winning goal for Regina in the seventh game of the Western Canadian championship series for the Abbott Cup.)
McCrimmon made a key move in midseason by acquiring McCabe, a skilled defenceman, from the Spokane Chiefs. He and Redden gave Brandon an awesome one-two punch on the blue line.
Byron Penstock was the go-to goaltender in the regular season at 27-16-4 with a 3.16 GAA and four shutouts. Brian Elder was no slouch, either, as his 16-5-1 record and 3.12 GAA in 23 games would attest.
The Wheat Kings earned a first-round bye and then won a best-of-seven series from the Moose Jaw Warriors in five games. Next up, in the East Division final, were the Prince Albert Raiders. Brandon won that series in seven games.
Then, of course, the Wheat Kings were beaten by the Blazers in the championship final.
Meanwhile, the Detroit Jr. Red Wings, under head coach Paul Maurice, were winning their first OHL title.
An expansion franchise granted on Dec. 11, 1989, and beginning play in 1990-91, the Jr. Red Wings had shown annual improvement.
They had won but 11 games in their first season, and improved to 23 the second season.
In 1992-93, they were legitimate contenders, going 37-22-7 and finishing second in the Emms Division. They followed that up with a 42-20-4 record and a first-place finish in 1993-94 when they lost Game 7 of the championship final to the North Bay Centennials.
This time, they rang up a 44-18-4 record, good for first place in the West Division (the OHL now was a three-division league). Their 92 points left them tied for second in all of the OHL (with the Sudbury Wolves), seven points in arrears of the Central Division-winning Guelph Storm.
The Red Wings offered up a well-balanced team -- their 306 goals scored was the third-highest such figure in the league and their 223 goals-against left them with the third-best defence.
Without a doubt, there were three key players.
The first was goaltender Jason Saal. He got into 51 of Detroit's 66 games and put up a 3.18 goals-against average.
The second was defenceman Bryan Berard. In his rookie season, he totaled 75 points, including 20 goals, in 58 games. In the end, he was the league's rookie of the year. He was also on the league's first all-star team as well as the rookie all-star team.
The third was centre Bill McCauley, who would finish 11th in the OHL scoring derby, with 102 points, including 41 goals.
And, Sean Haggerty was no slouch, either, as he proved with 40 goals and 49 assists in 61 games.
Still, this was the season in which Guelph was supposed to win it all.
The Storm finished with a 47-14-5 record and wound up with three all-star players to Detroit's one, along with the league's best defensive record.
But the Storm wouldn't win it all.
With the new division format, a team now would have to go through four best-of-seven series to win the championship.
Detroit began by sweeping the London Knights and Peterborough Petes.
Sudbury was next and this series went seven games, the Red Wings taking Game 7 by an 11-4 count.
And, in the final, it was as it should be -- Detroit versus Guelph. The Red Wings won it in six games, becoming the first American-based team to win the J. Ross Robertson Cup as OHL champions.
The Red Wings won the sixth game 5-4 on Berard's goal at 9:35 of the third period.
As for being a U.S. team, Berard told the Toronto Sun: "We don't think about that kind of thing. We're playing in the Canadian Hockey League. We don't say, This guy is American, this guy is Canadian.' What makes this so great is that we're a team.
Berard was brilliant in the playoffs, scoring four goals and setting up 20 others in 21 games. McCauley led the playoffs in assists (27) and points (39), with Haggerty second, at 37 points.
Saal played in 18 postseason games, putting up a 2.88 GAA, the best in the league.
At the same time, the Hull Olympiques, under head coach Robert Mongrain, were earning the right to carry the QMJHL's colors into the tournament. Mongrain had scored three goals for the Trois-Rivieres Draveurs in the 1979 tournament.
And now he would try to help the Olympiques become the first Quebec-based team to win the Memorial Cup since Guy Lafleur and the Quebec Remparts won it in 1971. By now, this was become a far too familiar refrain in the QMJHL.
Hull had put together a 42-28-2 regular season, its 86 points leaving it 10 behind the first-place Laval Titan in the Lebel Division.
This was a Hull team that would beat you on offence -- plain and simple. Led by captain and centre Sebastien Bordeleau, a first all-star team selection, it scored 340 goals in 72 games, 38 more than Laval and 15 more than the second-best offence in the league. But on defence the Olympiques gave up 274 goals, only the sixth-best such figure.
Which is why goaltender Jose Theodore was so important. His 3.46 GAA was only the fifth-best among goaltenders who played in at least 30 games. But he was named the winner of the Shell Cup as the league's best defensive player and was named to the second all-star team.
Bordeleau's father Paulin had played for two Memorial Cup champions -- the Montreal Junior Canadiens (1970) and Toronto Marlboros (1973) -- and also coached the Laval Titan in the 1989 tournament. Sebastien was born in Vancouver while his father was with the NHL's Canucks.
Like father, like son. Paulin was a sniper, and so was Sebastien, who finished second in the QMJHL points derby, with 128, including 52 goals.
Hull's other big gun was centre Martin Menard, who finished with 100 points, while right-winger Michael McKay had 88 points, including 60 assists.
Again, the QMJHL was using best-of-seven series and a round-robin series in its playoff format.
The Olympiques began by ousting the St. Hyacinthe Laser in five games. They then moved into a six-team round-robin series and while they only managed to go 3-3 that was still good enough to move into the third round
There, they met up with the Beauport Harfangs, whom they sidelined in five games.
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1995 continued......
The championship final also lasted five games, with Hull winning out over Laval. The Olympiques won the fifth game 4-3 in overtime, with Harold Hersh getting the winner at 14:04 of the first extra period.
Bordeleau led the playoffs in goals (13) and points (32). His next closest teammate was Jonathan Delisle, with 19 points.
Theodore went 15-6 in the postseason, with a sparkling 2.80 GAA.
The Olympiques, however, didn't get off to a very good start in Kamloops.
The tournament opened on May 13 with Brandon hammering Hull 9-2 before 5,500 fans, outshooting the Olympiques 42-29 in the process.
(Attendance for every one of the tournament's eight games would be announced as 5,500, providing a total attendance of 44,000.)
It was the most one-sided decision in the tournament since the hometown Regina Pats whipped the Cornwall Royals 11-2 on May 8, 1980.
Ritchie led the Wheat Kings with three goals and McCabe had two goals and three assists. Schaefer, Colin Cloutier, Darren Van Oene and Scott Laluk had Brandon's other goals.
McKay and Delisle replied for Hull, which trailed 3-0 and 6-0 by periods.
Theodore left at 9:34 of the second period, having stopped 15 of 21 shots and with Brandon ahead 6-0. Neil Savary finished up.
The Wheat Kings followed that up by losing 4-3 to Detroit on May 14.
"We didn't play very well, Lowes said. "Having a few gifts at the end made it close, but for the most part we weren't a very good team.
The Red Wings broke open a scoreless game with three second-period goals -- from Berard, Dan Pawlaczyk and McCauley.
Cloutier got Brandon on the board at 11:44 of the third period only to have Jeff Mitchell restore Detroit's three-goal edge at 13:16.
Mike Dubinsky and Schaefer closed the scoring for Brandon.
This game gave scouts a good look at Berard and Redden, the two highest-rated defencemen going into the NHL's 1995 draft.
"I just want to do anything to help the team win, Berard said, after scoring once and setting up another. "I'm looking for the Memorial Cup trophy and hopefully that'll come true.
Redden had the misfortune of getting his stick caught along the boards in the first period and skating into it. He suffered a bruise underneath his rib cage but was back in action in the second period.
The Wheat Kings also lost Murray, their captain, when he took a puck in the face with five minutes to play in the third period. Fortunately, he wasn't seriously hurt and wouldn't miss any games.
The Olympiques fell to 0-2 in the second game on May 14 when they dropped a 4-1 decision to Kamloops.
"We took some stupid penalties, said Theodore, who made 45 saves and was beaten for three power-play goals. "Kamloops played a great game and it's hard to score goals when you're on the defence all night. I had to bounce back tonight, but we still lost.
Iginla had two goals for Kamloops, including an empty-netter at 19:26 of the third period. Doan and Keller also scored for Kamloops, which led 3-1 after the first period.
Delisle, who had 59 points and 218 penalty minutes in the regular season, continued his fine play with Hull's lone goal.
"We were really excited and juiced up to play, Iginla said. "It was good to get the jitters out and get our first game over with.
You can bet there was some nervousness on the Kamloops bench when Tucker went down clutching his left knee late in the first period. But he was back for the start of the second period and played regularly afterwards.
The Blazers improved to 2-0 on May 16, getting two goals from each of Domenichelli and Doan as they edged the Red Wings 5-4.
Tucker had the other goal for Kamloops, which led 2-0 and 3-2 by periods and then scored twice midway in the third.
Haggerty, with two, Matt Ball and Mike Rucinski scored for Detroit.
Petruk stopped 25 shots in upping his record to 2-0. Saal made 29 saves.
"It's tough being here in Kamloops, Doan admitted later, "because we're expected to win. But it's a bonus, too, because we play that much harder.
"When the fans get behind us, it's such a great feeling to hear the 5,500 going nuts with all the towels and wearing white shirts.
It was a big game for Domenichelli, who was one of four Hartford Whalers' draft picks in the game, the other three -- Ball, Tom Buckley and Rucinski -- all being on the Detroit roster.
"They said I have to get a little more involved, Domenichelli said of reaction to his play in the Blazers' first game. "I knew this was a big game with everybody here.
"I had to prove to the Hartford Whaler organization that they didn't make a mistake on me and that I'm as good as, if not better than, the guys that were on the ice for Detroit.
Hull fell to 0-3 on May 17 and was eliminated as it lost 5-2 to Detroit, which got three goals from Haggerty.
Haggerty scored Detroit's first three goals, getting one in each period. McCauley and Carl Beaudoin, the latter into an empty net, also scored for the winners.
Bordeleau, with the game's first goal, and Hersh scored for Hull, which was outshot 34-29.
On May 19, with a berth in the final on the line, the Blazers got another big game out of Iginla, Domenichelli and Tucker as they beat Brandon 6-4.
"Hnat and Darcy help on and off the ice -- they demand a lot, said Iginla, who had two goals. "They don't want me to come out and slow them up, so I have to be ready every game.
"It's good that they demand that.
Tucker set up three goals, with Maudie, Doan, Nash and Vologjaninov getting Kamloops' other goals.
Mark Dutiaume, with two, Schaefer and McCabe scored for Brandon.
Schaefer opened the scoring only to have the Blazers score three times before the period ended. Vologjaninov gave the Blazers a 4-1 lead early in the second period, but Dutiaume scored twice before the period ended to get Brandon back into it.
Iginla and McCabe traded goals at 9:23 and 15:31 of the third period before Nash put it away at 18:32.
When it was over, Lowes pointed to Maudie's goal, a shorthanded effort that broke a 1-1 tie at 12:55 of the first period, as perhaps the key moment.
"The shorthanded goal really changed the momentum, he said. "There were too many times that we shot ourselves in the foot.
Kamloops outshot Brandon 37-29 with Petruk and Elder going the distance in goal.
Brandon had left-winger Chris Dingman back in the lineup for the first time in five weeks. The 6-foot-4, 230-pound Dingman had been out with a knee injury.
But the Wheat Kings lost Ritchie, their key sniper, with a strained left knee. He was listed as doubtful for the semifinal against Detroit. He dressed but didn't score.
But then only one of the Wheat Kings did score as they lost 2-1 to Detroit in the semifinal game on May 20.
Defenceman Justin Kurtz gave Brandon a 1-0 lead at 6:35 of the first period and the Wheat Kings nursed that edge into the third period.
It lasted until 6:54 when Milan Kostolny scored to tie it. And then, at 14:50, Ball scored the game-winner on a power play.
Saal stopped 30 shots to up his record to 2-1; Penstock made 30 saves in his lone Memorial Cup appearance.
The following day, on May 21, the Blazers unleashed a 50-shot barrage, 28 of them in a six-goal second period, as they whipped Detroit 8-2 to win their second straight Memorial Cup title and their third in four seasons.
Kamloops became the seventh team to win back-to-back championships. The others -- Oshawa Generals (1939-40), Toronto Marlboros (1955-56), Montreal Junior Canadiens (1969-70), New Westminster Bruins (1977-78), Cornwall Royals (1980-81) and Medicine Hat Tigers (1987-88).
No team had ever won three Memorial Cup titles in four seasons.
Petruk kicked out 25 shots as he lifted his record to 4-0. Saal was lifted at 13:37 of the second period and replaced by Darryl Foster with Kamloops ahead 5-0.
Tucker, Huska and Nash, each of whom played on all three Kamloops Memorial Cup winners, scored in the game.
Huska scored twice, with Tucker and Nash adding one each. Keller, Maudie, Lukowich and Jeff Antonovich added the other goals.
Mitchell and Eric Manlow scored for Detroit.
"Everyone knew it was our third, Tucker said. "We just relished the moment.
As mentioned, he, Huska and Nash ended up with three Memorial Cup rings -- from 1992, '94 and '95.
That doesn't quite equal the feat performed by defenceman Robert Savard, who played on three straight Memorial Cup winners -- the Cornwall Royals in 1980 and '81 and the Kitchener Rangers in '82.
But, hey, three titles in four years is quite an accomplishment by anyone's standards.
Doan, who had missed the 1994 title game with a knee injury, set up two goals in the 1995 final and finished with a tournament-high nine points. He was selected the most valuable player.
Saal was named the top goaltender, with Iginla taking the sportsmanship award.
The all-star team comprised Saal, Baumgartner, McCabe, Tucker, Haggerty and Doan.
The final game was refereed by veteran WHL official Kevin Muench of Moose Jaw. He would later retire from the WHL, saying that he wanted to go out on top and refereeing the final game of the Memorial Cup allowed him to do that.
Two weeks after the Memorial Cup, Kamloops president Colin Day fired Brown, the man who had put together three Memorial Cup winners. It was time, Day said, to go in a different direction.
NEXT: 1996 (Brandon Wheat Kings, Guelph Storm, Peterborough Petes and Granby Predateurs)
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