Wednesday, May 20, 2009

Best Game Bar None

  • What a great game Wednesday night between Rimouski and Drummondville (3-2 Voltigeurs) to end off the round robin at the 2009 Memorial Cup. These two teams went at it in a wide open affair. Talk about entertainment! Wow. If you can say one thing about the 'Q', defense comes secondary which creates scoring chances on almost every shift. I loved it. It was the best game of the tournament on entertainment alone. No wonder the people of Quebec love the game. When it is played with little structure, or appears to look that way, it's a great game to watch.
  • What I like most about the fans here in Rimouski is how they respond to the play. Every time Drummondville iced the puck, the fans would boo. Even after Drummondville scored to make it a 1-1 game, the fans didn't let the goal damper their spirits. They made as much noise when it was scoreless and Rimouski was putting on the pressure as they did when the game was tied.
  • The crowd was into this game before the puck was even dropped. The reason? It may have had something to do with Vincent Lecavalier and Brad Richards being apart of the pre-game ceremonies. The two NHL'ers were gracious enough to return to the Colisee where their junior careers began.
  • I thought Gord McGarva said it best when describing the puck hitting the end boards at the Colisee after missing the net. "It sounds like a shot gun going off when the puck hits the boards".
  • I find it interesting that the music played in the Colisee does not have to be rock and roll to get the crowd into the game. If you can clap to the music, you've accomplished the goal. Most of the music played in the building is 'clap worthy' and few spectators fail to participate.
  • I will admit the use of air horns in the building is a little annoying though. I can't imagine being a season ticket holder and having the dude sitting next to me blasting his brains out (and mine) with his air horn for 36 home games.
  • Everyone is still talking about the shot blocking clinic put on by Rockets forward Cody Almond Tuesday night. One QMJHL GM suggested to me it's that type of shot blocking that will get a player like that drafted. When I told him Almond was selected by Minnesota, and was already signed, he said "I can see why".
  • How did the Kelowna Rockets spend the day off. They stayed away from the rink and went on a local zip line. A zip line consists of a pulley suspended on a cable mounted on an incline. It is designed to enable a user propelled by gravity to traverse from the top to the bottom of the inclined cable, usually made of stainless steel, by holding on or attaching to the freely moving pulley.
  • I would compare this years edition of the Kelowna Rockets much like of a thoroughbred race horse who at times doesn't like to run. It has the capability of winning races, but only on it's own terms. The jockey (the coaches) can use a riding whip to spur them on, but it's ultimately up to the horse to expend the energy necessary to reach the finish line with the opposition in its wake. The thoroughbred (Rockets) will have to run the race of it's life Sunday in order to finish the race in first place.
  • Prior to the game I ran into Jeff Cristall, the chairman of the 2010 Memorial Cup in Brandon. Cristall was flanked by Brandon police services inspector Ian Grant and Wheat Kings director of marketing Rick Dillabaugh. All three are here to check out how the Memorial Cup tournament is running in Rimouski, and would look to only add to the event when it makes it's way West next season.
  • Kyle St. Denis' mom and dad took in Tuesday night's game at the Colisee while celebrating their 25th wedding anniversary. The couple's son did his best to treat his parents special on the day by being named the games second star.
  • The 50/50 draw here in Rimouski is capped at 1 thousand dollars. No matter how many tickets are sold, the pot never changes. That's a far cry from the 19 thousand dollars that was up for grabs in the 50/50 back in the 2004 Memorial Cup final in Kelowna.
  • The Oceanic mascot's name is 'Louky'. The guy wearing that suit is going to be about 50 pounds lighter once the Memorial Cup is through. I've seen energetic mascots, but this dude doesn't stop.

5 comments:

g.k said...

Great blog again Regan, we really enjoy all the info & pics you send on a daily basis, makes us kinda feel part of it all!! My wife agrees also. Now can you explain how the tie-breaker works, the Rockets have a 2-1 record as well as Drummondville but we get the bye to the final due to us beating them, correct?? Now Rimouski & Windsor are 1-2 after the round robin, shouldn't Rimouski get the bye to the semi-final since they beat Windsor?? If they are using a head to head format for the final why would they not use the same format for the semi.

Boondocker said...

Regan your right, that was a fantastic game. Not only wide open but hard hitting. Sure is good for the Rockets to see these teams beat on each other. Other than zip lines, what other things do the guys do during this wait? I assume a lot of attention is being paid to their bumps and bruises and of course studying their opponents.

Wow, even as a fan with great confidence, its hard to believe that it's now down to 1 game. Bring on Mr Hyde!

Regan Bartel said...

Yes, the Rockets go to the final because they beat Drummondville and Rimouski. The Rockets were 2 and 1 of course in the round robin (as was Drummondville) while two teams (Rimouski and Windsor)had records of 1 and 2. Because the Rockets beat Drummondville in the round robin, we get the birth to the final
So a tie breaker is needed today to see who will face Drummondville in the semi finals.

g.k said...

Thanks Regan but I still don't get why if Rimouski & Windsor have the same record & Rimouski beat Windsor, shouldn't they get the bye to the semi's, same scenario as us & Drummondville. Sorry I'm having a hard time with this format.

Regan Bartel said...

You can not be eliminated from the tourney based on round robin play if you finish with the same number of wins.
Rimouski and Windsor were both 1 and 2. They must play a game against each other (tie breaker) to decide who faces Drummondville.

Here is the tie breaker from the CHL media guide:

The Memorial Cup is a single round-robin format tournament
among four competing teams for a total of six games. The
following formula is used to decide a tie in the standings at the
conclusion of the round-robin schedule of games.
1. If two teams tie for the final playoff position, at the
conclusion of the single round robin series of games, a
sudden death game between the two tied teams shall be
played with the winner to advance to the semi-final
game. The home team in the sudden-death game shall
be the team that won the round robin game between
the two teams.
a. In the event three teams should tie for the final playoff
place position, at the conclusion of the single round
robin series of games, the game each team played
against the first place team shall be removed from
their records. The tie breaking formula shall be as
follows: Add each team’s goals for with their goals
against which sum you divide into such team’s goals
for. The team with the highest percentage gains the
higher position in the standings and an automatic
berth as home team in the semi-final game. The
2009 MASTERCARD
MEMORIAL CUP
Playoff Formula
2.
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remaining two teams shall play a sudden-death game
with the winner to advance to the semi-final game.
The home team in the sudden-death game will be the
team that won the round robin game between the
two teams.
b. In the event that after using the above mathematical
exercise all three teams should still remain tied, the
game each team played against the first place team
shall be added to their records.The same formula from
2(a) will be applied to finalize the rankings of the
three teams.
3. In the event that two teams shall tie for a playoff
position, other than the final playoff spot, the game
between the two teams in the round robin shall
determine the higher ranked team.
a. In the event three teams should tie for first place at
the conclusion of the single round robin series of
games, the game each team played against the fourth
place team shall be removed from their records.The tie
breaking formula shall be as follows:Add each team’s
goals for with their goals against which sum you
divide into such team’s goals for. The team with the
highest percentage gains the higher ranking in the
standings and an automatic berth as home team in
4.
the Memorial Cup Championship game. The remaining
two teams shall play in the semi-final game. The
home team in the semi-final game will be the team
that won the round robin game between the two
teams.
b. In the event that after using the above mathematical
exercise all three teams should still remain tied for first
place, the game each team played against the fourth
team shall be added to their records.The same formula
as in 4(a) will be applied to finalize the rankings of the
three teams.
5. In all cases the higher ranked team shall be the home
team.
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