Sea Dogs Take Memorial Cup...

[Coddfish]

From The Toronto Star:

By Damien Cox
Sports Columnist

Mississauga’s Hershey Centre can go back to being a hockey tomb again, if that’s what local hockey fans choose. Lord knows, everyone from Hazel McCallion to Don Cherry to Eugene Melnyk have attempted to sell Toronto’s ’burbs on junior hockey, so it hasn’t been for lack of trying.

But if that’s what happens, if the Mississauga St. Mike’s Majors return next fall to find they have no more support than they did before this season, the memories of a rockin’ and historic hockey tournament will still tell one and all that it can be done in the GTA.

That the Majors didn’t win the 2011 MasterCard Memorial Cup, well, that was a painful result, particularly since they’d already lost to the OHL championship to Owen Sound in the same building earlier in the month.

“I think we deserved better, but it didn’t happen,” said Majors head coach Dave Cameron. “It’s not always fair.”

The Saint John Sea Dogs, with a 3-1 triumph Sunday night, became the first team from Atlantic Canada to win the Cup, and in deserving, stylish fashion...

More...
Cox: Sea Dogs break local hearts to take title - thestar.com

[IdRatherBeSkiing]

Congrats to the Sea Dogs.

The fact the Majors could even compete in the title game after losing the OHL championship goes back to a Memorial cup in 1980 or around there in Regina, SK. Back then, the Memorial Cup consisted of 3 teams, the WHL, OHL and QMJL champion. They played each other twice and the top 2 teams played the final. That year, the Regina Pats were the WHL champion. Peterborough was the OHL championship and Cornwall was the QMJL champion.

Peterborough was the team to beat. they were 3-0 having beat the Pats twice (by single goals) and thrashed Cornwall. Regina had split vs Cornwall and owned the tiebreaker if they and Cornwall wound up tied at 1-3. Peterborough was already guarenteed a seed at 3-0. All they had to do was beat Cornwall again and play Regina for the final. If they lost, they would face Cornwall for the final. Of course, for some reason, the Peterborough Petes lost that game 5-4.

The final was a disaster. The players played 60 minutes being pelted with Cokes, hot dogs, and whatever else could be pitched from the stands along with 60 minutes of boos. As fate would have it, and probably a bit of karma, Peterborough wound up losing the final 2-1. But the disaster and the PR mess the cup took had the following results:

1. The tournament will never again be a 3 team tournament. The host city or host league runner up will have an automatic entery as team #4.
2. Regina, SK will no doubt never ever host the Memorial Cup again.