For those who thought Wednesday's final round-robin game at the 2008 MasterCard Memorial Cup was meaningless, get ready for beauty of a semifinal.
The Kitchener Rangers and Belleville Bulls met for the eighth time in three weeks, with yet another wild and unpredictable ride for the fans. Kitchener jumped out to an early 3-0 lead but the Bulls clawed their way back into it, winning 4-3 in overtime.
Since both teams already knew they would be playing each other in Friday's semifinal regardless of tonight's outcome, skeptics might have thought this game meant nothing.
But consider this: The Belleville Bulls have now won four of the last five games against the Rangers dating back to the Ontario Hockey League final and erased another 3-0 deficit. The Bulls needed to fight back from a 4-1 deficit in Game 4 of the OHL final simply to stay alive, taking that game in overtime.
Kitchener went on to win the series in the seventh game but there must be some doubt in their minds when going up against the Bulls. Belleville goaltender Mike Murphy stole the show once again and had it not been for several big saves when Kitchener was pressuring after Shawn Matthias' goal, the Rangers probably walk away with a win.
Recent history could be on both teams' side in the semifinal. Last year, the host Vancouver Giants became only the second team in 10 tournaments to go through the semifinal to win the Memorial Cup.
Belleville can also look upon a recent trend where the last two Memorial Cup winners did not win their league title that same year.
However, none of those or other stats will make a difference when the puck drops in what should be an unbelievable and unpredictable semifinal on Friday. Once that game is underway, the only stat which will matter is the one on the scoreboard. And if Wednesday's game is any indication, it should be one for the ages.
