Majors look to win in front of the home crowd.

BY PATRICK KING
sportsnet.ca

MISSISSAUGA, Ont. -- Round robin games don't get much bigger than Sunday's tilt between the Mississauga St. Michael's Majors and the Kootenay Ice.

The MasterCard Memorial Cup's two winless teams will battle in a game that will go a long way in determining which team heads home first. One of these two teams will be 0-2 and in such a huge hole their tournament could soon be over.

The 2009 Windsor Spitfires are the only team in MasterCard Memorial Cup history to lose their first two games and still go on to win the national championship.

Watch the Majors-Ice game on Rogers Sportsnet, tonight at 7 p.m. ET / 4 p.m. PT.

The Ice will be playing in their second-consecutive night after losing 5-0 to the Ontario Hockey League champion Owen Sound Attack on Saturday. The Majors lost a tightly-contested game 4-3 to the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League champion Saint John Sea Dogs in the tournament opener on Friday.

Both teams should have plenty to give. The Majors went to see a movie on Saturday after the morning practice while the Ice are used to playing double-headers in the WHL.

Which Canadian world junior forward will make the biggest impact?

Five months after teaming up to bring Canada to the world junior gold-medal game, Ice forward Cody Eakin and Majors captain Casey Cizikas will finally meet as adversaries. There hasn't been any time for pleasantries, as the two have chosen not to communicate since the tournament began.

Eakin brings such a well-balanced and broad range of skill, similarly to Cizikas. Both players are more than willing to get their nose dirty and play the antagonistic role - even if it's being played against each other.

"(Eakin) could be that agitator, but I'll be right there agitating him back," Cizikas said. "There's no friends on the ice."

How crucial is the game's first goal?

Both the Attack and Sea Dogs scored first en route to victories in the first two games. The Majors were able to battle back, but the Ice are still looking for their first goal of the tournament. Kootenay is a team with a reputation for scoring in succession once the ball gets rolling offensively.

"I believe we're a team that likes to score in bunches," Ice goaltender Nathan Lieuwen said. "Our team has been doing that all year. We couldn't get one (Saturday). I know (on Sunday) we will."

Many of the Majors players compared the Ice's structure and game-plan to being similar to their own. Both teams like to get on the board first and making it difficult for the opposition to break through their suffocating defensive-style. The team that scores first will have the ability to dictate the way the rest of the game plays out.

How much desperation will either side play with?

As difficult as it is to win this tournament when a team loses its first game, it's much more difficult when a team loses the first two. Sunday's game is essentially a make or break for both teams and each will need to play as though it's Game 7 of a playoff series.

"I certainly hope there is (desperation) in our dressing room," Ice forward Matt Fraser said following his team's loss on Saturday. "It's two desperate teams and it should be a good game."

The urgency was being downplayed by Majors defenceman Marc Cantin.

"I wouldn't say we're playing desperation hockey because when you play desperation hockey that's when guys start to grip their sticks tightly and everyone gets nervous," he said.

There's a lot to be nervous about. As history would indicate, back-to-back losses are nearly impossible to overcome.

Has the clock struck midnight on the Majors?

Mississauga picked the wrong time to tie its streak of consecutive losses. Dating back to Games 6 and 7 of the OHL final, the Majors lost three straight times for just the second time all season. The other streak was in mid-February.

It now leaves many wondering if the Majors peaked and some doubts as to the team's ability to bounce back.

"We just need to catch a break here," Cantin said. "Three in a row - that's the most games we've lost consecutively all year and unfortunately they're the most important games all year."

Cameron felt there were many positive aspects to his team's game and is guarding against a 'woe is me' attitude in his room.

"I have no time for the 'poor me's,'" Cameron said. "I have no time for feeling sorry for yourself. Let's get more disciplined. Game on. Let's drop the puck and get at it again with Kootenay."