League championship series are set

Seattle Thunderbirds

The Memorial Cup host team has once again come up short in winning their league championship.

The Kamloops Blazers, who will host the Canadian Hockey League's championship tournament later this month, fell in six games to the Seattle Thunderbirds in the Western Hockey League's Western Conference final. The Thunderbirds and their stacked lineup will face the Winnipeg Ice, the CHL's No. 1 ranked team for much of the season, in the WHL final.

The past 13 Memorial Cup host teams have come up short in winning their league championship. The last team to do it were the 2008 Kitchener Rangers, who went on to lose to the Spokane Chiefs in the national final.

The last host team to win both their league championship and the Memorial Cup were the 2005 London Knights, arguably the best junior hockey team of all-time.

The Blazers, who dropped Game 6 on home ice Monday night, won't play again until May 26 when they host the QMJHL champions to open the tournament. Kamloops' break is significantly shorter than what the Saint John Sea Dogs went through last year after losing in the first round.

The Blazers, led by the likes of Logan Stankoven and Olen Zellweger, have a team that is certainly capable of winning the Memorial Cup on home ice. The Sea Dogs (2022), Windsor Spitfires (2017) and Shawinigan Cataractes (2012) have all done so recently as host teams - and all three missed out on playing in their league final.

The WHL final between the Thunderbirds and Ice begins Friday in Winnipeg - but not at the 1,400-seat Wayne Fleming Arena. The Ice announced Monday that their home games for the championship series will be played at the Canada Life Centre, home of the Winnipeg Jets and Manitoba Moose. Both the Jets and Moose have been eliminated from the playoffs.

Steven Duda Heading Home

Former Sea Dogs defenseman Steven Duda is apparently done with hockey.

According to the North Bay Battalion’s website, Duda has “informed the team that he is quitting hockey.”

“He decided to pursue other options than hockey,” said Stan Butler, the Ontario Hockey League club’s director of hockey operations and head coach, in a release. “He’s going to go home and sort out his school options.”

“Steven did everything we asked of him as a player,” added Butler. “Sometimes a player just gets to the point where he decides his heart isn’t in it.”

The 19-year old American defenseman was picked up by the Battalion in September. He had one goal and three assists in 23 OHL games.

Last season in Saint John – where he signed with the club as a free agent – he had six assists in 52 games.

Friday Night Stuff

Steve Duda has found a new home.

The former Sea Dogs defenseman signed with the Ontario Hockey League’s North Bay Battalion this week and played in the club’s season opener this evening. Duda was a -3 in North Bay’s 5-2 loss in Kingston.

Saint John cut the 18-year American last week when they announced their final roster. He had six assists in 52 games with the Sea Dogs last season.

The Nugget newspaper notes that North Bay is currently missing a few defensemen from their lineup.

Battalion head coach Stan Butler told BayToday.ca that Duda “is a big kid and he skates well.”

In other Friday night news…

• Former Sea Dogs captain Mike Thomas made his Aitken Centre debut as a Varsity Red. Wearing No. 71, Thomas registered three shots and a roughing penalty in UNB’s 5-0 victory over the University of Windsor. The Reds host Windsor again on Saturday night at the AUC.
• Ryan Tesink had three assists in the Blainville-Boisbriand Armada’s 4-2 win over the Sherbrooke Phoenix. He was named second star.