Memorial Cup Preview

Being a huge hockey fan and living in Red Deer, Alberta means I am extremely pumped that the Memorial Cup is being held here. It has been 42 years since the Memorial Cup was hosted in the province of Alberta and yesterday the trophy arrived in Red Deer via the Canadian Military. The trophy was flown in by two CH146 Griffon helicopters and then paraded by armoured military vehicles to a ceremony held downtown.

The Memorial Cup was proposed by Captain James T. Sutherland during World War I, who wanted to create a trophy as a memorial to remember the OHA's players who died during the war. When the trophy was created, it was dedicated in honour of the soldiers who died fighting for Canada in the war. It was rededicated during the 2010 tournament to honour all soldiers who died fighting for Canada in any conflict. (Wikipedia)

The hockey tournament itself will feature the host team Red Deer Rebels of the Western Hockey League, the Western Hockey League Champion Brandon Wheat Kings, the Ontario Hockey League Champion London Knights, and the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League Champion Rouyn-Noranda Huskies.

The four teams will play a round-robin schedule where they play each other once. Then a tie-breaker game will be played, if necessary, followed by the semi-final and concluding with the Championship game on Sunday, May 29th.

Red Deer Rebels
MasterCard Memorial Cup History
Appearances: 2nd (2001)
Last appearance: 2001
All-time record: 3 wins, 1 loss / 17 GF, 16 GA
Best result: 2001 Champions

Brandon Wheat Kings
MasterCard Memorial Cup History
Appearances: 5th* (1979, ‘95, ‘96, ‘10, ‘16)
Last appearance: 2010
All-time record: 7 wins, 11 losses / 57 GF, 71 GA
Best result: Finalists in 1979 and 2010*
* – since introduction of round robin format in 1972

London Knights
MasterCard Memorial Cup History
Appearances: 5th (2005, ‘12, ‘13, ‘14, ‘16)
Last appearance: 2014
All-time record: 8 wins, 8 losses / 48 GF, 52 GA
Best result: 2005 Champions

Rouyn-Noranda Huskies
MasterCard Memorial Cup History
Appearances: 1st MasterCard Memorial Cup appearance

2016 MasterCard Memorial Cup Schedule
Round-Robin Game 1 – London Knights vs. Red Deer Rebels on Fri. May 20 at 6:00 pm
Round-Robin Game 2 – Brandon Wheat Kings vs. Rouyn-Noranda Huskies on Sat. May 21 at 5:00 pm
Round-Robin Game 3 – Red Deer Rebels vs. Rouyn-Noranda Huskies on Sun. May 22 at 5:00 pm
Round-Robin Game 4 – Brandon Wheat Kings vs. London Knights on Mon. May 23 at 6:00 pm
Round-Robin Game 5 – Rouyn-Noranda Huskies vs. London Knights on Tues. May 24 at 8:00 pm
Round-Robin Game 6 – Red Deer Rebels vs. Brandon Wheat Kings on Wed. May 25 at 6:00 pm
Tie-Breaker (if necessary) – Thurs. May 26 at 6:00 pm
Semi-Final – Fri. May 27 at 6:00 pm
Championship Final – Sun. May 29 at 2:30 pm
All nine games of the championship will be broadcast live on Sportsnet and TVA Sports 2.

(Source: Memorial Cup website)

by BizzleJ