Tough Ending To A Great Season

• The Kelowna Rockets season came to an end 247 days after it started. The Windsor Spitfires scored three times on the first three shots they took, in a 4-1 win Sunday afternoon at the 2009 Memorial Cup. The Spitfires are Memorial Cup champions for the first time in franchise history.
• Ryan Huska is now 4 and 1 in Memorial Cup finals. The Rockets head coach was 4 and 0 as a player/ assistant coach before Sunday's setback.
• It's easy to look at Mark Guggenberger and use him as the reason the Rockets fell victim to the Spitifires. Guggenberger allowed three goals on three shots before being yanked, but the Rockets still had 53 minutes to get back in the game.
• As one observer told me, it was a 1-1 tie for the final 53 minutes of the game.
• The bright spot in a tough effort was the play of back up goaltender Adam Brown. Brown made 24 of 25 saves in a relief appearance after coming into the game for Mark Guggenberger. Brown, who hadn't played since mid March, made several big saves to give his team a chance to get back in the game.
• I thought Colin Long's goal 8 seconds into the second period would have given the Rockets the lift they needed, but on this night it was tough to create quality offensive chances.
• The game saw the junior careers of no less than nine Rockets. Ian Duval, Ryley Grantham and Tysen Dowzak graduate from the league while Mikeal Backlund, Jamie Benn, Colin Long, Cody Almond, Tyler Myers are expected to move on to the pro level.
• How banged up were the Rockets? Head coach Ryan Huska told us on the post game show that forward Lucas Bloodoff underwent knee surgery before the start of the playoffs. Huska said defenceman Collin Bowman was playing with a second degree separation of his shoulder while goaltender Mark Guggenberger had played the last two months with a pulled groin.
• It was good to see Kyle Verdino see his first action of the tournament late in the third period of the championship game. Verdino dressed for every game, but saw little action throughout the tournament as Myers, Barrie, McMillan, Bowman and Dowzak ate up most of the minutes.
• I will admit I was a little turned off by the reaction of the crowd at the Colisee over the booing every time the Rockets touched the puck. The booing was the result of the fans belief that the Rockets threw Tuesday's game against the Spitfires when they had a chance to eliminate them from the tournament. Essentially it looked like the fans are blaming the Rockets for the demise of both Rimouski and Drummondville. Windsor would beat Rimouski in the tie breaker before eliminating Drummondville in the semi finals. To say the Rockets threw the game is laughable.
• Despite Sunday's loss, it's hard to take a negative look at the 2008-2009 season. The playoff run this team had this season could only challenge the playoff run of 2005, when the Rockets won the WHL title.
• Was this referee Chris Savage's final game in junior hockey? I hope not. Savage received the honour of refereeing Sunday's final. Savage also called the final at the 2004 Memorial Cup in Kelowna. Savage is a good bet to referee at the upcoming Winter Olympics.
• See ya back in Kelowna at around 5 o'clock Monday afternoon.