Spokane breaks records and trophy
Michael McCammon
Communicator

The Spokane Chiefs won their first Memorial Cup since 1991 by beating the Kitchener Rangers 4-1.

The seven-day tournament held in Kitchener, ON, showcased four teams from the three major Canadian Hockey League conferences in a round robin format. A representative from the Western Hockey league, Ontario Hockey League, Quebec Major Junior Hockey League and the host team are the four teams involved.

Spokane, the WHL representative started the tournament with a high scoring 5-4 victory over the Ontario Hockey League’s western division champion Belleville Bulls.

“We have played like a team all year,” said 20-year-old team captain Chris Bruton during the victory rally. “We have goal scorers and shot stoppers but everyone sacrifices their own stats for the team.”

Bruton is one of three 20-year-old players for the Chiefs. CHL rules stipulate that a player over that age can no longer compete in junior hockey.

The most expected game of the round robin was the first Spokane vs. Kitchener match.

Reminiscent of games played in the Chiefs tough seven game series against the Tri-Cities Americans, the Chiefs defeated Kitchener 2-1.

Already guaranteed a spot in the tournament final, Spokane beat the struggling Gatineau Olympiques of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League 3-1, eliminating Gatineau from championship contention. With the win, the Chiefs became the first WHL team this decade to go 3-0 in the round robin section of the tournament.

After a 9-0 blowout of Belleville, Kitchener was set to play the Chiefs in the 2008 MasterCard Memorial Cup final.

“Kitchener is a very tough team,” said Spokane head coach Bill Peters. “We can’t deviate from our game plan, if we play how we know to, we can win.”

An early Kitchener goal was soon answered by Spokane, as 20-year-old Judd Blackwater scored at the 16:24 mark of the first period on a Chief power play.

Scoring again in the second and the third periods, the chiefs left Kitchener with the Memorial Cup.

Accumulating 53 saves in the game, Spokane goaltender Dustin Tokarski was named the tournament MVP.

Following the game, the memorial cup was presented to Bruton, who in an unexpected accident, broke the cup in half.

“I don’t know what happened,,” Bruton said. “I was just handing the trophy off to (Trevor) Glass and it broke. I think he is bad luck.”

The Chiefs were welcomed home with a fan rally at the Spokane Arena on May 26.

“We don’t have the best fans in the WHL or even the CHL, but we do have the best fans in all of junior hockey,” Peters Said.

The Chiefs will take the next three months off before starting their quest to retain the cup with training camp in August.

“Lets do it again next year.” Bruton said.

You can contact the writer at staffwriter@spokanefalls.edu