Looking Ahead

SAINT JOHN – By this time next week, the Saint John Sea Dogs will have already played one game at the MasterCard Memorial Cup and will be preparing for their second match. So let’s look ahead to that.

This year’s tournament will feature the WHL Champion Edmonton Oil Kings, the OHL Champion London Knights, the QMJHL Champion Sea Dogs, and the host Shawinigan Cataractes. Here is the full tournament schedule (all times Atlantic).

Friday, May 18 at 8pm – Edmonton vs Shawinigan
Saturday, May 19 at 8pm – Saint John vs London
Sunday, May 20, at 8pm – Shawinigan vs London
Monday, May 21 at 8pm – Saint John vs Edmonton
Tuesday, May 22 at 8pm – London vs Edmonton
Wednesday, May 23 at 8pm – Shawinigan vs Saint John
Thursday, May 24 at 8pm – Tie Breaker
Friday, May 25 at 8pm – Semi-Final
Sunday, May 27 at 8pm – Championship Final

Saint John and Shawinigan will be the only teams that won’t play back-to-back contests in the preliminary round.

Momentum is huge at this tournament, making the first game a big one. Saint John beat Mississauga 4-3 in the first game of last year’s tournament and then won their second game against Owen Sound which, because of the results of the other games, gave them a bye to the final.

At last year's tournament, the Dogs played in the tournament's first game and then had two days off before playing back-to-back matches. This year, Saint John will open the tournament against London, have a day off, then face Edmonton, then have another day, and then close out the round robin against Shawinigan.

The final game of the round robin should be an interesting one. Shawinigan went 2-1-1-0 against Saint John in the regular season but… who knows what the Cataractes are going to like after having a month off.

All of the Memorial Cup games will be broadcast live on Sportsnet. Here’s hoping Nick Kypreos looks at the pronunciation guide in the Sea Dogs media guide this year. 

Photo Credit: Marc Henwood/Station Nation