BY PATRICK KING
sportsnet.ca
MISSISSAUGA, Ont. -- The Owen Sound Attack may have never faced adversity like this before.
The Ontario Hockey League champion Attack will face the Western Hockey League winners, the Kootenay Ice, in a tiebreak on Thursday (Sportsnet, 7 p.m. ET) after losing Wednesday's final round-robin game of the MasterCard Memorial Cup to the Mississauga St. Michael's Majors.
After falling behind two games to none to the Majors in the Rogers OHL Championship series, the Attack won four of the next five games to become league champions. But the hill is getting much steeper to climb for the Memorial Cup title now that their two star forwards, Joey Hishon and Garrett Wilson, are questionable for the game.
Hishon was injured in Owen Sound's first game of the tournament against the Ice and hasn't played since. Wilson, meanwhile, left during the first period of Wednesday's game and did not return.
"Truthfully, (Hishon) is sitting in the dark in his room," Owen Sound head coach Mark Reeds said. "As far as Garrett goes, when an athlete starts asking the same question over and over again that's room to be concerned. It's an unfortunate part of the sport and it is something you have to deal with."
How much will the day off and coming in with a win benefit Kootenay?
Not only are the Ice a healthier team heading into the game, but they had the benefit of a night off on Wednesday. Each team is banged up at this time of year, but the Ice are significantly less so considering two of Owen Sound's top players may miss the game.
The Ice will also have an advantage in terms of going into the game after a win. The MasterCard Memorial Cup has only had eight tiebreakers in tournament history and seven of the eight teams that advanced to the semifinal won their last round-robin game going into the tiebreaker.
"I think probably the biggest thing is we had guys who scored (on Tuesday) and got some confidence," Ice head coach Kris Knoblauch said.
Will the Attack regain their composure?
Owen Sound took 13 minor penalties in Wednesday's 3-1 loss to Mississauga, just three less than they had through the first two games combined. While the officiating has come under scrutiny through much of the tournament, the Attack can't lay the blame completely on the zebras. Owen Sound took several undisciplined penalties from Jesse Blacker's punch to Brett Flemming's face to the two-for-one, where Andrew Shaw and Mike Halmo took two penalties on the same play.
The Attack were mindful of the difference between playing physical and undisciplined in the first two games of the MasterCard Memorial Cup, but lost all composure on Wednesday. Owen Sound was in the box so often they managed just three shots on goal in the first period and 22 all game.
"I don't know if we were all undisciplined," Blacker said of Wednesday's game. "I don't agree with some of (the penalties), but it is what it is. The refs are going to call what they want to call."
Has the Ice's anemic offence finally awoken?
Kootenay is one of the streakiest teams to play in the tournament in recent memory. After losing two of their first three playoff games, the Ice went on to win 15 of their next 16 en route to the WHL title. The Ice had never played better hockey than they had through the final three rounds of the playoffs and unfortunately for them, that success hadn't carried over in their first two games of this tournament.
Kootenay scored just once in their first two games, but put up five in their final round-robin game against Saint John. One of their streakiest players, Max Reinhart, led the way with four assists.
"He's a player that can score a lot at times," Knoblauch said. "I think coming into this tournament he was putting too much pressure to take his game to another level. The way he was playing in the WHL finals, I'm not sure he could take his game to another level because he was that good.
"It was very important for him because he's so important to our team that he establishes the level of play that he was at the finals of the WHL and (on Tuesday) I think maybe was a step forward."
Will Owen Sound seek any retribution on Brayden McNabb?
The Kootenay captain delivered the elbow that sidelined Hishon for the final two round-robin games. Those within the Attack call it a dirty play, while those with the Ice beg to differ. Regardless of the difference in opinion, Hishon's absence is directly attributed to McNabb.
Given the amount of caution the Attack players exhibited in Wednesday's game, it wouldn't be a stretch to say some players have retribution on their minds. As foolish and unlikely as it would be, don't count it out if McNabb is in a vulnerable position.
