You may be aware that the CHL, which is celebrating 100 years of the Memorial Cup, has provided a site where you are able to learn about the first 99 championships.
If you haven’t already, click right here and give it a look. I guarantee that it will be well worth your time.
As part of this, the CHL ran a promotion aimed at selecting the Team of the Century. The 
other day, it revealed the four finalists — the 1995 Kamloops Blazers, 2000 Rimouski Oceanic, 2005 London Knights and 2013 Halifax Mooseheads.
For what it’s worth, my top four, in order, would be the 1969 Montreal Jr. Canadiens, 1974 Regina Pats, 1973 Toronto Marlboros and 1978 New Westminster Bruins.
To take it one step further, here are five Memorial Cup matchups I would pay to see, if only they were possible:
1969 Montreal Jr. Canadiens vs. 1978 New Westminster Bruins — With the likes of Guy Charron, Bobby Guindon, Norm Gratton, Rejean Houle, Bobby Lalonde, Richard Martin, Gilbert Perreault and Marc Tardif among the forwards on the roster, the Jr. Canadiens would be my selection as the Team of the Century. They swept the Regina Pats in the best-of-seven final in 1969, winning twice in the Montreal Forum and twice in Regina’s Exhibition Stadium. . . . Ernie (Punch) McLean’s Bruins won the 1977 Memorial Cup in Vancouver’s Pacific Coliseum, beating the Ottawa 67’s, 6-5, in the final of the three-team round-robin tournament. The big, bad and burly Bruins’ roster included Barry Beck and Brad Maxwell on the back end and it would be a lot of fun watching McLean’s gang try to corral the Jr. Canadiens’ high-flying forwards.
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1974 Regina Pats vs. 1973 Toronto Marlboros — The Pats were led by F Dennis Sobchuk, who was one of the all-time great junior players; F Clark Gillies, a true power forward who went on to a terrific career with the NHL’s New York Islanders; D Greg Joly, who was selected first overall by the Washington Capitals in the 1974 NHL draft; and G Ed Staniowski, who would be named the CHL’s player of the year the following season. The Pats’ head coach was Bob Turner, who as a defenceman had been part of five straight Stanley Cup winners with the Montreal Canadiens. . . . The Marlboros featured the Howe brothers, Mark and Marty, along with the likes of Paulin Bordeleau, Bruce Boudreau, Wayne Dillon, and goaltender Mike Palmateer. Toronto could score, as it proved in a 9-1 victory over the Quebec Remparts in the three-team tournament’s championship game. . . . The Pats were a high-powered squad with a lot of toughness and great goaltending. This would have been a terrific series.
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1952 Guelph Biltmore Mad Hatters vs. 1983 Portland Winter Hawks — To those of a certain generation, the Mad Hatters’ roster contained a number of magical names, such as Andy Bathgate, Lou Fontinato, Aldo (Bep) Guidolin, Harry Howell, Bill McCreary, Ron Murphy, Dean Prentice and Ron Stewart. Ohh, the memories! Yes, they could score, witness a four-game sweep of the Regina Pats in a final in which the victors held a 30-8 edge in goals. . . . These Winter Hawks were the first American team to win the Memorial Cup. They lost the WHL final to the Lethbridge Broncos, but then became the first host team to win it all in what was the first four-team tournament. Featuring the likes of Randy Heath, Ken Yaremchuk, Grant Sasser, Cam Neely and Alfie Turcotte, the Winter Hawks could wheel and deal. . . . A seven-game series between these teams might produce seven 10-9 scores.
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1989 Swift Current Broncos vs. 1995 Kamloops Blazers — The Broncos may have had the best power-play in the history of the junior game. Although they had tough guy Mark McFarlane on the bench, it was the PP that intimidated the opposition. With Dan Lambert, Darren Kruger and Bob Wilkie running it from the blue line, players like Kimbi Daniels, Peter Kasowski, Sheldon Kennedy, Brian Sakic, Peter Soberlak and Tim Tisdale, who has never had to buy lunch in Swift Current after he scored the OT goal in the championship game, wreaked havoc on opposing goaltenders. When you think about what some of these players went through, from a bus accident two years earlier that claimed the lives of four teammates to the sexual abuse heaped on some of them by Graham James, their coach, this championship is even more spectacular. . . . The Blazers were the host team for the four-team tournament, but went in through the front door as WHL champions. They then won the franchise’s third title in four-year period. This may have been the best of the three championship teams, boasting the likes of Nolan Baumgartner, Shane Doan, Hnat Domenichelli, Ryan Huska, Jason Holland, Jarome Iginla, Aaron Keller, Brad Lukowich, Tyson Nash, Darcy Tucker and Randy Petruk. They whipped the Detroit Jr. Red Wings, 8-2, in the final.
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1985 Prince Albert Raiders vs. 1966 Edmonton Oil Kings — Under head coach Terry Simpson, the Raiders were one of those teams that could play it any which way the opposition wanted. They had Ken Baumgartner and Dave Manson to keep the other guys honest. Dan Hodgson, one of the junior game’s greatest talents, keyed the offence, with help from snipers Pat Elynuik, Tony Grenier, Ken Morrison and Dave Pasin, and defenceman Emanuel Viveiros. . . . The Oil Kings, meanwhile, were in the Memorial Cup final for a seventh straight season. Led by defenceman Al Hamilton, they beat Bobby Orr’s Oshawa Generals in a six-game final in Maple Leaf Gardens. Unfortunately, the talented defenceman didn’t play a lot thanks to a groin injury that he apparently suffered in practice a week before the final series. In those days, teams were allowed to add players from elsewhere, and the Oil Kings brought in Jim Harrison, Ted Hodgson and Ross Lonsberry from the Estevan Bruins, all of whom contributed to the championship.
There you have it, for whatever it’s worth. Discuss among yourselves.
told media after speaking to shareholders on May 4, 2015. “But we think, when you look at the franchise moving forward, that private interests would be in the best interest of the club.”
these playoffs, in what was their 30th season, the Americans’ average announced attendance was 3,053. 
of-seven Eastern Conference final, 4-2. . . . The Hurricanes went into the game with an 8-0 record at home in these playoffs. They also had scored at least five goals in seven of those victories. . . . The Broncos now are 5-5 on the road. . . . Last night, the Broncos erased a 1-0 deficit with three second-period goals in a span of 96 seconds. F Matteo Gennaro tied it 1-1 at 6:33; F Alexi Heponiemi made it 2-1 at 7:02 and F Beck Malenstyn upped it to 3-1 at 8:09. . . . Former Hurricanes captain Giorgio Estephan gave Lethbridge fans something to remember him by with a PP goal for a 4-1 lead at 2:12 of the third period. . . . Broncos G Stuart Skinner finished with 33 saves, 19 of them in the first period when his guys were outshot, 20-2.
reached the championship final in 2004, its first season in the WHL, when it was swept by the Medicine Hat Tigers. . . . D Kevin Davis (3) won it with his second goal of the game, at 5:58 of OT. Davis, who turned 21 on March 14, was playing in his 401st game with the Silvertips — 347 regular-season games and 54 in the playoffs. Yes, he went into the game with two goals in his previous 53 playoff games. . . . Everett is 7-0 on the road in these playoffs. . . . Tri-City had trailed 2-1 before scoring four straight goals, the last one, by F Jordan Topping (4) at 8:52 of the third period. . . . F Connor Dewar (9) started the Everett comeback at 9:52. Davis (2) pulled his guys to within one at 13:53, and F Garrett Pilon (11) tied it at 14:29. . . . Pilon had left the game at 17:30 of the first period after taking a hit from behind from Tri-City F Michael Rasmussen. However, Pilon returned for the second period. . . . Tri-City D Juuso Valimaki, who had two goals in a 5-2 victory in Game 5 on Saturday, had four assists in Game 6 as he figured in each of his club’s first four scores. . . . G Carter Hart stopped 18 shots for Everett. . . . Tri-City G Patrick Dea made 31 saves, 18 of them in the first period when his guys were outshot 20-4. . . . Announced attendance was 3,033.
in Lethbridge on Wednesday night, answered the hooters with two goals and an assist on Saturday, leading the host Swift Current Broncos to a 4-3 victory over the Hurricanes. . . . The Broncos lead the WHL’s best-of-seven Eastern Conference final, 3-2, and have an opportunity to end it in Lethbridge on Monday when you have to think Estephan and G Stuart Skinner will again be given a huge raspberry welcome by the fans there. . . . Skinner stopped 27 shots in Game 5. . . . He and Estephan were veteran Hurricanes when they were traded to the Broncos in January. . . . Estephan, with 10 goals in these playoffs, gave his guys a 2-1 lead, on a PP, at 19:12 of the second period, then made it 4-2 at 6:41 of the third period. . . . The Hurricanes got to within a goal when D Egor Zudilov (1) scored, on a PP, at 18:59, with G Logan Flodell on the bench for an extra attacker. . . . The Broncos had D Artyom Minulin and F Glenn Gawdin, their captain, back for this one. Minulin left Game 1 with an undisclosed injury, while Gawdin was injured in Game 2. . . . Minulin and Gawdin each had one assist last night. . . . F Brad Morrison scored once for Lethbridge, giving him a WHL-leading 37 points. He has tied the franchise record for points in one playoff season that was set by F Wes Walz in 1990.
over the Silvertips on Saturday night. . . . Everett leads the WHL’s best-of-seven Western Conference final, 3-2, and gets a second chance to wrap it up when they play Monday in Kennewick, Wash. . . . Everett F Connor Dewar (7) tied a WHL playoff record when he scored seven seconds into the game. He now shares the mark with F Trevor Linden of the Medicine Hat Tigers. He did it on April 15, 1988, as the Tigers beat the host Saskatoon Blades, 6-5. If you are wondering, the regular-season record of five seconds was set by F Dean Sexsmith of the Seattle Thunderbirds on Jan. 30, 1987, in a 7-6 victory over the visiting Victoria Cougars. . . . On Saturday, Valimaki, who has four goals, tied it at 2:29 of the second period, then gave his guys a 4-1 lead at 5:23 of the third. . . . The Americans got 35 saves from G Patrick Dea. . . . The Silvertips were without Slovkian F Martin Fasko-Rudas, who left Game 4 with an undisclosed injury. With Fasko-Rudas out, F Dawson Butt got into the lineup.
shots to help the MJHL-champion Pistons to a 3-1 victory over the SJHL-champion Nipawin Hawks on Saturday night. . . . The best-of-seven ANAVET Cup series is tied, 1-1, with the next three games scheduled for Nipawin on Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday nights. . . . Last night, Nipawin took a 1-0 lead on a goal from F Logan Casavant. F Brandan Arnold drew the primary assist. Nipawin scored five goals in the first two games; Arnold has three goals and two assists. . . . Steinbach F Austin Heidemann tied it, on a PP, at 4:06 of the third period. . . . Purtill broke the tie at 10:32, then added insurance, on a PP, at 13:44. . . . Announced attendance was 1,165.
a 3-0 victory over the AJHL-champion Spruce Grove Saints. . . . The Wild leads the best-of-seven Doyle Cup series, 2-0, with the remainder of the series scheduled to be played in Spruce Grove starting with games on Tuesday and Wednesday. If necessary, they’ll also play Thursday, Friday and Saturday. . . . Last night, F August Von Ungern gave the Wild a 1-0 lead at 11:29 of the third period. . . . The home team later added a pair of empty-netters, from F Jasper Weatherby and F A.J. Vanderbeck. . . . The announced attendance was 2,835.
far the most, comes in the first round and sometimes in the second round, with the interest and, usually, the quality of play deteriorating steadily until the Stanley Cup is ultimately decided. What would be the climax in any other sport becomes, at best, duty to those hockey fans without a city in the final. Television numbers might still be up, but there is a profound difference between background sound and passionate cheering.”
to a 3-1 victory over the Tri-City Americans. . . . The result left the Silvertips with a 3-1 lead in the WHL’s best-of-seven Western Conference final, with Game 5 scheduled for Everett tonight (Saturday). . . . The Silvertips took a 2-0 second-period lead on goals from F Riley Sutter (6) and F Reece Vitelli (4), and never looked back. . . . Vitelli, who scored twice in 70 regular-season games, has four goals in 14 playoff games. . . . 
Eaters. He replaces Cam Keith, who was fired on April 9 after two seasons on the job and despite having gotten the Smokies into the Interior Division final, where they lost in five games to the eventual-champion Wenatchee Wild. . . . From Port Moody, B.C., Tambellini played two seasons with the BCHL’s Chilliwack Chiefs, during which he was named junior A player of the year in 2001-02. He played at the U of Michigan for three seasons before going on to a pro career that included 242 NHL games and finished in Europe. . . . He spent this season, his first after retiring as a player, as an assistant coach at the U of Michigan. . . . Tambellini’s father, Steve, is from Trail, while Steve’s father, Addie, played for the 1960-61 Smoke Eaters, the last amateur team from Canada to win the IIHF world championship.
Conference final is 2-2 and on its way back to Swift Current for Game 5 on Saturday night. They’ll return to Lethbridge for Game 6 on Monday. . . . Last night, the Hurricanes took a 3-1 lead into the second period and went from there. They got two goals from D Calen Addison and two assists from each of F Brad Morrison and F Jordy Bellerive. . . . Morrison leads all playoff skaters with 21 assists and 36 points. . . . Lethbridge got 25 stops from G Logan Flodell, while Stuart Skinner made 23 saves for the Broncos. . . . The Hurricanes were 4-10 on the PP; the Broncos were 0-7. . . . The Broncos played a second straight game without D Artyom Minulin and F Glenn Gawdin, their captain. Minulin left in Game 1 with an undisclosed injury; Gawdin was hurt in Game 2. . . . “We’ve got to remember how we looked tonight,” Broncos head coach Manny Viveiros told Shawn Mullin, their radio voice. “As a team I thought we embarrassed ourselves tonight. That’s not who we are. . . . It’s still 2-2. But tonight I’m not happy with how we presented ourselves.”
beat the Estevan Bruins, 2-1, in Game of the SJHL final for the Canalta Cup. . . . The Hawks last won the SJHL title in 1990. . . . D Carter Doerksen, the team captain, had given Nipawin a 1-0 lead with his first goal of these playoffs, at 14:47 of the first period. . . . F Jake Fletcher pulled Estevan even with his 11th goal, at 12:53 of the second period. . . . McDougall’s sixth goal, on a PP, stood up as the winner. . . . McDougall also had an assist on Doerksen’s goal. . . . Nipawin G Declan Hobbs stopped 26 shots, six fewer than Estevan’s Bo Didur. . . . The Hawks will meet the MJHL-champion Steinbach Pistons for the ANAVET Cup, with that best-of-seven series opening with games in Steinbach on Friday and Saturday nights.
Eastern Conference final. . . . The Broncos hold a 2-1 edge in the series, with Game 4 in Lethbridge tonight. . . . Morrison broke a 1-1 tie with a PP goal at 17:59 of the second period. . . . He upped the lead to 4-1 at 11:35 of the third period and completed the hat trick with an empty-net goal at 16:12. . . . F Dylan Cozens added two goals for Lethbridge. . . . Morrison leads all playoff scorers with 34 points, five more than F Michael Rasmussen of the Tri-City Americans. . . . With 15 goals, Morrison trails only Tri-City’s Morgan Geekie (16). Morrison’s 19 assists are second only to F Aleksi Heponiemi of the Broncos, who has 20. . . . With 15 goals, Morrison now holds the Hurricanes’ record for one playoff year. He broke the record (14) that had been held since 1990 by F Kelly Ens. . . . With 34 points, Morrison is three shy of the club record held by F Wes Walz, who put up 37 points in 1990. . . . At 7-0, Lethbridge is the only team still unbeaten on home ice. . . . The Broncos were without D Artyom Minulin, who left Game 1 with an undisclosed injury, and F Glenn Gawdin, who was injured in Game 2. . . . These teams will play Game 5 in Swift Current on Saturday night. . . . The Everett Silvertips hold a 2-1 edge over the Tri-City Americans in the Western Conference final. That series will continue in Kennewick, Wash., on Thursday night.
manager, told Cleve Dheensaw of the Victoria Times Colonist late last week.
an announced crowd of 3,268 in Game 3 of the WHL’s best-of-seven Western Conference final. . . . Everett leads the series, 2-1. . . . The visitors got three goals from F Patrick Bajkov, who snapped the 4-4 tie at 6:54 of the third period, then made it 6-4 at 9:21. . . . The Americans had tied the score 4-4 on third-period goals from F Isaac Johnson, at 0:47, and F Michael Rasmussen, at 1:45. . . . Tri-City scored its first two goals via the PP and now is 17-33 with the man advantage through 11 playoff games. . . . Things got a bit heated early in the third period with the head coaches — Everett’s Dennis Williams and Tri-City’s Mike Williamson — exchanging greetings at the benches. . . . The series won’t resume until Thursday because Kennewick’s Toyota Center is playing host to Dirty Dancing: The Classic Story Onstage on Wednesday night. . . . 
Canalta Cup. The best-of-seven series is 3-3 and will be decided Tuesday night in Nipawin. Game time is 7:30 p.m. . . . That, considering all that has transpired over the past two-plus weeks, is the only way this could end, isn’t it? . . . F Jake Fletcher, the Bruins’ captain, had a goal, his 10th of the playoffs, and two assists. Fletcher has 20 points, one behind playoff co-leaders Kaelan Holt of Estevan, who is the son of former Swift Current Broncos star Todd Holt, and Nipawin’s Brandan Arnold. Kaelan Holt had two assists on Sunday. . . . Rob Vanstone of the Regina Leader-Post was in Estevan and did up this piece 
Prospera Place, officially is in the bidding to play host to the 2020 Memorial Cup.
The Kamloops Blazers announced on Nov. 9 that they will be in the chase, while the Victoria Royals also are expected to bid.
skating to a 3-2 victory over the Lethbridge Hurricanes, and the Everett Silvertips getting past the visiting Tri-City Americans, also 3-2. . . . Game 2 in each series will be played in the same venue tonight. . . . When this season began, who had those four teams in the conference finals? . . . In Swift Current, G Stuart Skinner stopped 38 shots and F Aleksi Heponiemi broke a 2-2 tie at 11:11 of the third period. In 29 career playoff games, he has one goal and 27 assists. . . . Artyom Minulin didn’t finish the game for the Broncos, but head coach Manny Viveiros told Shawn Mullin, the team’s radio voice, that the third-year Russian defenceman has “a touch of the flu.” . . . In Everett, G Carter Hart stopped 24 shots and F Garrett Pilon scored twice for the Silvertips. . . . F Morgan Geekie had one of the Americans’ goals, meaning he has at least one goal in each of the club’s nine playoff games this season. Tri-City went into the game with an 8-0 record in these playoffs. . . . Everett now has won five straight games.
expire. He took a three-year sabbatical from the U of Alberta Golden Bears — he had been their head coach — to sign with the Oilers. Jim Matheson of the Edmonton Journal reports right here that Herbers, should his deal with the Oilers not be renewed, could be headed back to the Golden Bears. . . . Matheson also reports that Serge Lajoie, who replaced Herbers at the U of A, “has interviewed for the vacant (head-coaching) job with the WHL’s Saskatoon Blades, which sounds like he’s being proactive (in case) Herbers moves back to the Bears.” . . . The Blades are looking for a head coach after firing Dean Brockman at the end of the regular season.
TAKING NOTE 