100th Memorial Cup will be best remembered for great hockey

Titan LW Liam Murphy (#61) and Pats G Max Paddock dive at the puck.

    REGINA, Sask. – The biggest uncontrollable variable came through in spades at the 100^th edition of the Memorial Cup.

    During the eight games of the tournament that ran from May 18 and wrapped up on Sunday in Regina to determine supremacy in the Canadian Hockey League, the hockey was outstanding. Now two days after the event wrapped up, the biggest memory you take away was how tight the competition was.

    Out of the eight games, five of them were decided by one goal, while two were decided by two goals with the winning club registering an empty-net tally on each of those occasions.

    Sunday’s championship final turned out to be the contest with the biggest margin of victory as the QMJHL champion Acadie-Bathurst Titan blanked the host Regina Pats 3-0, and that contest included an empty-net goal by Titan right-winger Ethan Crossman with 30.3 seconds to play.

Captain Sam Steel brings the puck up ice for the Regina Pats.

    On top of that, all of those games were shown on national television via Sportsnet providing great exposure to the CHL game.

    You would be hard pressed to find a more compelling Memorial Cup. The WHL champion Swift Current Broncos went 0-3 and every loss came via a one-goal margin.

    Despite being tired and beat up due to playing a record 26 games in their run through the WHL playoffs, the Broncos, who finished second overall in the WHL regular season with a 48-17-5-2 record, could have conceivably been on the winning side of any or all of their games.

    Had they not given up two short-handed goal in their tournament opener against the Titan on May 19 surrendering leads of 2-1 and 3-2, the Broncos wouldn’t have been on the short end of a 4-3 overtime setback.

Colby Sissons and the Broncos didn’t get enough breaks at the Memorial Cup.

    A win in that game could have reversed their fortunes for the event overall. If Broncos star right-winger Tyler Steenbergen came out that contest without sustaining a concussion on an awkward, second period hit, that would have made a big difference for Swift Current too.

    The OHL champion Hamilton Bulldogs were likely the most consistent club at the Memorial Cup. The Bulldogs downfall came from the fact they weren’t able to score even with having talented player like star centre Robert Thomas.

    In four tournament games, the Bulldogs, who finished third overall in the OHL’s regular season with a 43-18-4-3 record, posted a 2-2 mark at the Memorial Cup. They outshot their opponents 169-112 in those contests, but were outscored by their opponents 10-9.

Robert Thomas and the Bulldogs didn't get enough goals in Regina.

    The Bulldogs only scored more than two goals once in any of their outings when they downed the Titan 3-2 on May 22.

    Hamilton fell 4-2 in the tournament semifinal contest to the Pats last Friday despite having a 46-24 edge in shots on goal. The Pats sealed that win with an empty-net goal from Jake Leschyshyn with 5.2 seconds to play in the third period.

    In the championship final, the Pats, who were seventh overall in the WHL with a 40-25-6-1 regular season record, did have a real shot to win the game against the Titan, who finished second overall in the QMJHL regular season with a 43-15-8-2 mark.
    In the second period of that contest, right-winger Jared Legien and star captain Sam Steel both rang shots off goalposts.

Defenceman Josh Mahura, right, fires a shot on goal for the Pats.

    After 40 minutes, the Pats were down 1-0 and had been outshot 36-11, so had one or both of the goalpost shots by Legien or Steel have gone in, the storyline of that came could have played out differently.

    The Pats came out on fire in the third period of that contest holding a 17-8 edge in shots on goal. Steel had the best chance to tie things up, but he was robbed on a shot from the left slot by the glove hand of Titan netminder Evan Fitzpatrick.

    That set the stage for Titan captain Jeffrey Truchon-Viel to set up centre Samuel Asselin for a goal to put the Titan up 2-0 with 6:58 to play in the third. Victory was then sealed with Crossman’s empty netter.

Jake Leschyshyn brings the puck up ice for the Pats.

    Most Memorial Cups have good drama, but the drama and excitement in this year’s event was above and beyond normal.

    In one of about every five Memorial Cups, you often encounter a situation where one team is heads and shoulders about everyone else like in 2010 in Brandon, Man. That Memorial Cup is viewed as one of the best run tournaments, but the dominating storyline was the romp of the OHL champion Windsor Spitfires.

    The Spitfires flattened the host Wheat Kings and the WHL champion Calgary Hitmen by a combined score of 15-5 before needing overtime to outlast the QMJHL champion Moncton Wildcats 4-3. In the championship final, the Spitfires made short work of the Wheat Kings in a 9-1 triumph.

Defenceman Noah Dobson wins a battle along the boards for the Titan.

    At the 2016 Memorial Cup in Red Deer, Alta., the OHL champion London Knights won all three of their round robin games by a score of 20-5. That event ended with an off the charts exciting final, when the Knights rallied back from a 2-1 third period deficit to pull out a 3-2 overtime victory on Matthew Tkachuk’s winner to down the QMJHL champion Rouyn-Noranda Huskies 3-2.

    The last three of the eight games at the tournament in Regina were all sellouts at 6,484 tickets sold for each night. All of those contests featured the host Pats.

    Over 6,000 tickets were sold for five out of the eight games in Regina. The lowest total of 5,678 sold for the opener on May 18, when the Pats downed the Bulldogs 3-2.

Samuel Asselin had the Titan’s Memorial Cup insurance goal.

    Fanfest was popular. It seemed like it was hit and miss with large gatherings at the Brandt Celebration Zone even with the outstanding musical acts that were brought in.

    The Pats owners expect to swallow a $2-million loss financially for hosting the Memorial Cup mostly due to providing a $3-million hosting fee to the CHL. They said they never expected to make money on the event.

    Regina Leader-Post star sports columnist Rob Vanstone reported the hosting fee for next year’s Memorial Cup to be hosted in Halifax, N.S., by the Mooseheads is believed to be $1-million less than the fee spent to host the tournament in Regina.

    The host committee for the Memorial Cup in Regina brought in the Eagles to perform during an open ceremonies on May 17, and about 27,000 seats were sold for that event.

    The Pats owners could have scaled things back, but they wanted to put on a memorable event and stuck to their guns. To be honest, this year’s Memorial Cup had a lot of cool things attached to it.
    Away from the rink, the hotels, restaurants and other businesses in Regina saw great spinoffs from the fact the Memorial Cup was held in the Saskatchewan capital.

    While there are always things to learn along the way, the 100^th Memorial Cup in Regina overall will go down as a success.

The Titan pose for the tradition team picture with the Memorial Cup.

    The big thing that made it a success was the product on the ice. When you come to the Memorial Cup, you want to see exciting hockey.

    All eight games that were played at the event in Regina delivered exciting hockey in droves. It will likely be a number of years before all the games in another single Memorial Cup tournament can duplicate the great display of hockey that took place in Regina.

    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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The heart of the WHL champion Broncos will live forever

The Broncos celebrate a goal from captain Glenn Gawdin, centre.

    REGINA, Sask. – They might have been running on fumes, but the Swift Current Broncos kept finding the emotional energy to keep pushing forward at the Memorial Cup.

    During their appearance in the CHL championship tournament, the Broncos showed the heart that allowed them to win the WHL championship this season. It marked the first time they won the league title in 25 years.

    The Broncos are responsible for the last three WHL championship victories by a Saskatchewan based club capturing the league crown this year, in 1993 and 1989. At the Memorial Cup, the Broncos were ultimately done in by the number of games they have played in the 2017-18 campaign.

    On Wednesday before a sellout crowd of 6,484 spectators at the Brandt Centre, the Broncos fell 6-5 to the host Regina Pats and were eliminated from making the Memorial Cup’s playoff round finishing last in the round robin at 0-3. Each Broncos setback came by a one-goal margin.

    Wednesday marked the 101^st time the Broncos hit the ice for a hockey game in 2017-18 including action in the regular season, WHL playoffs and the Memorial Cup tournament. The Broncos played a record 26 games in the WHL post-season to capture the Ed Chynoweth Cup.

    Broncos head coach and director of player personnel Manny Viveiros said fatigue was setting in for his club at Wednesday’s post-game press conference, but he loved the battle his player kept continuing to show.

Colby Sissons created late excitement for the Broncos on Wednesday.

    “Our mistakes were I thought throughout this tournament were tired mistakes,” said Viveiros. “Our group is tired.

    “I noticed that coming into this tournament especially going into the first game and especially in that second game. Our energy level was very, very low. Normally when you are tired, you are going to make mistakes.

    “I am so proud of that group. It is a real special group, and (they) work real hard.”

    Injuries were piling up too. The Broncos lost star right-winger Tyler Steenbergen due to a concussion in their first game at the Memorial Cup, which was a 4-3 overtime setback to the QMJHL champion Acadie-Bathurst Titan last Saturday. 

    Star captain Glenn Gawdin had been playing with a separated should since the third round of the WHL playoffs, and Russian import defenceman Artyom Minulin needs surgery to fix a shoulder injury that he has been playing with.

    While all those things were working against them, the Broncos heart showed on Wednesday, when they refused to go away trailing 5-2 in the third period. A comeback attempt was sparked, when star Finnish import left-winger Aleksi Heponiemi scored with 5:38 to play in the frame to cut the Pats lead to 5-3.

Captain Glenn Gawdin piled up points while playing hurt.

    After the Broncos pulled netminder Stuart Skinner for an extra attacker, overage star centre Giorgio Estephan lifted a shot over the shoulder of Pats netminder Max Paddock with 2:49 to play in the frame cutting the Pats lead to 5-4.

    Regina appeared to restore order, when Czech import defenceman Libor Hajek scored a power-play goal with 1:37 to play in the third giving the Pats a 6-4 edge.

    The Broncos still didn’t go away at that point. Gawdin collected the rebound from a point shot taken by offensive defenceman Colby Sissons and popped home a power-play goal with 49.5 seconds to play cutting the Pats edge to 6-5.

    Swift Current kept pushing right up to the final buzzer of the third. In the dying seconds of the frame, Pats centre Matthew Bradley poked the puck out to the centre ice zone, and the Regina side began celebrating victory including the players on the ice and the coaches and players on the bench.

Broncos fans were loud and proud cheering on their team.

    Sissons tracked the puck down and fired a Hail Mary shot towards the Pats net. The puck went past an oblivious Paddock and defenceman Josh Mahura into the goal with 0.1 seconds remaining on the clock. Four Broncos players were pinned deep in the Regina zone, so Sissons potential equalizer didn’t count as the play was ruled offside.

    It was physically impossible for those Broncos players to clear the zone to prevent any play from being offside in that situation.

    With that said, Sissons never say die effort symbolized the resolve of the Broncos for the entire 2017-18 campaign, and that resolve almost allowed them to continue playing.

    The team’s resolve was shared by the club’s fans, who traveled from Swift Current and area in droves for the squad’s three Memorial Cup games. A lot of the supporters were farmers who took a break from planting crops in the fields to go cheer on their hockey team. The Broncos fans were just happy to see their team competing in major junior hockey’s most prestigious tournament.

    The Broncos fans provided one of the warmest moments of the event on Monday, when they gave a rousing ovation to Skinner after he received a first star award for making 54 saves in a 2-1 loss to the OHL champion Hamilton Bulldogs.

Aleksi Heponiemi nearly sparked a rally on Wednesday.

    Swift Current’s story was so good that it would been nice to see it continue.

    Still, the Broncos gave Swift Current an area a season to remember. They finished second overall in the WHL with a 48-17-5-2.

    Steenbergen scored the gold medal game winning goal for Canada at the world juniors that wrapped up in January in Buffalo, New York. Of course, they had a memorable post-season run to capture the WHL title.

    The run included the “Miracle at the i-Plex,” where the Broncos overcame a 3-0 deficit to down the Everett Silvertips 4-3 in overtime in Game 2 of the WHL Championship series at the Innovation Credit Union i-Plex. The Broncos won the league crown in Game 6 on home ice with a 3-0 win over the Silvertips.

    The heart of the 2017-18 Broncos will never be forgotten in Swift Current and area, and it will always be a warm memory in the city “where life makes sense.”

Media arrive at Memorial Cup in large numbers

Media members converge around Broncos goalie Stuart Skinner.

    In an era where the mainstream media has been cut to less than skeleton crew levels in Canada, it was a great to see a large media presence at the Memorial Cup.

    The media riser at the west end of the Brandt Centre has been full for all games at the Memorial Cup so far. The media scrums around players have been some of the largest I have seen in 19 seasons covering major junior hockey.

    Of course, all the media outlets from Regina are represented, and a number of media staffers have made appearances from smaller Saskatchewan centres.

    There has been some representation from media outside the province including a reporter from Prince George, B.C.

    For the younger members of the media, you can tell it is a big thing for them to be at the Memorial Cup. It was refreshing to see that as the number of people that cover the major junior hockey ranks in Canada on a beat writing basis has shrunk greatly over the last seven years.

    The more seasoned media members have enjoyed meeting the younger media members, but they seem to really enjoy renewing old links with other veteran media members they haven’t seen for a while.

    Face to face contact among media members covering sports doesn’t happen as often as it once did. With the way life changes, there is always uncertainty if you will cross paths with old friends from the media world in a media setting.

The media riser has been filled at the Memorial Cup.

    One of the best sights came after Wednesday’s round robin game, where the host Regina Pats downed the WHL champion Swift Current Broncos 6-5. 

    Due to the game starting at 8 p.m. local time, many were fighting deadlines and were trying to get work completed at an hour that wasn’t totally insane. For 8 p.m. starts, it is common for media members to finally leave the rink at 2 a.m.

    To help each other out, media members were sharing quotes and facts to help complete work faster.

    The influx of media members has to be viewed as a good thing for those that oversee the Memorial Cup. At a lot of national championship sporting events in Canada, you are often lucky to get a maximum of 10 members of the sports media out at your event. Often you might see less than five media members.

    About 20 years ago, one of the ways a sporting event was trumpeted as being a big thing was from the fact a large number of media members covered the event. That practice has long been abandoned, because of the dwindling numbers of sports media staffers in Canada.

    For those that manage the CHL, they can take comfort in the fact sports media member still want to go to the Memorial Cup, and it has a lustre. A lot of other national championship sports events in Canada can’t make the same claim.

Steel equaled record with five assist game

Regina Pats captain Sam Steel, right, had a record Wednesday night.

    Regina Pats captain Sam Steel joined some elite company on Wednesday night in the Memorial Cup record book.

    The star centre from Sherwood Park, Alta., collected five assists in the Pats 6-5 round robin victory over the WHL champion Swift Current Broncos before a sellout crowd of 6,484 spectators at the Brandt Centre. Steel equaled the record for most assists in one game at the Memorial Cup dating back to when it started to be played in a tournament format back in 1972.

    Two others also recorded five assists in one game at the Memorial Cup since it has been contented in tournament format. Back on May 14, 1985, centre Dan Hodgson had five assists for the Prince Albert Raiders, when they slipped past the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds 8-6 in a round robin game. The Raiders won that tournament held in Shawinigan and Drummondville, Que.

    On May 26, 2013, centre Jonathan Drouin of the Halifax Mooseheads recorded five assists in a 6-4 victory over the Portland Winterhawks in the Memorial Cup championship game, when the event was staged in Saskatoon, Sask.

    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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Broncos drop OT heartbreaker at Memorial Cup

Titan might take up villain status at CHL tourney

Giorgio Estephan had a pair of goals on Saturday.

    Swift Current Broncos will have another chance to show off their perseverance after suffering a deflating loss to open play at the Memorial Cup tournament.

    The WHL champions opened the CHL title tournament on Saturday watching leads of 2-1 and 3-2 disappear due to short-handed goals from the QMJHL champion Acadie-Bathurst Titan. The two clubs went to overtime locked in a 3-3 draw.

    At the 2:58 mark of the extra session, Titan defenceman Noah Dobson deflected a centring pass from behind the icing line of the Swift Current zone off a Broncos defender to Acadie-Bathurst left-winger Liam Murphy in front of the Swift Current goal. Murphy directed the puck around the right pad of Broncos star netminder Stuart Skinner into the goal to give the Titan a 4-3 victory before an announced crowd of 6,237 spectators at the 6,484 seat Brandt Centre in Regina.

    While the Titan are known for scoring short-handed goals, it is almost unheard of for the Broncos to give up two short-handed tallies in one game. That ultimately turned out to be the difference that allowed Acadie-Bathurst to pull out victory.

    The Titan scored first on Saturday, when centre Samuel Asselin deflected home a point shot from defenceman Olivier Galipeau at the 8:02 mark of the first period.

    The Broncos stormed back before the opening frame ended. With 7:42 remaining in the first, Broncos star right-winger Tyler Steenbergen deflected home a backhand shot during a net scramble working on a power play to tie things up at 1-1. With 61 seconds to play in the first, Broncos centre Giorgio Estephan took a cross-ice feed from offensive defenceman Colby Sissons and buried a shot to give Swift Current a 2-1 edge.

    Early in the second period, Titan captain Jeffrey Truchon-Viel hit Steenbergen from the side and sent the Sylvan Lake, Alta., product flying awkwardly into the boards.

Colby Sissons had a key assist for the Broncos.

    Steenbergen was assisted off the ice by Broncos athletic trainer Jamie LeBlanc and did not return to the contest.

    Max Patterson finished the game playing on the Broncos top line with captain Glenn Gawdin at centre and Finnish import Aleksi Heponiemi at left wing.

    Still, the Broncos seemed to be control and were working on a power play late in the frame. With 1:53 remaining in the second, Truchon-Viel chipped the puck out of his own zone up the boards to spring Asselin on a short-handed breakaway. Asselin tucked home a shot between Skinners legs to tie things up at 2-2.

    Swift Current quickly answered back at even strength. Working down low in front of the Acadie-Bathurst goal, Estephan backhanded home the rebound of his own shot to give the Broncos a 3-2 lead with 48.5 seconds to play in the second. He had an assist on the Broncos first goal for a three-point night.

    If there were any thoughts that Estephan’s second goal might hold up as the winner, those thoughts changed at the 5:51 mark of the third with the Broncos working another power play. An errant Swift Current pass sprung the Titan on the rare three-on-one short-handed break.

    Titan defenceman Adam Holwell drove hard to the net and knocked home the rebound of a shot from Acadie-Bathurst centre German Rubtsov to force a 3-3 tie. That set the stage for Murphy’s overtime winner.

    Skinner turned away 35 shots to take the setback in goal for the Broncos. Evan Fitzpatrick stopped 24 shots to pick up the win in goal for the Titan.

    The Broncos had some missed opportunities where they could have taken better control of the contest. Leading 2-1 early in the second, Steenbergen fired a shot off the crossbar before leaving the contest due to injury.

    Shortly after the start of the third with the Broncos holding a 3-2 edge, Gawdin had a breakaway, and he was turned away on his first shot and on a rebound chance by Fitzpatrick.

Tyler Steenbergen left Saturday’s game after being injured on a hit.

    The Titan played with good speed and skill and also brought a real pest type edge to their game trying to get under the collective skins of the Broncos players. It was the type of edge that would be loved by those that are fans of the Titan and would be hated by those that were fans of the Titan’s opponents.

    Asselin, a 19-year-old who stands 5-foot-10 and weighs 181 pounds, resembled former NHL great Theo Fleury, who was also a former star of the WHL’s Moose Jaw Warriors, during Saturday’s game. Fleury was well-known for putting up points and stirring up tensions on the ice.

    Due to the fact the Memorial Cup is a neutral tournament, it is unlikely the host Regina Pats will be able to bring back Senator Denise Batters to play “Pop Goes the Weasel,” when Asselin takes the ice to play the Regina squad. In the late 1980s, Batters was a Pats organist and played that very tune when Fleury would step on the Brandt Centre ice surface as a member of the Warriors.

    The round robin portion of the Memorial Cup continues on Sunday, when the Titan battle the Pats at 5 p.m. at the Brandt Centre in a clash of 1-0 teams.

Silvertips overagers gave their all to Everett

Matt Fonteyne graduated as a standout leader for the Silvertips.

    When the Everett Silvertips fell in the WHL Championship series, it brought an end of an era for the club.

    On Sunday at the Innovation Credit Union i-Plex in Swift Current, the Silvertips fell 3-0 in Game 6 of the WHL title series to the host Broncos before a sellout crowd of 2,890 spectators. The Broncos took the best-of-seven set 4-2.

    The loss brought an end to the major junior careers of Silvertips overagers Matt Fonteyne, Patrick Bajkov and Kevin Davis. All three were drafted by the Silvertips and spent their entire WHL careers in Everett playing there for five complete seasons.

    The trio helped Everett finish third overall in the WHL with a 47-20-2-3 record. They were key players in the Silvertips run to the WHL Championship series for the first time since the club’s inaugural campaign in 2003-04.

    In the process, the Silvertips advanced past the second round of the playoffs for the first time since the 2005-06 season.

Patrick Bajkov led the Silvertips in regular season scoring this past season.

    Thanks to the work of that trio, the Silvertips still have never missed the playoffs during the franchise’s 15 seasons of existence.

    Fonteyne, who stands 5-foot-9 and weighs 170 pounds, was selected in the third round and 66^th overall by the Silvertips in the 2012 WHL Bantam Draft. The strong two-way centre was the team’s captain this past season, where he appeared in all 72 regular season games netting 35 goals, 53 assists and a plus-27 rating in the plus-minus department. During his career with the Silvertips, Fonteyne, who is from Wetaskiwin, Alta., appeared in 340 regular season games piling up 82 goals, 127 assists and a plus-42 rating.

    Bajkov, who stands 6-feet and weighs 185 pounds, was selected in the sixth round and 128^th overall in the 2012 WHL Bantam Draft, and the skilled right-winger was the Silvertips leading scorer this past season appearing in all of the team’s 72 regular season games collecting 33 goals, 67 assists and a plus-19 rating. During his career with the Silvertips, Bajkov, who is from Nanaimo, B.C., appeared in 342 regular season games collecting 112 goals, 176 assists and a plus-44 rating.

Kevin Davis became a standout offensive-defenceman with the Silvertips.

    Davis, who stands 5-foot-11 and weighs 185 pounds, was selected in the first round and 11^th overall in the 2012 WHL Bantam Draft, and he developed into a sound offensive-defenceman. He led all Silvertips defencemen in scoring this past season appearing in 71 regular season games piling up 10 goals, 55 assists and a plus-29 rating. During his career with the Silvertips, Davis, who is from Kamloops, B.C., appeared in 347 regular season games collecting 26 goals, 148 assists and a plus-42 rating.

    Being based in an area covering teams in the WHL’s Eastern Conference, I don’t get to deal with clubs from the Western Conference often, where the Silvertips play out of. During the course of the WHL Championship series, I was pretty impressed with how the Silvertips overagers carried themselves, and you could tell they cared about their team. It makes you wish you could have dealt with them more.

    Here is hoping Fonteyne, Bajkov and Davis all have the best of luck as they move on to the next steps of their lives.

Getting first win key at Memorial Cup, other notes

Jake Leschyshyn and the Pats are sitting pretty at 1-0 at the Memorial Cup.

    So far at the Memorial Cup, the QMJHL champion Acadie-Bathurst Titan and the host Regina Pats are sitting pretty.

    Both teams won their opening games at the 100^th Memorial Cup tournament, which is a big thing with the way the four-team tournament in structured. The four clubs play each other in a round robin, which means each team will play three games at this stage of the event.

    As soon as a team wins a game, the club is guaranteed to play at least a standings tiebreaker contest in the playoff round. For the competing clubs, a win helps remove the anxiety of knowing if you will be playing after Wednesday. When a team gets eliminated from the event, the eliminated squad packs up and immediately departs for home and doesn’t stay to watch the rest of the tourney.

    Due to the fact this event feature three league championship teams and a sound host squad, it is hard for a club to work its way back, if it falls to 0-2. A lot of emotional energy along with physical energy gets burned pulling out of a hole that is 0-2.

    The Titan and Pats are both 1-0 and play each other on Sunday at 5 p.m. at the Brandt Centre. The winner will be guaranteed a berth into Friday’s semifinal game.

    The WHL champion Swift Current Broncos and the OHL champion Hamilton Bulldogs are both 0-1 and play each other on Monday at 6 p.m. at the Brandt Centre. The winning club in that contest will lock up a berth in at least a tiebreaking game, while the losing club will fall to 0-2 and need to win out to stay alive at the event.

• The 100^th edition of the Memorial Cup has some pretty cool honourary captains in Dennis Sobchuk and Guy Lafleur. Sobchuk was a star centre on the Regina Pats 1974 Memorial Cup championship team,  and he went on to play 348 regular season games in the now defunct WHA and 35 contests in the NHL. Lafleur helped the Quebec Remparts win the Memorial Cup in 1971 and he achieved star status in the NHL playing on five Stanley Cup winning teams with the Montreal Canadiens. Legendary Hockey Night in Canada broadcaster and former Boston Bruins head coach Don Cherry is honourary chairman of the Memorial Cup.
• The Pats are auctioning of the special jerseys they wore for Friday’s opening game of the Memorial Cup. The jerseys paid tribute to the Princess Patricia’s Canadian Light Infantry, which was a privately funded regiment founded at the outbreak of the First World War. The Pats were named after the Princess Patricia’s Canadian Light Infantry. Proceeds from the auction go to support the Dominion Command Poppy Trust Fund. The bids close on May 28 at 9 p.m. eastern time. Those looking to take part in the auction can do so by clicking here.
• It seems like a lot of people are showing up as empty seats during the first two games of the Memorial Cup. Attendance was announced at 5,678 on Friday night and 6,237 on Saturday night at the 6,484 seat facility. It is possible a lot of people no showed as part of corporate ticket packages. There has been a lot of social media and sports talk radio chatter about how ticket prices are too high. Tournament ticket packages were on sale for $700 to $750 for the general public, which was an increased from the $595 at last year’s tournament in Windsor. Ticket packages for next year’s tournament in Halifax are pegged at $320 for season ticket holders, which is the lowest price to attend the Memorial Cup in years. Former Halifax Mooseheads play-by-play voice John Moore trumpeted next year’s Memorial Cup ticket prices in a tweet.

#Mooseheads buck the #MemorialCup trend of rising ticket prices. Average price per game for past 4 years.
Quebec City 2015 $65
Red Deer 2016 $66
Windsor 2017 $74
Regina 2018 $93
Halifax 2019 $40 season ticket holders / $56 general public #CHL #SportsandMoore

— John Moore (@rinkrant) May 17, 2018

    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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Oh my Gawdin! – Captain is the heart and soul of the Broncos

Glenn Gawdin celebrates a playoff goal for the Broncos.

    You can’t put a dollar figure on the street cred Glenn Gawdin has earned in the WHL.

    The overage centre has been a career member of the Swift Current Broncos having been selected by the team in the first round and fifth overall in the 2012 WHL Bantam Draft. The Richmond, B.C., product has played in five complete regular seasons with the Broncos piling up 126 goals, 187 assists and a plus-69 rating in the plus-minus department in 312 regular season games.

    As a 16-year-old rookie in 2013-14, Gawdin, who stands 6-foot-1 and weighs 186 pounds, experienced a good campaign with the Broncos helping them compile a 38-25-3-6 regular season record before falling to the Medicine Hat Tigers in six games in a best-of-seven first round series. 

    After helping the Broncos make the post-season again as a 17-year-old sophomore, Gawdin experienced more of a down time with the Broncos as an 18-year-old, when the team missed the playoffs with a 24-38-7-3 record in the 2015-16 campaign.

    Between those good and bad times, his effort level never lapsed.

    Those times made the past two seasons that much more sweet. Gawdin became the Broncos captain near the start of his 19-year-old season, and the team rose to heights that haven’t been seen in Swift Current for about 15 years.

    Centring a line with star right-winger Tyler Steenbergen and dynamic Finnish left-winger Aleksi Heponiemi, Gawdin was cemented in the heart of creating the Broncos new good times.

    The Broncos posted a 39-23-4-6 record in the 2016-17 regular season and beat the Moose Jaw Warriors in a tough seven game series in the first round of the playoffs. In the second round, the Broncos took a 3-1 series lead on the Regina Pats before the Pats rallied for three straight wins for a 4-3 series victory.

Glenn Gawdin was the WHL playoff MVP.

    Gawdin piled up 26 goals and 33 assists in 52 regular season games and six goals and five assists in 11 playoff games in that campaign.

    Fans in Swift Current treated the 2016-17 season as exciting, memorable and a high point for the team. Little did they know, Gawdin and his guys were about to take them on an even better ride.

    In 2017-18, the Broncos rose to the status of being one of the powerhouse clubs in the WHL. They finished second overall in the circuit’s regular season standings with a 48-17-5-2 record.

    Swift Current battled through a quartet of tough teams in the playoffs. The Broncos took down the Memorial Cup hosting Pats in seven games in the first round, the Moose Jaw Warriors in seven games in the second round, the Lethbridge Hurricanes in six games in the Eastern Conference Championship series and the Everett Silvertips in six games in the WHL Championship series.

    Gawdin finished second in WHL regular season scoring piling up 56 goals, 69 assists and a plus-61 rating in 67 games. In the 26 contests the Broncos played in the WHL playoffs, Gawdin netted 14 goals, 18 assists and a plus-10 rating being named the MVP of the circuit’s post-season.

    He came through in the clutch delivering eight game-winning goals in the regular season and four game-winning goals in the post-season. His signature moment came in Game 3 of the WHL Championship series netting a hat trick in a 3-2 overtime win for the Broncos over the Silvertips in Everett on May 8.

    Steenbergen and Heponiemi both had memorable campaigns playing alongside Gawdin. Steenbergen had 47 goals and 55 assists in 56 regular season games and 12 goals and 15 assists in the Broncos 26 post-season contests.

    Heponiemi finished third in WHL regular season scoring piling up 28 goals and 90 assists in 57 regular season games. In the Broncos 26 playoff games, Heponiemi had five goals and 25 assists.

Glenn Gawdin raises the Ed Chynoweth Cup.

    The trio of Gawdin, Steenbergen and Heponiemi will go down as one of the greatest lines in the history of the Broncos and the WHL.
    Away from the game, Gawdin always represented the Broncos with class out in the community and in the media.

    Broncos head coach and director of player personnel Manny Viveiros said Gawdin was a poster child for the WHL, a wonderful young man and an incredible ambassador for the league.

Truer words have never been spoken.

    Last November, Gawdin signed a three-year NHL entry-level contract with the Calgary Flames. While he has an exciting professional opportunity, Gawdin can depart from the Broncos on a dream high.

    On Saturday, the Broncos begin play at the Memorial Cup tournament in Regina taking on the QMJHL champion Acadie-Bathurst Titan (2 p.m., Brandt Centre). The Broncos won their only Memorial Cup as CHL champions back in 1989. 

    If Gawdin can have a few more special games to help the Broncos capture the Memorial Cup again, he will always be the toast of Swift Current.

Steenbergen notes bigger significance of Broncos name

Tyler Steenbergen breaks up ice for the Broncos.

    Tyler Steenbergen is proud to be a career member of the Swift Current Broncos, but he noted his club is being driven due to his club’s nickname.

    Of course, the Swift Current WHL franchise shares the same team nickname as the junior A Humboldt Broncos of the Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League.

    On April 6, the bus that was carrying the Humboldt Broncos to play a Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League playoff game in Nipawin was involved in a collision with a semi-truck just north of Tisdale. The unthinkable event resulted in the deaths of 16 players and team personnel.

    The Humboldt Broncos bus accident hits really close to home for the community of Swift Current. The Swift Current Broncos suffered through a single-vehicle team bus crash on December 30, 1986 resulting the deaths of four players. The Swift Current bus flew off the highway having hit a patch of black ice shortly after leaving town on route to a road game in Regina to play the Pats.

    Steenbergen, who is the star 19-year-old right-winger with the Swift Current Broncos, knows how many links many people in the hockey community have to those that were on the Humboldt Broncos bus that day. He realizes everyone is trying to do their part to help the Humboldt club.

    After Swift Current Broncos won the WHL Championship series on Sunday with a 3-0 win over the Everett Silvertips before a sellout crowd of 2,890 spectators at the Innovation Credit Union i-Plex in Swift Current, Steenbergen was asked what the win meant to him being a career member of the Broncos and thoughts of Humboldt’s SJHL franchise inevitably came to mind.

    “It is pretty special,” said Steenbergen, who has played four complete seasons with the Swift Current Broncos. “To hold the name as the Broncos, it is a thing we have taken huge since the (Humboldt bus) crash and everything.

    “I think moving forward we’re doing it all for them. I think a lot of teams are going to be doing that. At the end of the day, we just have to play our game and the best will come.”

A Swift Current fan displays a sign supporting two Broncos teams.

    The Swift Current club has two big links to the Humboldt club. Swift Current Broncos sales and events manager Ryan Gobeil’s younger brother, Morgan, was a Humboldt Broncos defenceman that was badly injured in the Humboldt bus crash. Ryan had Morgan’s heartbeat tattooed on his arm.

    Swift Current Broncos star overage centre Matteo Gennaro lost best friend Stephen Wack, who died in the Humboldt bus crash and was one of the team’s defencemen.

    The two Broncos teams have other eerie similarities that Steenbergen was likely not aware of. The Humboldt Broncos were born in 1970 as the junior A affiliate of the Swift Current Broncos. From that link, the Humboldt franchise gained its name and the green and gold colour scheme that used to also be worn by the Swift Current franchise.

    In the 1986-87 hockey season when the Swift Current Broncos bus crashed occurred, the Humboldt Broncos won the SJHL title, captured the Anavet Cup and played in the junior A national championship tournament at home. Humboldt fell in the Centennial Cup tournament final 5-2 to the Richmond Sockeyes from British Columbia.

    The Humboldt Broncos were the defending SJHL champions from the 1985-86 campaign.

    After the crash of the Humboldt Broncos bus this season, the Swift Current Broncos moved on to capture their first WHL title in 25 years and earn the right to play for the Memorial Cup in the CHL’s championship tournament in Regina.

    Could fate be on the side of the Swift Current Broncos? We might find out when the Memorial Cup championship game rolls around on May 27.

Henry delivers Pats to victory in Memorial Cup opener

Nick Henry scored the game-winning goal for the Pats.

    The host Regina Pats rediscovered some of their post-season magic from a year ago in Friday’s opening game of the Memorial Cup tournament.

    Locked in a 2-2 tie with the OHL champion Hamilton Bulldogs, Pats left-winger Nick Henry popped home the rebound of a shot from Czech import defenceman Libor Hajek with 32.6 seconds to play in the third period to deliver the host side to a 3-2 victory before 5,678 spectators at the Brandt Centre, which seats 6,484 spectators.

    The Bulldogs held a 1-0 lead after the first period on a goal by star centre Robert Thomas. Pats star captain Sam Steel tied things up at 1-1 just 19 seconds into the second period.

    The Bulldogs went ahead 2-1 on a snipe from right-winger Marian Studenic at the 13:14 mark of the second. Pats offensive defenceman Josh Mahura drove home a long range drive at the 15:30 mark of the second to even things up at 2-2.

    That set the stage for Henry’s winner at the end of the frame.

    Max Paddock, who is a 17-year-old rookie, made 31 stops and many of those were big ones to pick up the win in goal for the Pats. Kaden Fulcher turned away 27 shots to take the setback in goal for the Bulldogs.

    The Pats went a span of 45 days without playing a game before Friday’s contest. They last hit the ice on April 2, when they dropped a 3-2 decision in Game 7 of a best-of-seven first round WHL playoff series with the Broncos in Swift Current. The Broncos moved on to win the WHL title.

    In the 2016-17 campaign, the Pats made it to the WHL Championship series and fell 4-2 in the best-of-seven set to the Seattle Thunderbirds.

    The Memorial Cup continues on Saturday with the Broncos taking on the Acadie-Bathurst Titan at 2 p.m. at the Brandt Centre.

    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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Broncos return to WHL mountaintop is inspiring

The Broncos veteran celebrate with the Ed Chynoweth Cup.

    SWIFT CURRENT, Sask. - At some point, fans of the Swift Current Broncos likely thought they would never see their team win a championship again.

    When the Broncos claimed the WHL title on Sunday night before a sellout crowd of 2,890 spectators at the Innovation Credit Union i-Plex in Swift Current, the sight on the ice had to have felt surreal among the euphoric joy. The Broncos skated to a 3-0 victory in Game 6 of the league title series with the Everett Silvertips to take the best-of-seven set 4-2.

    It was one of those nights you wish would never end, if you were associated with the Broncos.

    Back in 2004-05, the Broncos missed the WHL playoffs posting a 22-41-6-3 record to end a streak where the franchise had made the post-season in 31 consecutive campaigns. During many points on that run of making the playoffs in consecutive years, the Broncos were often seen as one of the powerhouse clubs in major junior hockey, while playing in the smallest market of the Canadian Hockey League.

The fans at the i-Plex cheer on the Broncos.

    Since missing the post-season in 2004-05, the Broncos have been good, but they have never really been viewed as being great.

    From the 2004-05 season to the 2015-16 campaign, the Broncos won only one playoff series taking out the Regina Pats in a best-of-seven series 4-2 in 2008. Besides missing the post-season in 2004-05, the Broncos failed to make the playoffs in the 2010-11, 2011-12 and 2015-16 campaigns.

    During the time period from 2004 to 2016, it seemed like Broncos fans saw some of their best players go on to do brighter things with other clubs. In 2010-11, star forward Cody Eakin was dealt to the Kootenay Ice in a blockbuster trade.

Glenn Gawdin has been a great captain for the Broncos.

    With Eakin, the Ice won the WHL title and appeared in the Memorial Cup championship tournament to battle for the CHL title.

    In 2015-16, the Broncos dealt star forward Jake DeBrusk to the Red Deer Rebels, who were hosting that season’s Memorial Cup. DeBrusk helped the Rebels advance to the WHL’s Eastern Conference Championship series for the first time in 12 years and make an appearance in the semifinal of the Memorial Cup tourney.

    It felt like Swift Current had been given the unwelcome title of “outpost” status. From 2004 to 2016, you would often hear rumours that players didn’t want to go there because it was too much of a fishbowl.

    When players did get there, they realized the fishbowl effect did not mean the fans were hyper critical of the team and players. Like any major junior centre, criticisms do come up. What you did find was a group of fans that longed to love their team.

    If the people in Swift Current saw a Broncos player as a genuine good person, they would have your back in a serious way.

    Still, the fact that results weren’t coming on the ice was discouraging, and it was common to see crowds of around 1,800 at the i-Plex during many regular season games from 2004 to 2016.

Broncos head coach Manny Viveiros lifts the Ed Chynoweth Cup.

    In July of 2009, the Broncos hired former NHL player Mark Lamb to be the team’s head coach and general manager, and he remained with the club until June of 2016 departing for a head coach position in the American Hockey League. 

    During his years in Swift Current, Lamb made it an emphasis and did a huge amount of leg work building up the respect of the Broncos to encourage players to come to the team and encourage fans to come out to games.

    When the Broncos were on the road, Lamb and Swift Current team members developed a reputation for being one the best groups to deal with among media in other centres. That was all part of the gritty leg work that was put in towards building a good reputation for the Broncos.

    Under Lamb, the Broncos brought in current stars in captain Glenn Gawdin and right-winger Tyler Steenbergen through the WHL Bantam Draft, Russian defenceman Artyom Minulin from the CHL Import Draft and offensive defenceman Colby Sissons as a list player. Lamb also acquired gritty left-winger Kaden Elder and sound defensive defenceman Sahvan Khaira via separate trades with the Seattle Thunderbirds.

Tyler Steenbergen (#17) has been a shining star for the Broncos.

    In July of 2016, the Broncos brought Manny Viveiros on board as the team’s head coach and director of player personnel. Viveiros was remembered in WHL circles for being an extremely talented offensive-defenceman with the Prince Albert Raiders from 1982 to 1986, and he played a key part in helping the Raiders win the Memorial Cup in 1985.

    He had a lengthy career playing professionally in Europe and transitioned into being an elite level coach once his playing days concluded. The Broncos made a great out of the box move in hiring Viveiros for his first head coaching position in North America. Often in the hockey world, coaches working overseas get overlooked when positions open in North America.

Aleksi Heponiemi has come through in big moments for the Broncos.

    Viveiros took over a good foundation that was in place and brought the Broncos to another level with their play on the ice. They added left-winger Aleksi Heponiemi from Finland before the start of the 2016-17 campaign and placed him on a line with Gawdin and Steenbergen.

    Together, that trio has become one of the best lines in the history of the Broncos and one of the most memorable forward units in the history of the WHL.

    The Broncos posted a 39-23-4-6 record in 2016-17, took out the Moose Jaw Warriors in a tough seven game first round playoff series before falling to the Regina Pats in a tough second round seven game series, which Swift Current had led 3-1.

    In Game 6 of the series with the Pats, the Broncos held a 3-1 lead in the second period and Gawdin had a breakaway on Pats netminder Tyler Brown. Brown made a robbery of a save to allow the Pats to rally back and take that contest 5-3.

Mascot Charlie Horse meets the Broncos’ fans.

    Had Gawdin scored on that breakaway, it was more than likely the Broncos would have taken that contest and advanced to the WHL Eastern Conference Championship series.

    During the process of the 2016-17 campaign, the loud and raucous sellout crowds of 2,890 returned to the i-Plex on a regular basis. With a solid core of veterans set to return for the team’s training camp in August of 2017, there was optimism around the Broncos that the team could hit greater heights.

    It still seemed those types of thoughts still belonged in a dream. Getting to Game 7 of the second round was treated like a major accomplishment to be celebrated.

    Going into 2017-18, the Broncos weren’t listed in the CHL’s Top 10 rankings in the pre-season poll. They would be a staple in those ratings for the rest of the campaign.

Netminder Stuart Skinner (#74) tracks the puck during a net scramble.

    The Broncos finished second overall in the WHL’s regular season with a 48-17-5-2 record. As the WHL’s trade deadline neared, they actually loaded up to help the team make a long playoff run.

    On Nov. 25, 2017, a blockbuster trade with Calgary Hitmen brought the Broncos skilled overage centre Matteo Gennaro and gritty left-winger Beck Malenstyn. On Jan. 9 a day before the WHL’s trade deadline, the Broncos acquired skilled overage centre Giorgio Estephan, star netminder Stuart Skinner and gritty right-winger Tanner Nagel from the Lethbridge Hurricanes in another blockbuster trade.

    In Swift Current, locals would have a hard time remembering the last time the Broncos made these “all in” types of moves on the trade front.

Centre Matteo Gennaro was a big addition from Calgary for the Broncos.

    Viveiros was named the WHL’s coach of the year and Heponiemi was voted the league’s most sportsmanlike player due to the regular season the Broncos had.

    The Broncos proceeded to advance through the first two rounds of the WHL playoffs downing the Pats in a tough seven-game series in the first round and the Moose Jaw Warriors, who finished first overall in the WHL in the regular season, in a seven-game battle in the second round.

    Having made the Eastern Conference Championship series for the first time since 2001, fans in Swift Current could have likely said it was a great run, if it ended there.

Colby Sissons has been a rock on the Broncos blue-line.

    After dispatching the Hurricanes in six games in an extremely competitive conference championship tilt, the Broncos were back in the WHL Championship series since last winning it in 1993. They would face the Everett Silvertips, who finished third overall in the league at 47-20-2-3 and had a superstar in net in Carter Hart.

    At one point, it looked like the dream would end there. Everett took Game 1 in Swift Current 2-1 and held a 3-0 lead after 20 minutes in Game 2 at the i-Plex. Little anyone know, the “Miracle at the i-Plex” was about to take place.

    The Broncos scored once in the second to pull to within 3-1. They entered the ice for the start of the third period behind a rousing ovation from their home crowd.

    With Steenbergen scoring with 1:37 to play in the third, the hosts pulled even at 3-3. Estephan competed the comeback scoring at the 9:27 mark of overtime to give the Broncos a 4-3 win.

    In Game 3 in Everett, the Broncos trailed 2-1 in the third period, and Gawdin came to the rescue. He had the equalizer with 3:17 to play in the third and scored the winner at 2:40 of overtime to complete a hat trick performance in a 3-2 Broncos victory.

Artyom Minulin has helped anchor the back end for the Broncos.

    The Broncos returned to Swift Current for Game 6 holding a 3-2 lead in the series. On Sunday at the i-Plex in Game 6, the Broncos and their fans lived out a dream night that culminated in a 3-0 championship clinching victory. 

    They persevered taking the title playing a record 26 games in one WHL post-season surpassing the 25 games played by the Portland Winter Hawks in 1979 and the Medicine Hat Tigers in 1986.
    The Broncos WHL title wins this year, in 1993 and 1989 mark the last three times a Saskatchewan team has captured the league crown.

    For the Broncos fans, they had to be beside themselves watching their team skate around the i-Plex ice surface and celebrate with the Ed Chynoweth Cup. Even the most optimistic Broncos fan might have thought that sight was impossible.

    Swift Current reclaimed its place as the “title town” of the WHL. In the city “where life makes sense,” the Broncos had proven that anything is possible.

The fans of the Broncos got to see their team win a WHL title at home.

    Now the Broncos will try to win their second Memorial Cup in team history. Their only CHL title win to date came on May 13, 1989.

    On that day, the residents of Swift Current descended on Saskatoon to watch their Broncos pull out a 4-3 overtime victory over the host Blades at Saskatchewan Place in the tournament’s championship game on Tim Tisdale’s winner.

    The Broncos qualified for this year’s Memorial Cup winning the WHL crown 29 years to the day of winning major junior hockey’s biggest prize.

    This year’s Memorial Cup is about a two-and-a-half hour drive east on the Trans-Canada Highway in Regina beginning on Friday when the host Pats face the Ontario Hockey League champion Hamilton Bulldogs (8 p.m., Brandt Centre).

Athletic trainer Jamie LeBlanc, left, and his daughter enjoy the WHL title win.

    The Broncos hit the ice for their first game at that event on Saturday against the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League champion Acadie-Bathurst Titan (2 p.m., Brandt Centre).

    Broncos fans might to get see one more surreal sight, if their team lifts the Memorial Cup as CHL champions after the tournament’s title game on May 27.

    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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