Steel cashes in on goalie gaff, Pats off to Memorial Cup final

Captain Sam Steel scored the winning goal for the Pats on Friday.

    If you give Sam Steel a golden opportunity, he is going to take it.

    On Friday night in the semifinal contest of the Memorial Cup tournament at the Brandt Centre, the host Regina Pats were holding a slim 2-1 lead in the third period over the OHL champion Hamilton Bulldogs. On a Regina dump in, Bulldogs netminder Kaden Fulcher came way out of his crease and nonchalantly passed the puck into an open area of the ice.

    The puck went on the stick of Steel, who is the Pats star captain. Fulcher fell down to the ice after being stick checked by Pats left-winger Nick Henry. Steel easily skated around the fallen goalie and placed the puck into an empty cage to give the Pats a 3-1 edge with 5:55 to play in the frame.

    That tally turned out to be very key. Just 73 second later, Bulldogs right-winger Will Bitten broke down the right wing of the Regina zone on a breakaway and lifted home a shot to the top right corner on Pats netminder Max Paddock to cut the Regina lead to 3-2. Bitten was sent in on his breakaway on a beauty spring pass from Bulldogs defenceman Benjamin Gleason.

    Hamilton couldn’t net the equalizer.

    Steel’s gift goal turned out to be the winner. He later came up with a key shot block in the final minute. Seconds after that shot block, Steel gave a set up to centre Jake Leschyshyn for an easy empty-net goal with 5.2 seconds remaining in the third to deliver the Pats to a 4-2 victory to send the announced sellout crowd of 6,484 spectators into a frenzy.

Pats centre Jake Leschyshyn scored into an empty net on Friday.

    With the win, the Pats improved to 3-1 in the CHL championship tournament and advanced to Sunday’s championship final to face the QMJHL champion Acadie-Bathurst Titan (2-1) at 5 p.m. at the Brandt Centre.

    Besides Steel’s big plays, the difference in Friday’s contest was the play of the goaltenders on both sides.

    Fulcher had by far the best statics in the round robin portion of the Memorial Cup. He was good but not outstanding in the Hamilton goal on Friday turning away 20 of 23 shots sent his way, which included the lapse on Steel’s winning goal. The Bulldogs finished the tournament with a 2-2 record.

    Max Paddock, who is the Pats rookie 17-year-old netminder, had a couple of shaky games during the round robin portion of the tournament, but looked like a rookie phenom making 44 saves against the Bulldogs.

    His biggest stops came after the Pats lead shrank to 3-2. Bulldogs left-winger Marian Studenic drove down the right wing and had an initial shot stopped and a rebound shot turned away by Paddock.

Goalie Max Paddock made 44 saves for the Pats on Friday.

    After the Bulldogs pulled Fulcher for an extra attacker, Paddock stoned Bulldogs right-winger MacKenzie Entwistle on a wraparound and Bitten on the rebound chance.

    That set the stage for Steel’s shot block inside of the final minute and his set up to Leschyshyn for the empty-net tally.

    Inside the first minute of the first period, the Bulldogs tried to set a physical tone as defenceman Riley Stillman nailed Pats right-winger Cameron Hebig with a big open ice hit.

    The Pats struck first scoring 5:22 into the first period, when right-winger Austin Pratt knocked home the rebound from an Emil Oksanen shot to go ahead 1-0.

    The Bulldogs evened thing up at 1-1 at the 7:35 mark of the second, when defenceman Nicolas Mattinen one-timed home a shot from the point off a set up pass from Gleason. Mattinen had been a bit snakebitten in the Memorial Cup firing a number of shots off goalposts, which included hitting the crossbar of the Regina net late in the first period of Friday’s game. 

Cameron Hebig had a goal for the Pats on Friday.

    Regina jumped back out in front 2-1 at the 11-minute mark of the second, when Hebig fired home a shot from the front of the Hamilton net after taking a good set up pass from offensive defenceman Josh Mahura.

    A short time after Hebig’s tally, Bulldogs captain Justin Lemcke took down Pats left-winger Bryce Platt in one of the rare fights that have occurred in about the last two decades of the Memorial Cup tournament.

    Lemcke’s attempt to spark his club had mixed results, as the Bulldogs fired a lot of shots at the Pats net but there wasn’t an explosion of offence for the Hamilton side.

    The Pats as team blocked a lot of Bulldogs shot attempts, and Regina brought a bit of a physical game too. Regina defenceman Cale Fleury had a big hot on Stillman in the third period.

    A week ago on May 18, the Pats and Bulldogs opened the Memorial Cup tournament with a round robin game that was claimed by the Pats 3-2, when Henry scored the winning goal in that contest with 32.6 seconds to play in the third period.

    The Bulldogs finished third overall in the OHL’s regular season standings with a 43-18-4-3 record and advanced through the playoffs with a 16-5 mark. The Bulldogs took out the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds in six games in the OHL’s Championship series.

Josh Mahura had an assist for the Pats on Friday.

    In the third period of Friday’s game, the Bulldogs lost a number of hustle plays and physical battles to the Pats.

    The Pats entered the Memorial Cup off a stretch of having 45 days off after being eliminated in Game 7 of a tough first round WHL playoff series on April 2 to the Swift Current Broncos, who won the WHL title. The Broncos were eliminated in the Memorial Cup after going 0-3 in the round robin with all three setback coming by a one-goal margin.

    The Pats finished seventh overall in the WHL’s regular season with a 40-25-6-1 record and will attempt to win their fourth Memorial Cup title in team history, with the last championship coming back in 1974 when the tournament was held in Calgary.

    The Titan finished second overall in the QMJHL’s regular season standings with a 43-15-8-2 record and went 16-4 in the playoffs. Acadie-Bathurst claimed the round robin clash with Regina at the Memorial Cup 8-6 on May 20.

    As five out of the seven games played at the Memorial Cup were decided by one goal and two were decided by two-goals, this Memorial Cup has been one of the tightest contested ever, and which should bode well for expectations of excitement in Sunday’s championship final.

Viveiros departs Broncos for NHL’s Oilers

Head coach Manny Viveiros mans the Swift Current Broncos bench.

    After two memorable seasons with the Swift Current Broncos, Manny Viveiros is moving on to the NHL.

    On Thursday at a news conference in Swift Current, Viveiros stepped down as the head coach and director of player personnel for the Broncos to become an assistant coach with the NHL’s Edmonton Oilers.
    The 52-year-old from St. Alberta, Alta., led the Broncos to a 10^th overall finish in the WHL’s regular season standings in 2016-17 with a 39-23-4-6 record. The Broncos advanced to the second round of the WHL playoffs falling in a tough seven-game series to the Regina Pats, who would advance to the WHL Championship series.

    This past season, Viveiros guided the Broncos to the second best record in the WHL’s regular season at 48-17-5-2. The Broncos set a record playing 26 games in the WHL playoffs winning the Ed Chynoweth Cup and capturing the league title for the first since 1993. Swift Current advanced to the Memorial Cup tournament to play for the CHL title.

    At the Memorial Cup tournament in Regina, Sask., the Broncos went 0-3 in round robin play falling by a one-goal margin each time out.

Manny Viveiros lifts the Ed Chynoweth Cup.

    Before joining the Broncos, Viveiros coached Austria’s national team at the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia. After the Olympics, Viveiros coached ERC Ingolstadt of the Deutsche Eishockey Liga (Del) as an assistant coach in 2014 and head coach in 2015.

    In WHL circles, Viveiros is remembered for playing four season for the Prince Albert Raiders from 1982 to 1986 appearing in 251 regular season games collecting 60 goals and 261 assists. He helped the Raiders win the Memorial Cup in 1985.

    Viveiros was selected in the sixth round and 106^th overall in the 1984 NHL Entry Draft by the Oilers. He appeared in 29 NHL regular seasons over three seasons from 1985 to 1988 with the Minnesota North Stars collecting one goal and 11 assists. He spent 16 seasons playing professionally in Austria from 1991 to 2007.

    The Broncos also announced director of business operations Dianne Sletten is moving to other pursuits leaving the team after six seasons.

Does the “Curse of the Drop” still live?

    Friday marked the 10^th anniversary of one of the infamous and biggest blooper moments in the history of the Memorial Cup.

    On May 25, 2008, the WHL champion Spokane Chiefs downed the host Kitchener Rangers 4-1 in the Memorial Cup tournament’s championship game. It marked the second time the Chiefs captured the Memorial Cup to become CHL champions.

    After winning the title in 2008, Chiefs captain Chris Bruton accepted the Memorial Cup. Bruton turned and was going to give the Memorial Cup to defenceman Trevor Glass. Glass, who was in his 19-year-old season at the time, was with the Medicine Hat Tigers the previous campaign when they won the WHL title and fell 3-1 in the Memorial Cup championship game to the host Vancouver Giants.

    As Bruton reached out to hand the Memorial Cup to Glass, the trophy separated at the neck and fell to the ice to the shock of the spectators in Kitchener, Ont.

    Following that moment the WHL went on its longest drought ever of not winning major junior hockey’s biggest prize spanning five seasons from 2009 to 2013. Clubs from the WHL became eligible to play for the Memorial Cup on a regular basis in the 1970-1971 campaign.
    The drought was broken by the Edmonton Oil Kings in 2014. Edmonton was playing to honour the memory of former player Kristians Pelss, who was with Edmonton’s 2012 WHL championship team and passed away in 2013 due to a recreation diving accident.

    After the Oil Kings win, the WHL entry was unable to win the next three Memorial Cup tournaments. The WHL has won one of the last nine Memorial Cup tournament, so the host Regina Pats will try and make that record two for the last 10, when they face the QMJHL champion Acadie-Bathurst Titan in Sunday’s championship game (5 p.m., Brandt Centre).

    The video of the Chiefs mishap with the Memorial Cup can be found below.

    If you have any comments you would like to pass along about this post, feel free to email them to stankssports@gmail.com.

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Bulldogs slip past Titan 3-2 at Memorial Cup

Both squads ensured a top two finish in round robin standings

Robert Thomas had the winning goal for the Bulldogs on Tuesday.

    The Hamilton Bulldogs made sure they won’t be involved in a standings tiebreaker game and will now wait to see where they will sit for the playoff round of the Memorial Cup.

    On Tuesday at the Brandt Centre in Regina, the Bulldogs downed the QMJHL champion Acadie-Bathurst Titan 3-2 in the final round robin game for both clubs. Both teams have identical 2-1 records and will finish in the top two positions of the round robin standings.

    At the moment, the Bulldogs sit in first place thanks to their head-to-head win with the Titan. Hamilton will make Sunday’s championship final, if the host Regina Pats (1-1) fall to the WHL champion Swift Current Broncos (0-2) in Wednesday’s final round robin game. The Pats and Broncos go at it at 8 p.m. at the Brandt Centre.

    If the Pats beat the Broncos on Wednesday, the Broncos will be eliminated from the CHL championship tournament. The Pats would improve to 2-1 and invoke the three-way tiebreaking rules between them, the Bulldogs and the Titan.

    Under a mathematical formula involving the goals for and goals against between the three clubs in their head-to-head games, the Titan would vault to first place, the Bulldogs would finish second and face the Pats in Friday’s semifinal contest set for 8 p.m. at the Brandt Centre.

Netminder Kaden Fulcher made 33 saves for the Bulldogs on Tuesday.

    If the Broncos beat the Pats on Wednesday, those two clubs will go at it again on Thursday at 6 p.m. in a standings tiebreaker game at the Brandt Centre.

    As for Tuesday’s game, the Bulldogs jumped out to a quick start on the scoreboard in the first period. At the 14:33 mark of the first, Bulldogs defenceman Benjamin Gleason fired home a point shot through a screen for a power-play goal to give Hamilton a 1-0 lead.

    The OHL champions expanded their edge to 2-0 at the 17:27 mark of the first, when right-winger MacKenzie Entwistle fed a pass across the front of the Titan net to linemate Nicholas Caamano, who buried his first of the tournament.

    The Titan cut the Bulldogs lead to 2-1 at the 14:11 mark of the second period, when captain Jeffery Truchon-Viel converted a backdoor pass from offensive defenceman Noah Dobson.

    Just 64 seconds into the third, the Bulldogs struck again on the power play to go ahead 3-1, when star centre Robert Thomas ripped home a shot from the right slot to the top right corner of the Acadie-Bathurst goal.

    The Titan didn’t go away. They cut the gap to 3-2 at the 3:44 mark of the third, when centre Samuel Asselin redirected a backdoor feed from Truchon-Viel into the Hamilton goal.

    Acadie-Bathurst couldn’t find the equalizer allowing the Bulldogs to pull out their second straight win.

Benjamin Gleason had the Bulldogs first goal on Tuesday.

    In one the stranger things you will see in a game, the Titan went on the power play with 1:34 to play in the third but elected to not pull netminder Evan Fitzpatrick for a six-on-four advantage in the number of skaters on the ice to push for the equalizer.

    With one goal separating the two clubs, the Acadie-Bathurst coaches elected not to pull Fitzpatrick to avoid giving up an empty-net goal to upset the mathematical formula involving a standings tiebreaker between themselves, the Bulldogs and the Pats.

    Had the Bulldogs defeated the Titan by two goals on Tuesday, Hamilton would have locked up a berth in Sunday’s championship game. Hamilton fell 3-2 to the Pats in the tournament’s opening game last Friday. The Titan downed the Pats 8-6 in their round robin meeting on Sunday.

    Kaden Fulcher made 33 saves to pick up the win for the Bulldogs on Tuesday. Fitzpatrick turned away 31 shots to take the setback in goal for the Titan on Tuesday.

    An announced crowd of 6,072 attended Tuesday’s game, but with a lot of empty seats visible at the rink, it appears there were a number of no shows.

    It is expected Wednesday clash between the host Pats and the Broncos could be the first game of this year’s tournament that could be a complete sellout.

Broncos fans bring extra atmosphere, other notes

Swift Current Broncos fans have invaded Regina for the Memorial Cup.

    When the Swift Current Broncos hit the ice at the Memorial Cup, you sometimes wonder if anyone was left in the city “where life makes sense.”

    On Monday when the WHL champion Broncos faced the OHL champion Hamilton Bulldogs, there was a huge invasion of fans sporting Broncos jerseys or apparel on to the Evraz Place grounds in Regina. For anyone that has attended Broncos games at the Innovation Credit Union i-Plex in Swift Current, they would recognize many of the Broncos supporters as regulars at games in Swift Current.

    When the Broncos faced the Bulldogs, the Broncos fans stormed into the Fanfest area. A handful spilled into the Brandt Celebration Zone pre-game.

    With Broncos making their first appearance in 25 years at the CHL’s championship tournament, the expressions on the faces of the Swift Current fans shows they are just happy their team has made it this far. Almost all of them are intent on just enjoying the fact the Broncos are playing in the Memorial Cup and that this year’s prestigious major junior tournament is located in a centre that is just a two-and-a-half hour drive east of Swift Current on the Trans-Canada Highway.

Swift Current Broncos fans gather outside the Brandt Centre.

    Back in 1993, the Memorial Cup was held in Sault Ste. Marie, Ont., so it wasn’t as easy for Broncos fans to follow their team on the road. When the Broncos won the Memorial Cup in 1989 in Saskatoon, a healthy contingent from Swift Current made it out to the tourney in that year.

    Before Monday’s game, Broncos supporters could be heard in Fanfest getting warmed up before the game with chants of “let’s go Broncos” minutes before the doors of the Brandt Centre opened. When the doors swung open, many Swift Current supporters took up position in the standing room on the concourse ring to see their team warm up. A couple displayed signs.

    Upon hitting the ice during pre-game introductions, the Broncos were greeted with a deafening cheers.

    The cheers were muted for much of Monday’s clash, as the Bulldogs spend huge amounts of time in the Broncos end. Hamilton outshot Swift Current 22-4 after the first period and held a 1-0 lead.

Broncos fans did have spurts, when they hammered on their cowbells and attempted to get the “let’s go Broncos chant” going. They brought huge cheers at the 9:26 mark of the second, when offensive defenceman Colby Sissons scored on the power play to tie thing up at 1-1.

    From that point, the Bulldogs proceeded to tilt the ice keeping the puck in Swift Current’s end for long stretches, which kept the Swift Current supporters quiet. Eventually, Bulldogs left-winger Marian Studenic netting the winner with 2:01 remaining in the third period. 

Swift Current Broncos fans cheer on their team at the Memorial Cup.

    When the third period expired with the Bulldogs pulling out a 2-1 victory while holding a 56-22 edge in shots on goal, the Broncos fans saluted their side, when they left the ice. A huge ovation was given to Broncos netminder Stuart Skinner, when he reappeared on the ice to accept his award as the game’s first star. He had a spectacular performance making 54 saves, and he made sure to give an appreciative wave to the crowd before departing to the dressing room.

    The presence of the Broncos fans has added to the atmosphere of the Memorial Cup. Unfortunately, it might only last for one more game.

    The Broncos hit the ice against the host Regina Pats on Wednesday at 8 p.m. at the Brandt Centre. At 0-2, the Broncos need to win against the 1-1 Pats to stay alive in the tournament.

    If the Broncos can win to stay alive, they will ensure their supporters will return to the rink with them for another game.

• The best of the Regina Pats fans definitely showed up for their round robin game on Sunday. Judging by the stands, there were very few no shows of the 5,832 spectators who bought tickets to that contest. Even after the Pats fell behind 7-2 early in the third period to the QMJHL champion Acadie-Bathurst Titan, not that many in attendance left the rink. They got to see an inspired Pats comeback attempt. As the host side closed to 7-6, the cheers in the building were deafening. The rally was not to be as the Titan scored an empty-net goal to season an 8-6 victory.
• On Tuesday, the CHL announced alums and current player used a total of over $9.6-million from the CHL Scholarship Program in the 2017-18 campaign. That included 910 graduates who utilized their scholarships at post-secondary institutions across North America totaling over $8-million. In addition, a total of over $1.6-million was spent for current CHL players attending high school and post-secondary institutions.
• It is hard to judge the buzz for the Memorial Cup in Regina. When you are on the Evraz Place grounds, the buzz is there no matter who is in action. When you leave the Evraz Place grounds, it feels like the buzz is lacking. After covering Sunday’s game where the host Pats fell 8-6 to the Titan, I checked out the nightclub district on Dewdney Avenue. Only Gabbo’s was open, and it was steady. The workers and patrons inside had to be pretty much reminded the Pats were playing hockey again. The Pats were eliminated in tough seven game first round series in the WHL playoffs to the Swift Current Broncos and had 45 off days before playing in the Memorial Cup. The night action in Regina was a big contrast to the 2017 WHL playoffs, when the Pats made a long run falling in Game 6 of the WHL Championship series. Before 2017, the Pats last appeared in the WHL final in 1984. After Pats home games in the 2017 WHL playoffs, the night action with excited Pats supporters spilling into the Dewdney Avenue district was similar to what was seen when the CFL’s Saskatchewan Roughriders make a run to the Grey Cup.

    If you have any comments you would like to pass along about this post, feel free to email them to stankssports@gmail.com.

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