Hail to the Chiefs!

KITCHENER, Ontario – There will be no looking back and saying ‘what if.’ Days from now – even years from now – the Spokane Chiefs can look back and think ‘remember when.’

Overage team captain Chris Bruton will recall setting up two goals within a minute in his final game as a Chief.

Defenseman Trevor Glass will think about when he added insurance to a one-goal lead on the road to redemption in his second straight Memorial Cup championship appearance.

Goalie Dustin Tokarski will reflect on the time when he turned away 53 shots to backstop his Chiefs to their second title in junior hockey’s golden month.

Everyone – management, coaches, staff, fans and most of all 24 Chiefs – will play back the emotional high of beating the tournament host Kitchener Rangers 4-1 and capturing the biggest prize in junior hockey: the Memorial Cup.

“My dad said something to me that really stood out,” said overage forward David Rutherford, who was on the Vancouver roster in 2006 but was scratched when the Giants played in the Moncton, New Brunswick, Memorial Cup tournament.

Rutherford, whose father died of cancer five years ago, was traded to Spokane after the 2006 season.

“He told me everything happens for a reason – that was the last thing he said to me before he passed away,” a teary-eyed Rutherford added. “I think it’s fitting – that everything does happen for a reason. God, I’m ecstatic. It’s emotional. I can’t even say the words, but it’s a pretty dang good feeling.”

It also would have been nice, he admitted, to hold the Memorial Cup in one piece. Rutherford will have to wait for that chance.

When the trophy was presented to Bruton at center ice after the game, the Chiefs captain grabbed the trophy from the top to hand it over to defenseman Glass – who played for the Medicine Hat Tigers last season when they lost the title game to the Vancouver Giants.

The top of the trophy came off, and the Cup fell to the ice in several pieces.

“I’m emotional about this, but it’s cool. I wish the Cup was whole,” Rutherford joked. “But now there’s a little piece of it for each of us, so it’s exciting.”

The way the Chiefs came up with the victory to earn the shattered trophy was even more thrilling.

The Rangers, who outshot the Chiefs 18-9 in the first period, scored five minutes into the game when Scott Timmins won a face-off in the left zone, swept the puck to Mike Masciolo on the goal line and Mascioli delivered a pass that Brandon Mashinter popped in from his park job by the crease.

The Chiefs’ second line of Rutherford, fellow overage forward Judd Blackwater and import Ondrej Roman – who have all scored often throughout the postseason – had scored one point in the tournament coming into the game (Roman notched an assist).

That changed Sunday when Blackwater knotted the score with a power-play goal at 16:10 after Seth Compton drew a cross checking penalty on Ben Shutron at 15:30.

Roman set up the play when he went to wrap around the net and dropped the puck off to Blackwater in front of the left post, where the left-winger scored his first goal of the tournament.

Drayson Bowman, who finished with six goals and two assists in the tournament, scored far side on Kitchener goalie Josh Unice from the top of the left circle to give the Chiefs a 2-1 lead 4:11 into the second period. A minute later, Glass scored the Chiefs’ second power-play goal of the night on a pass from Bruton off a face-off draw in the left circle.

Bruton also recorded an assist on Bowman’s goal.

Unice, who finished with 22 saves, was pulled off the ice with 1:45 left in the game, and rookie defenseman Jared Cowen – who has turned heads all season – scored the empty-net goal that silenced the home crowd.

The Chiefs knew at that point that they had won.

“It’s really special, said third-year Chiefs coach Bill Peters as he fought back tears. “You can’t put it into words – it’s overwhelming and it’s over nine months of hard work and I’m just so proud of how these guys conducted themselves all year.

“It’s a special group.”

Ice chips

Rutherford nearly scored his first goal of the tournament midway through the third when he got the puck behind Unice, but defenseman Ben Shutron carried the puck out of the crease before it crossed the goal line. … The Chiefs were 2 for 4 on the power play and 4 for 4 on the penalty kill. The newly crowned Memorial Cup champions return to Spokane this morning and will hold a championship rally at the Spokane Arena at noon.

Chiefs 4, Rangers 1

First Period—1, Kitchener, B. Mashinter (1) (M. Mascioli, S. Timmins) 5:01. 2, Spokane, J. Blackwater (1) (O. Roman, J. Falk) 16:10 PP. Penalties - Y. Weber Kit (slashing) 6:28, M. Reddington Spok (holding) 13:38, B. Shutron Kit (cross checking) 15:30, N. Spaling Kit (high sticking) 17:44.

Second Period—3, Spokane, D. Bowman (6) (C. Bruton) 4:11 4, Spokane, T. Glass (1) (C. Bruton) 5:12 PP. Penalties - Y. Weber Kit (cross checking) 5:03, T. Glass Spok (hooking) 5:54, L. Koper Spok (slashing) 14:03.

Third Period—5, Spokane, J. Cowen (1) 19:04 EN. Penalties - J. Falk Spok (hooking) 7:57.

Power-play Opp.—Kitchener 0 of 4; Spokane 2 of 4. Saves—Kitchener, Unice 7-9-6—22. Spokane, Tokarski 18-10-25—53. A—6,807.