COUNTDOWN TO MEMORIAL CUP
Spitfires open tournament Friday
Windsor Spitfires’ head coach Rocky Thompson was a few months shy of his fourth birthday the last time this city hosted the Memorial Cup.
General manager Warren Rychel was 14 years old back in 1981 when the Cornwall Royals defeated the Kitchener Rangers 5-2 in a final played at Windsor Arena.
At the time, the tournament was a three-team affair featuring the champions from the Western, Ontario and Quebec major junior hockey leagues.
Two years after that, the Canadian Hockey League changed the format to include the host team in a bid to boost attendance.
“We’re playing a Memorial Cup on our home turf, it’s going to be a special time,” said Steve Horne, the Spitfires’ director of business development and the tournament’s event manager. “It’s a once in a lifetime opportunity to really enjoy what the city and the host organizing committee have put together.”
The Spitfires, which won Memorial Cup titles in 2009 and 2010, have been waiting six weeks to lace up their skates in a Cup game after bowing out of the OHL playoffs in the first round. They’ll open the tournament Friday against the Saint John Sea Dogs at the WFCU Centre.
The Seattle Thunderbirds and the Erie Otters are the other teams vying for a national title. TOURNAMENT SCHEDULE: Games run from May 19 through to the final May 28 at the WFCU Centre.
ROUND ROBIN
Game 1: Saint John vs. Windsor on Friday at 7 p.m. Game 2: Erie vs. Seattle on Saturday at 3 p.m. Game 3: Windsor vs. Seattle on Sunday at 7 p.m. Game 4: Erie vs. Saint John on Monday at 7 p.m. Game 5: Seattle vs. Saint John on Tuesday, May 23 at 7 p.m. Game 6: Windsor vs. Erie on Wednesday, May 24 at 7 p.m. Tiebreaker (if necessary): Thursday, May 25 at 7 p.m. Semifinal: Friday, May 26 at 7 p.m. Championship final: Sunday, May 28 at 7 p.m. TICKETS: Single-game seats and packages for the preliminary round are available at the WFCU box office and online at WFCUCentre.com. A ticket starts at $75 for games involving the out-oftown teams and $90 for any game involving the Spits. Packages range from $595 to $885.
The steep price for tickets has raised a few eyebrows locally but Horne said they’re in line with pricing for the 2016 Cup in Red Deer and lower than what was charged in London in 2014. Single ticket prices in London ranged from $81 to $91.
Roughly 1,000 tickets are left for each preliminary round game. Capacity at the WFCU Centre is 6,500. Tickets for the semifinals and final are not yet available. PARKING: There are 800 spots available at the WFCU Centre — that doesn’t include reserved parking — and 850 next door on property rented from a London land developer. The parking fee is $10 as set by city council. There are also free shuttles running from the former Rona store site off Lauzon Parkway. THE CUP: The Memorial Cup trophy is 99 years old and was created as a memorial for players from the Ontario Hockey Association who died during the First World War. It was rededicated in 2010 to honour all soldiers who died fighting for Canada in any conflict. In a nod to its military connection, the Cup is arriving in Windsor aboard a Canadian Coast Guard patrol vessel. It will dock at Dieppe Gardens at 6 p.m. Thursday and be paraded up Ouellette Avenue to the war memorial at City Hall Square for a special ceremony. It will then be on display at city hall from 7:45 p.m. to 9 p.m. The Cup will also tour Windsor and Essex County during the tournament. A schedule of stops is available on the website at mastercardmemorialcup.ca.
The official Cup typically stays at the Hockey Hall of Fame in Toronto. A replica is handed off to players on the ice after the championship final. In 2008, the replica trophy broke apart as Spokane captain Chris Bruton tried to pass it to a teammate. Taking the moment in stride, members of the team took apart the trophy and shared it with teammates.
WINNERS/LOSERS: Over the past 45 tournaments held under the round-robin format, the Western Hockey League has won 19 times, the OHL is next with 16 titles and the Quebec Major Junior League is last with 10.
NAME DROPPING: NHLers who have had their name inscribed on the Memorial Cup include Shea Weber (Kelowna, 2004), Corey Perry (London, 2005), Ryan Ellis (Windsor, 2010), Taylor Hall (Windsor, 2009, 2010), Adam Henrique (Windsor, 2009, 2010), Mitch Marner (London, 2016).
FAN ZONE: The three community rinks will be transformed during the tournament into themed zones featuring interactive hockey displays, military displays, a miniature museum from the Hockey Hall of Fame and live entertainment. The fan zones are free and open to the public. It is not necessary to have a Memorial Cup game ticket to visit these areas. The zones are open daily from 9:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. and then again from 4 p.m. until 7:30 p.m. The fan zones open for the first time at 4 p.m. Friday, May 19.
CHL ALUMNI GAME: A bargain at $15 a ticket, the May 27 game will feature former CHL players and many current and former NHLers including Adam Graves, Ed Jovanovski, Taylor Hall, Cory Stillman, Todd Warriner, Zack Kassian, DJ Smith, Kerby Rychel, Adam Henrique, Steve Stamkos, Greg Nemisz, Matt Puempel, Mike Weber, Matt Martin, Steve Ott, Bob Boughner, Warren Rychel and Jeff Brown. The game will feature two 20-minute periods. The alumni coaching staff features Tom Webster, Wayne Maxner, Brad Smith, Pete DeBoer and Bob Jones.
KIDS, TOO: Classes of Grade 5 and 6 students across the county took part in an online draft that divvied up the 60 CHL communities. They’ve been working on projects about their community, all of which will be displayed in the WFCU’s sports gym. The four classes that happened to select a Memorial Cup team will be treated to a VIP experience during the event.
TELEVISION COVERAGE: On Sportsnet an TVA Sports.