The 2005 Memorial Cup (branded as the 2005 Mastercard Memorial Cup for sponsorship reasons) was held May 21–29, 2005 at the John Labatt Centre in London, Ontario. It was the 87th annual Memorial Cup competition and determined the major junior ice hockey champion of the Canadian Hockey League (CHL). The Cup tournament featured the champions from the Western Hockey League (WHL), the Kelowna Rockets; the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League (QMJHL), the Rimouski Océanic; the Ottawa 67's representing the Ontario Hockey League (OHL); and the host team. Since the host team, the London Knights, won the Ontario Hockey League championship against the Ottawa 67's, the 67's earned the right to represent the OHL as the League runner-up.

The Knights had never won the Memorial Cup, unlike the other three teams, despite having a franchise for longer than any of the other three teams (40 seasons). The year 2005 marked both London's first-ever OHL championship and first Memorial Cup victory in its 40-year history.

Round-robin standings

Coverage Media attention was unusually high, with the television ratings the highest ever recorded for the tournament. There were several reasons for this increase in media attention: Lack of competition from the NHL Stanley Cup playoffs. The NHL's 2004–05 season was cancelled due to the aforementioned lockout, which made the Memorial Cup the most important North American hockey playoff tournament at the time of the event. Furthermore, some of the young prospects were able to play for their junior teams instead of playing for their affiliated NHL teams. As such, the higher-skilled junior players helped facilitate more competitive games. The presence of arguably two of the strongest teams ever in junior hockey: The London Knights went 31 games in a row undefeated to begin their season, setting a new CHL record. The team was ranked first in the weekly CHL rankings for the entire length of the season. The Knights had also never won the Memorial Cup in their entire 40-year history, providing the opportunity for the team to win their first Cup in London. The Rimouski Océanic, with superstar Sidney Crosby, went even longer undefeated at the end of the season and into the QMJHL playoffs, setting a new League record with 28 games undefeated. They actually went 35 games without losing including the regular season and QMJHL playoffs, with a third-round loss to Chicoutimi being their only loss in the QMJHL in the 2005 calendar year half of the 2004–05 season. As the CHL did not count the playoff games towards their streak, London's mark remains the longest in the record books, a fact that the Océanic used as motivation. 2005 was also to be Crosby's last year in the CHL and final opportunity to win the Memorial Cup. The Kelowna Rockets were the defending Memorial Cup champions. The Ottawa 67's, coached by the "legendary" Brian Kilrea, finished in a distant 6th place in their conference but made a strong playoff performance to come back to face the Knights in the OHL final.

Rosters Kelowna Rockets (WHL)London Knights (host)Goaltenders 1 - Mike Wall 30 - Kristrofer Westblom 31 - Derek Yeomans Defensemen 2 - Shea Weber 3 - Darren Deschamps 4 - Mike Card 6 - Kevin Reinholt 7 - Joe Colin 25 - Liam Couture 27 - Brett Palin 28 - Kyle Cumiskey Forwards 8 - Tyler Mosienko 9 - Chris Ray 10 - Lauris Darzins 12 - Kirt Hill 14 - Blake Comeau 15 - Tyler Spurgeon 16 - Craig Cuthbert 17 - Brent Howarth 18 - Clayton Bauer 19 - Justin Keller 20 - Gary Sylvester 21 - Michal Blanar 24 - Troy Ofukanay 29 - Troy Bodie Head coach: Jeff TruittGoaltenders 28 - Adam Dennis 37 - Gerald Coleman Defensemen 2 - Frank Rediker 3 - Marc Methot 4 - Matt McCready 16 - Steve Ferry 25 - Danny Syvret 27 - Ryan Martinelli 52 - Jeff Whitfield 55 - Daniel Girardi 74 - Bryan Rodney Forwards 7 - Drew Larman 10 - Josh Beaulieu 11 - Trevor Kell 17 - Rob Drummond 23 - Kelly Thomson 33 - Brandon Prust 44 - Rob Schremp 49 - Dan Fritsche 57 - Jordan Foreman 71 - Harrison Reed 79 - Dylan Hunter 87 - Adam Perry 91 - Dave Bolland 94 - Corey Perry Head coach: Dale HunterOttawa 67's (OHL)Rimouski Océanic (QMJHL)Goaltenders 1 - Anthony Guadagnolo 30 - Danny Battochio 45 - Matthew Spezza Defensemen 2 - Brodie Beard 3 - Nick Van Herpt 4 - Will Colbert 5 - David Jarram 6 - Brad Staubitz 22 - Robbie Lawrance 77 - Derek Joslin 85 - Elgin Reid Forwards 8 - Matt Lahey 9 - Chris Hulit 12 - Thomas Kiriakou 17 - Bryan Bickell 19 - Jakub Petruzalek 21 - Pat Ouellette 24 - Jeremy Akeson 25 - Mark Mancari 27 - Julian Talbot 28 - Brad Bonello 44 - Jamie VanderVeeken 71 - Arron Alphonso 83 - Lukas Kaspar 88 - Jamie McGinn Head coach: Brian KilreaGoaltenders 30 - Cedrick Desjardins 37 - Jean-Michel Filiatrault 38 - Scott Fraser Defensemen 5 - Patrick Coulombe 10 - Michal Sersen 16 - Erick Tremblay 17 - Jean-Michel Bolduc 18 - Jamie Blom 20 - Mario Scalzo 25 - Francois Bolduc 54 - Graham Bona Forwards 8 - Danny Stewart 15 - Dany Roussin 19 - Mark Tobin 21 - Benoit Arsenault 23 - Nicolas Bachand 24 - Sebastien Aspirot 26 - Jean-Sebastien Cote 27 - Pierre-Olivier Landry 28 - Zbynek Hrdel 29 - Eric Neilson 36 - Sebastien Laferriere 72 - Francis Charette 78 - Marc-Antoine Pouliot 87 - Sidney Crosby Head coach: Doris Labonte

Schedule

Round robin

Semifinal

Final

Scoring leaders Sidney Crosby, RIM (6g, 5a, 11pts) Marc-Antoine Pouliot, RIM (3g, 7a, 10pts) Dany Roussin, RIM (3g, 6a, 9pts) Mario Scalzo, RIM (2g, 7a, 9pts) Corey Perry, LDN (4g, 3a, 7pts) Patrick Coulombe, RIM (2g, 5a, 7pts) Dan Fritsche, LDN (3g, 3a, 6pts) Rob Schremp, LDN (1g, 5a, 6pts) Danny Syvret, LDN (1g, 4a, 5pts) Dylan Hunter, LDN (1g, 4a, 5pts)

Leading goaltenders Adam Dennis, LDN (1.58 gaa, .936 sv%) Kristofer Westblom, KEL (3.08 gaa, .910 sv%) Cedrick Desjardins, RIM (3.69 gaa, .914 sv%) Danny Battochio, OTT (3.93 gaa, .907 sv%)

Award winners Stafford Smythe Memorial Trophy (MVP): Corey Perry, London George Parsons Trophy (sportsmanship): Marc-Antoine Pouliot, Rimouski Hap Emms Memorial Trophy (goaltender): Adam Dennis, London Ed Chynoweth Trophy (leading scorer): Sidney Crosby, Rimouski

All-Star Team Goal: Adam Dennis, London Defence: Danny Syvret, London; Mario Scalzo, Rimouski Forwards: Corey Perry, London; Dan Fritsche, London; Sidney Crosby, Rimouski

The road to the cup

WHL playoffs

OHL playoffs

QMJHL playoffs

References

External links Memorial Cup Canadian Hockey League