Knight Rider
The London Knights will get the opportunity to play in three straight MasterCard Memorial Cups with Tuesday’s announcement they will host in 2014.
What an awesome Game 7, but Josh Anderson should’ve been suspended for that game.
Will Jake Patterson start in goal when the Knights open up the Cup against Saskatoon on Friday Night?
Bo Horvat has taken his game to a new level. And while he may have been upset about his playing time in last year’s Memorial Cup, he’ll be a go-to guy this year. The same can be said for next year’s Cup if he’s not in the NHL.
What’s up with the Knights giving up so many third period goals?
Give the Barrie Colts all the credit in the world for battling back all series long. Even with a depleted lineup, Barrie gave London everything it could handle.
Really happy to see Mathias Niederberger respond with a 45 save effort that included several circus stops. His season didn’t deserve to end with out of character performances in Games 5 and 6.
Where will Dale Hawerchuk end up?
Trip Out West
We were lucky enough to get out and see Games 3 and 4 of the WHL final in Edmonton.
The Oil Kings really missed Griffin Reinhart and Trevor Cheek but they may have missed Rhett Rachinski and Jordan Peddle even more.
There’s no question there’s a different vibe with this year’s edition of the Portland Winterhawks.
I spent nearly two hours with Oil Kings head coach Derek Laxdal Wednesday. He’s been very helpful over the last two seasons with his honest assessments about his hockey club.
Also spent a lot of time with Kings general manager Bob Green and thank goodness he has a similar sense of humour.
Not quite sure where Curtis Lazar ends up going in the draft, but he’ll be a gem for some NHL team. Just spend five minutes with him and you realize he’s a pro.
Portland’s top four defence corps of Troy Rutkowski, Tyler Wotherspoon, Derek Pouliot and Seth Jones is the best in the CHL. London, however, will argue that point.
Taylor Peters is the captain of the Winterhawks and for good reason; he’s as mature a player as I’ve met this season. He’s engaging and doesn’t provide typical answers.
Travis Green has done a fantastic job echoing Mike Johnston’s systems, relating to his players, keeping the sanction talk to a minimum and remaining calm on Portland’s bench.
According to Laxdal, the Winterhawks are the best back pressure team he’s seen all year.
Mac Carruth is all grown-up. And that’s huge for the Hawks going into the Cup.
QMJHL
The end of Game 4 of the President’s Cup turned ugly. Halifax Mooseheads goalie Zachary Fucale had to be pulled in the final minute out of fear he was going to be run and Trey Lewis had to defend against two Baie-Comeau Drakkar players.
Mooseheads assistant Jim Midgely got into it with Le Drakkar’s Eric Veilleux.
Nathan MacKinnon was hit by at least one foreign object – there was unrest in the stands – and on the way back to the hotel the Halifax bus was pelted with beer bottles.
It was quite the party in Halfiax after the Moosehead’s Game 5 win.
Will the Moose be able to get that emotion back when they take on Portland Saturday? That’s a game you will not want to miss.
WHL
Congratulations goes out to Malcolm Cameron, the new head coach of the Regina Pats. Cameron takes over for the departed Pat Conacher.
Conacher will likely end up behind an NHL bench next season. He’s highly regarded in hockey circles.
NHL Glory Days
Scouts across the NHL will be salivating at this year’s Memorial Cup. There’s likely seven to eight first round picks and likely five of the top 15. I’m sure several GMs will be in attendance as well.
Completely Off Topic
Attended Game 6 of the Leafs/Bruins series at the Air Canada Centre and it was nice to see so many people excited about hockey again. I wished that excitement had have been around for Brampton and hope it will be there for Mississauga next season.
Stat Trick
MasterCard Memorial Cup teams by the numbers (regular season)
| Team | Record | GF | GA | PP | PK | Shots/Game |
| Halifax Mooseheads | 58-6-3-1 | 347 | 176 | 27.7 | 81.5 | 35.47 |
| Portland Winterhawks | 57-12-1-2 | 334 | 169 | 23.4 | 87.9 | 39.96 |
| London Knights | 50-13-2-3 | 279 | 180 | 25.1 | 83.2 | 35.78 |
| Saskatoon Blades | 44-24-2-4 | 280 | 221 | 21.4 | 84.7 | 36.79 |
Steady Eddie’s
Thanks to all of the CHL’s coaches, and GMs that responded to my yearly informal poll on the top defencemen in the CHL.
More CHL
For more on the CHL, be sure to check out the latest from Patrick King.
FNH done for 2012-13
We’ve worked all season long to get to the MasterCard Memorial Cup. Special thanks to all of the people who’ve helped out with another successful season of Friday Night Hockey (FNH).
MasterCard Memorial Cup
It’s the best time of year in the CHL. Check out the website for scores, schedules, news etc.
I’ll be calling my eighth Cup and it never gets old.
Check here for all game times.