John Blanchette: Even a broken Cup has way of fixing things

OK, they broke the cup – and if someone in the Spokane Chiefs organization can get a design to the silk screener’s this morning commemorating that moment, they’ll sell as many T-shirts as they can print.

So, yes, they broke the cup.

But they fixed hockey – in this city, anyway.

Here’s an example: Heather and Monte Lance of Liberty Lake had their two young daughters, Amanda and Haley, out at Silverwood for a gorgeous Sunday on the rides. Except that at about 1 o’clock, they bolted back into Coeur d’Alene to catch the Memorial Cup championship game on the tube at Capone’s. How’d you like to explain that to a 9-year-old and a 6-year-old?

“When you’re older,” Heather Lance told her daughters, “you’ll understand.”

And they may. For among the nearly 3,000 believers who gave up a piece of their Memorial Day to welcome the Chiefs back to the Spokane Arena as champions of junior hockey, many were decked out in replica jerseys. The names on the back made for a hike through Chiefs’ historical landscape – from past Everests to more recent Death Valleys.

Leeb. Hobson. Wallin. Klemm. Schutz. Dundas.

Those enduring affections have now been reconnected and reinforced by a playoff run that eight months ago seemed no more probable than a bolt coming loose on the Memorial Cup itself at the trophy presentation.

Both the run and the ceremony will be unforgettable.

It should be mentioned here that among the Chiefs’ most admirable qualities – humility, drive, sacrifice – is a willingness to laugh at themselves. The 4-1 Cup-clinching victory over host Kitchener was barely in the books when Spokane captain Chris Bruton had the base of the trophy fall off as he tried to hand it to teammate Trevor Glass, who had lost the final game playing for Medicine Hat a year ago.

“I guess he just has the bad touch,” teased Bruton, trying to spread the infamy.

The irony, of course, is that the Chiefs’ touch was otherwise pure gold. They won their last nine games, giving up only 13 goals, but this wasn’t just a hot streak – it was a natural progression of the approach coach Bill Peters had tried to instill two years ago, when Spokane had the Western Hockey League’s worst record. It didn’t waver even as the Chiefs watched Kitchener bury Belleville 9-0 in the semis.

“They had a great game,” said center Tyler Johnson, “but we didn’t think we’d be giving up nine goals.”

No, that would not be their style, described back east mostly as “stifling” or “strangling” – which it is. It’s also a mistake to underrate the opportunities it generates. That begins with playmaking defensemen who can initiate the breakout – “typically, we don’t spend much time in our end,” noted general manager Tim Speltz – and Spokane’s ruthlessness in sending an extra man to wherever a puck needs to be won. That will spawn some imitators next year.

“You’d think so – it worked for us,” said defenseman Justin Falk.

And even in the glow of a newly won championship, the anticipation of the Chiefs continuing to make it work could not be quelled.

Forget for the moment another Memorial Cup – these things cannot be planned or presumed. Too many elements must come together, not the least of them being good health: as Speltz pointed out, Peters “was able to dress the lineup he wanted every single playoff game.”

Spokane will lose its three productive 20-year-olds and half of its six 19-year-olds – and yet could return three of its top four scorers and all six defensemen. This is why Speltz figured before the season that the Chiefs might be a year away from championship contention – but also why this moment had to be seized now.

“The window is so small,” Peters said. “There’s so much you don’t control. Right now there’s no guarantee we get Drayson Bowman back. He’ll go to camp with Carolina and sure do his best to stay there. You don’t know who’s coming back as 20-year-olds. If Minnesota signs Justin Falk to the American league, he’ll be gone.

“You prepare as if you’re going to lose some guys – and you’re grateful if they’re back.”

More to the point, the current balance and depth should mitigate against a dropoff not just next year but in 2010, too – and possibly buy the Chiefs some player development time so they won’t have to endure the down side of junior hockey’s inevitable cycle, which punished them so harshly two years ago.

“Everybody’s going to have one,” Speltz said. “It’s how long you’re in it and how quickly you recover. But you especially don’t want to be mediocre when it’s your year to be good.”

You want to be, well, resourceful – like these Chiefs, who remained so even after the Cup falleth off. Hockey’s tradition is for the winners to drink from the prize, but the disengaged bowl had a hole where it was bolted to the base.

“So they took some stick wax and plugged it up and were drinking out of it within 30 seconds,” Peters laughed. “They were like McGyver.”

See? All fixed.