Chiefs emphasize opener
KITCHENER, Ontario – There are no second chances to make a first impression, and here at the Memorial Cup, first impressions are everything.
“It’s absolutely huge,” said Spokane coach Bill Peters, whose Western Hockey League champion Chiefs practiced Friday morning in preparation for their tournament opener today against the Belleville Bulls.
“You need to win your first game,” he said. “It’s the priority of the tournament – to get a win as fast as you can. It alleviates some of the perceived pressure – so we’re putting a huge emphasis on the first game.”
So is Belleville, which finished third in the final Canadian Hockey League poll (voted on by NHL scouts) behind the second-ranked Chiefs and is searching for its first Memorial Cup.
The Bulls are fresh off an Ontario Hockey League championship series against the host Kitchener Rangers that went the distance.
The Rangers, who were ranked first in the last CHL poll and led the final series 3-0 before the Bulls staged a comeback and forced a seventh game, won 4-1 on Monday night to capture the OHL title.
“Unlike the other three (teams) here, we’re the only team that lost our last game and is playing in this event,” said Bulls head coach George Burnett, who coached the OHL’s Guelph Storm to a Memorial Cup semifinal victory over the Chiefs when Spokane hosted the tournament in 1998.
“More than anything we’re here to not really prove to anyone that we belong – we believe as a group that we are here for a reason and deserve to be here,” Burnett said. “But the mental challenge of losing Game 7 on Monday night, regrouping on Tuesday and coming back to Kitchener, where we’ve spent a considerable amount of time in the hotel here over the last few weeks, is probably the biggest challenge.”
The Chiefs will be up against a team that in many ways mirrors their style of play. The Bulls are stingy on defense, deep on offense and have solid netminding.
“I think both teams in the OHL are very similar to us,” said Peters. “Belleville reminds me a lot of Tri-City. They are excellent in the neutral zone, don’t turn the puck over much and have some elite players.”
That includes OHL Goaltender of the Year Mike Murphy, who backstopped Belleville to a franchise-record 48 wins (Murphy was in net for 36 of those) and 102 points in the regular season. In 19 playoff games, Murphy has posted a 2.32 goals-against average and .927 save percentage.
“He’s playing great,” said Belleville captain Matt Beleskey, who leads the team in scoring with 12 goals and 21 assists in 21 playoff games. “He’s been unreal all season.”
Forward Shawn Matthias, a second-round draft pick of the Detroit Red Wings in 2006, also had a solid season, but has been absent for all but one game of the postseason. He was finally able to play on Monday night after being diagnosed with mononucleosis just before the OHL playoffs began.
Matthias finished third in the regular season in scoring with 32 goals and 47 assists and his 79 points were one behind left-winger A.J. Perry – the brother of Anaheim Ducks forward Corey Perry – who was picked up by Burnett in a trade-deadline deal for a postseason run.
Matthias, who by CHL standards is in his 19-year-old season (although he turned 20 in February), also helped Canada to a World Junior Championship gold medal and played in four NHL games this season – scoring two goals in one of those games – after he was traded to the Florida Panthers in February 2007.
“We were real pleased to see him back in the lineup,” said Burnett, who expects Matthias to be ready for today’s game. “He’s really excited to be playing again, and probably overexcited – trying to do too much, that would be my fear. If he keeps it simple, I’m sure he’s going to be a factor in the tournament.”
Ice chips
Other NHL draft picks in Belleville’s lineup include Beleskey (Anaheim, fourth round, 2006), RW Bryan Cameron (Los Angeles, third round, 2007), C Jan Mursak (Detroit, sixth round, 2006), LW Michael Neal (Dallas, fifth round, 2007), D P.K. Subban (Montreal, second round, 2007), RW Eric Tangradi (Anaheim, second round, 2007), D Nigel Williams (Colorado, second round, 2006). … The Bulls have a couple of injuries. Defenseman Nick Pageau has a bad ankle while forward Stephen Blunden is recovering from a concussion.