Game 1: London 3, Saskatoon 2
Andrey Makarov was brilliant in-goal for the Blades, stopping 30 of 33; he set the tone for Saskatoon.
Josh Nicholls needed to score to admittedly, “get his confidence back.”
Good to see the crowd embrace their Blades; I hope that sets a positive tone for the rest of the tournament.
Head coach Lorne Molleken admitted that each penalty his team took was indeed a penalty – you don’t hear coaches say that often.
It was a typical London game: capitalizing when it was needed most and its lone power-play goal turned out to be the game winner.
The icing rule will take some time for the other two leagues to get used to.
Chris Tierney is highly underrated by everyone except the San Jose Sharks, who took him in the second round last year.
Seth Griffith spent an uncharacteristic six minutes in the box.
Quietly, the Knights admitted the turnaround from Monday’s Game 7 win over Barrie was a big challenge.
It’s a small world
After their playoff defeat, veteran players on the Blades were given two weeks off.
Over those two weeks, Darren Dietz took a trip to Las Vegas to watch his dad Darrell compete in drag races. Here’s a good shot of his ride (you have to scroll down to find it).
With hockey’s ever-expanding reach, if you’re ever in Manhattan Beach, this might be the best place to catch a game. The owner is none other than the father of the Blades’ Shane McColgan.
McColgan also spent some time taking in Ducks and Kings games, visiting with the likes of Anaheim’s Emerson Etem, formerly of the Medicine Hat Tigers.
With his California connections, McColgan has befriended the Los Angeles Kings’ Jarrett Stoll. Stoll sprung for a Blades dinner, paying the bill from his Cali digs.
Other Stuff
The NHL war room in Toronto will be used for all MasterCard Memorial Cup games this year.
The Prince Albert Raiders will have a new look beginning next season. Saw it on the local sportscast before bed last night. It looks pretty cool, check it out.
For more on the Mastercard Memorial Cup, be sure to check out the latest from Patrick King.
The tournament continues, here’s where you can find broadcast times.
Click here for all official MasterCard Memorial Cup information.