The 2008 Memorial Cup was played in May 2008 in Kitchener, Ontario at the Memorial Auditorium. It was the 90th annual Memorial Cup competition and determined the major junior ice hockey champion of the Canadian Hockey League (CHL). Kitchener defeated competing bids from Oshawa, Saginaw, London, Sarnia and Kingston to host the Memorial Cup, with the official announcement being made on May 10, 2007. The tournament was competed between the WHL champion Spokane Chiefs, the QMJHL champion Gatineau Olympiques, the Kitchener Rangers as host of the tournament and OHL champions, and the OHL representative Belleville Bulls, who earned their place by reaching the OHL finals against Kitchener. The Memorial Cup tournament is a four team tournament with a round-robin format.
The tournament began on May 16, 2008, with a round-robin game between Gatineau and Kitchener and ended on May 25, 2008, with the Spokane Chiefs defeating the Kitchener Rangers 4–1 in the championship game to win the Memorial Cup. A memorable moment of the tournament occurred immediately following the championship game. As Spokane Chiefs captain Chris Bruton was about to hand the trophy to teammate Trevor Glass, the cup detached from the base and fell to the ice.Broken trophy still beautiful for Memorial Cup champion Spokane Chiefs. Canadian Press. 25 May 2008. Accessed 28 May 2008. This was not the original Memorial Cup, which resides at the Hockey Hall of Fame, but a replica.
Round-robin standings
Rosters Kitchener Rangers (host)Belleville Bulls (OHL)Goaltenders 30 - Josh Unice 31 - Matt Smith
Defencemen 3 - Frank Perna 4 - Alex Dzielski 5 - Yannick Weber 7 - Ben Shutron 8 - Dan Kelly 9 - Myles Barberi 20 - Matt Pepe 21 - Robert Bortuzzo
Forwards 10 - Michael Catenacci 11 - Nick Spaling 12 - Scott Tregunna 13 - Scott Timmins 14 - Mike Duco 15 - Justin Azevedo 16 - Josh Schram 17 - Mike Mascioli 18 - Matthew Halischuk 19 - Nazem Kadri 23 - Brandon Mashinter 24 - Spencer Anderson 25 - Jason Akeson 26 - T. J. Battani 29 - Alexei Dostoynov 89 - Mikkel Boedker
Head coach: Peter DeBoerGoaltenders
31 - Parker Van Buskirk 32 - Mike Murphy
Defencemen 2 - Chris Mifflen 3 - Rob Stellick 4 - Geoff Killing 5 - Nigel Williams 6 - P. K. Subban 8 - Marc Cantin 9 - Shawn Lalonde 24 - Nick Pageau
Forwards 7 - Cory Tanaka 10 - Stephen Johnston 11 - Tyler Randell 12 - Shawn Matthias 13 - Jan Mursak 14 - Luke Judson 16 - Adam Perry 17 - Matt Beleskey 18 - Michael Neal 19 - Keaton Turkiewicz 22 - Andy Bathgate 23 - Bryan Cameron 25 - Eric Tangradi 26 - Andrew Self 27 - Matthew Tipoff 28 - Stephen Blunden
Head coach: George BurnettGatineau Olympiques (QMJHL)Spokane Chiefs (WHL)Goaltenders 30 - Ryan Mior 35 - Maxime Clermont
Defencemen 2 - Maxime Mallette 5 - Jonathan Carrier 6 - Steven Delisle 7 - Hugo Laporte 9 - Patrik Prokop 12 - Julien Machabee 14 - Hubert Labrie 55 - Joey Ryan
Forwards 11 - Jean-Phillippe Chabot 17 - Michael Stinzani 18 - Alexandre Touchette 19 - Nicholas Valliere Mayer 20 - Paul Byron 21 - Alexandre Quesnel 22 - Francis Desrosiers 23 - Gerrit Fauser 24 - Darryl Smith 25 - Nicolas Boyer 26 - Matthew Pistilli 27 - Travis Stacey 28 - Claude Giroux 44 - Takuma Kawai
Head coach: Benoit GroulxGoaltenders
31 - Kevin Armstrong 34 - Dustin Tokarski
Defencemen
2 - Jared Cowen 3 - Trevor Glass 4 - Mike Reddington 5 - Jace Coyle 6 - Brett Bartman 15 - Justin Falk 18 - Jared Spurgeon 22 - Stefan Ulmer
Forwards 7 - Ryan Letts 9 - Tyler Johnson 10 - Blake Gal 12 - Chris Bruton 14 - Mitch Wahl 16 - Dustin Donaghy 17 - Justin McCrae 20 - David Rutherford 21 - Ondrej Roman 23 - Judd Blackwater 24 - Curtis Kelner 25 - Levko Koper 26 - Seth Compton 27 - Drayson Bowman
Head coach: Bill Peters
Schedule All times local (UTC -5)
Round Robin
Semi-final
Final
Leading scorers Player GP G A Pts PIMJustin Azevedo, Kitchener 5 4 7 11 2Matthew Halischuk, Kitchener 5 5 4 9 0Drayson Bowman, Spokane 4 6 2 8 0Nick Spaling, Kitchener 5 2 6 8 2Mitch Wahl, Spokane 4 2 4 6 2Mikkel Boedker, Kitchener 5 2 4 6 0Chris Bruton, Spokane 4 0 6 6 0Shawn Matthias, Belleville 4 4 1 5 2Cory Tanaka, Belleville 4 4 1 5 2Michael Stinziani, Gatineau 3 2 3 5 0Adam Perry, Belleville 4 0 5 5 6
Leading goaltenders Goalies Have To Play A Minimum Of 60 Minutes To Be Listed. Player GP W L MINS GA GAA SO Sv%Dustin Tokarski, Spokane 4 4 0 245 7 1.72 0 .953Josh Unice, Kitchener 5 2 3 316 14 2.66 1 .897Ryan Mior, Gatineau 3 0 3 142 14 4.49 0 .901Mike Murphy, Belleville 4 2 2 254 20 4.73 0 .890
Award winners Stafford Smythe Memorial Trophy (MVP): Dustin Tokarski, Spokane George Parsons Trophy (Sportsmanship): Matthew Halischuk, Kitchener Hap Emms Memorial Trophy (Goaltender): Dustin Tokarski, Spokane Ed Chynoweth Trophy (Leading Scorer): Justin Azevedo, Kitchener
All-star team Goal: Dustin Tokarski, Spokane Defence: Ben Shutron, Kitchener; Justin Falk, Spokane Forwards: Justin Azevedo, Kitchener; Drayson Bowman, Spokane; Mitch Wahl, Spokane
Road to the cup OHL Playoffs
QMJHL Playoffs
†Victoriaville seeded 8th in Eastern division.
WHL Playoffs
References
External links Memorial Cup Canadian Hockey League