'Big Benn' Deafens Drummondville

• Jamie Benn said it was his best game ever, and I am not about to argue with him. Everything the 19 year-old forward touched Monday night at the Memorial Cup turned into a goal. Benn registered five shots on goal and scored four times in the Rockets 6-4 win over Drummondville. The win volts the Rockets into the Memorial Cup final for the first time since 2004.
• When Benn puts his mind to it, he is one of the best forward in the Canadian Hockey League. His breakaway speed on a shorthanded goal to open the scoring put the theory to rest that he has a hard time accelerating. If Benn smells a goal on his stick, he can definitely put it into high gear in a hurry.
• How good is Jamie Benn? Of the ten goals the Rockets have scored in the Memorial Cup, eight have been created by the Victoria BC resident. Benn has 5 goals and 3 assists in the tournament.
• Benn's 8 points in the Memorial Cup sets a new Rockets franchise record. Jesse Schultz had the previous mark with 1+4=5 in the 2003 tournament in Quebec City.
• The Rockets showed some character by battling back in this one. The Rockets moved to within a goal of Drummondville three seperate times. The Rockets were down 2-1 and tied it, 3-2 and rallied back to tie and also trailed 4-3 at one point in the third period before Benn would score a power play goal to tie the game at four.
• Benn and Cody Almond each led the Rockets with five shots apiece. Almond had two goals.
• The nicest goal of the night came on a three way passing play between Tyler Myers, Colin Long and Jamie Benn. Three quick passes and the game was tied at 3.
• I liked the hustle from captain Colin Long. He was often out muscled off the puck in the WHL playoffs, but has now regained his form at the Memorial Cup by handling the puck and not wanting to give it back.
• Brandon Wheat Kings GM Kelly McCrimmon took in Monday's game. McCrimmon and his Memorial Cup committee are gathering in Rimouski in the hopes of gathering valuable information to put on a spectacular event when the tournament is hosted in Brandon in 2010.
• The Rockets close out the round robin today (Tuesday) when they host the most desperate team at the Memorial Cup. The Rockets face winless Windsor. The Ontario Hockey League champs are a surprising 0 and 2. A loss by the Spitfires sends them packing for the summer.
• A birth in the Memorial Cup final provides Lucas and Evan Bloodoff with the luxury few brothers have been able to enjoy. It's not often two brothers, as teammates, can potentially share in a Memorial Cup victory. The last time two brothers on the same team won a national title was when Trevor and Darren Kruger captured the Memorial Cup with the Swift Current Broncos in 1989.
• Rockets defenceman Collin Bowman can also accomplish something his brother did last season in Spokane. Drayson Bowman, Collin's older brother, won the title last season with the Chiefs.