Market2018 Memorial Cup
Company Profile

2018 Memorial Cup

The 2018 Memorial Cup was a four-team, round-robin format tournament that was held at Brandt Centre in Regina, Saskatchewan from May 18–27, 2018. It was the 100th Memorial Cup championship of junior ice hockey, and determined the champion of the Canadian Hockey League (CHL). The CHL chose to allow all three of its constituent leagues to bid for hosting the 100th Memorial Cup, instead of the usual rotation between its leagues. The Regina Pats won the right to host the tournament, over bids from the Hamilton Bulldogs and the Oshawa Generals.

Background
The Memorial Cup was established by Captain James T. Sutherland in 1919 after he returned from serving in World War I. The deaths of Scotty Davidson, and George Richardson served as inspiration for the trophy. The Cup was donated to the Canadian Amateur Hockey Association by the Ontario Hockey Association (OHA) in March 1919, then known as the "OHA Memorial Cup". It was dedicated in remembrance of Canadian soldiers who died during World War I. The Memorial Cup later became the championship trophy of the Canadian Hockey League (CHL), and in 2010 it was rededicated to honour "all Canadian military personnel killed in combat". ==Host bidding process==
Host bidding process
The CHL chose to allow all three of its constituent leagues to bid for hosting the 100th Memorial Cup. Since 1983 the three leagues had rotated hosting of the event. It would have been the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League's (QMJHL) turn to host in 2018, but an exception was made where the Ontario Hockey League (OHL), and the Western Hockey League (WHL) were also allowed to bid. The regular rotation continued as of the 2019 Memorial Cup, with hosting duties assigned to a team from the QMJHL. Each league was given a deadline of November 16, 2017, to submit a short list of up to two bids per league for the 2018 event. On January 23, 2018, the CHL announced who would sit on the committee to select the host team. Committee members included Michael Akpata (Canadian Armed Forces retiree), Paul Beeston (former president of the Toronto Blue Jays), Colin Campbell (National Hockey League), Scott Smith (Hockey Canada), Al Coates (Hockey Canada), Serge Fortin (TVA Sports), and Scott Moore (Sportsnet). The three league commissioners, David Branch (OHL), Gilles Courteau (QMJHL), and Ron Robison (WHL), observed on the committee which was chaired by CHL legal counsel Gord Kirke. Hamilton's home arena was FirstOntario Centre with a capacity of 17,383 people, and the host site of the 1990 Memorial Cup. The Pats also played in the very first final, in the 1919 Memorial Cup. On February 18, 2017, the CHL announced the Regina Pats as the host team for the 100th Memorial Cup. ==100th anniversary celebrations==
100th anniversary celebrations
The CHL unveiled a 100th anniversary logo for the Memorial Cup on October 12, 2017. It included wheat sheaves symbolic of the Canadian Prairies where Regina is located, and the poppy to honour the fallen soldiers to whom the Memorial Cup is dedicated. The CHL and Canada Post produced a 100th anniversary postage stamp, released on May 18, 2018, which featured two Regina players from the inaugural 1919 Memorial Cup. The CHL also distributed a commemorative coin for the event, in cooperation with the Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce. The 100th anniversary logo was also worn as a patch by all players and on-ice officials, for the duration of the 2017–18 season commencing on Remembrance Day. Don Cherry was named an honorary chairman of the 100th anniversary celebrations, and the CHL announced that the Memorial Cup would tour across Canada during the 2017–18 season, beginning on November 18, 2017. The cities included in the tour were, Barrie, Bathurst, Brandon, Calgary, Chicoutimi, Edmonton, Halifax, Kingston, Moncton, Ottawa, Owen Sound, Quebec City, Regina, Sarnia, St. Catharines, Swift Current, and Vancouver. The Cup's tour began at CFB Borden and the Santa Claus parade in Barrie, and later visited Niagara Falls and Fort George. The 2005 London Knights were announced as the "team of the century" during the second period of the final game in the 2018 Memorial Cup. The 2018 Memorial Cup tournament began on May 17, 2018, with the opening ceremonies hosted by Brent Butt and Adam Growe at Mosaic Stadium. The Snowbirds performed a fly-by of the stadium before the opening concert. Musical acts included a tribute to the Humboldt Broncos bus crash by the Regina Symphony Orchestra, and other performances by Jess Moskaluke, Chad Brownlee, and the Eagles. ==Road to the Cup==
Road to the Cup
The Regina Pats were given a berth in the 2018 Memorial Cup in their role as the host team. The remaining three berths were given to the playoffs champions of each constituent league of the CHL. The team was led in scoring by Matthew Strome with 37 goals, and Brandon Saigeon with 70 points. In the playoffs, the Bulldogs defeated the Ottawa 67's in five games in round one, then the Niagara IceDogs in five games in round two, and the Kingston Frontenacs in five games in round three to reach the finals. Hamilton defeated the top-ranked Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds in six games to win the J. Ross Robertson Cup, and earn a berth in the 2018 Memorial Cup. Playoffs bracket The team was led in scoring by Jeffrey Truchon-Viel with 39 goals, and Antoine Morand with 76 points. In the playoffs, the Titan defeated the Chicoutimi Saguenéens in six games in the first round, then swept both the Sherbrooke Phoenix, and the Victoriaville Tigres in rounds two and three to reach the finals. Acadie–Bathurst defeated the top-ranked Blainville-Boisbriand Armada in six games to win the President's Cup, and earn a berth in the 2018 Memorial Cup. Playoffs bracket The team featured three 100-point-scorers, including Glenn Gawdin (56 goals and 125 points), Aleksi Heponiemi (90 assists and 118 points), and Tyler Steenbergen (47 goals and 102 points). In the playoffs, the Broncos defeated the Regina Pats in seven games in the first round, the top-ranked Moose Jaw Warriors in seven games in the second round, and the Lethbridge Hurricanes in six games in the third round to reach the finals. Swift Current defeated the Everett Silvertips in six games to win the Ed Chynoweth Cup, and earn a berth in the 2018 Memorial Cup. Playoffs bracket ==Team rosters==
Team rosters
Rosters as listed on the Memorial Cup web site for Regina, Acadie–Bathurst, Hamilton, and Swift Current. Regina PatsHead coach: John Paddock Acadie–Bathurst TitanHead coach: Mario Pouliot Hamilton BulldogsHead coach: John Gruden Swift Current BroncosHead coach: Emanuel Viveiros ==Tournament games==
Tournament games
The 2018 Memorial Cup tournament was played from May 18 to 27, 2018. (All game times are UTC −4.) Round-robin The first round-robin game featured the host team Regina Pats, versus the OHL champion Hamilton Bulldogs. Robert Thomas scored to give Hamilton a first-period lead, before Sam Steel tied the game for Regina on a power play goal in the first minute of the second period. Each team scored once more in the second period, and were tied 2–2 until the final minute of the third period. Nick Henry scored with 33 seconds remaining to give Regina the game one victory. The second round-robin game featured the QMJHL champion Acadie–Bathurst Titan, versus the WHL champion Swift Current Broncos. The Titan scored two short-handed goals during regulation to force the game into overtime with a 3–3 tie. Liam Murphy scored for Acadie–Bathurst at 2:58 into overtime to give the Titan a game two victory. The third round-robin game featured the two undefeated teams, Regina and Acadie–Bathurst. The teams combined to score 14 goals, the highest scoring match in the 2018 Memorial Cup. The Titan had built up a 7–2 lead by the 1:39 mark of the third period, before Regina scored four consecutive goals to make the score 7–6 with two minutes to play. The Titan then scored an empty net goal with one second remaining to secure a game three victory, and remain undefeated. In the fourth round-robin game, the Broncos and Bulldogs faced each other with both teams looking for their first win of the tournament. It was the lowest-scoring game of the round-robin, and Hamilton prevailed with a 2–1 victory on a goal by Marian Studenič with two minutes and one second remaining in the game. Hamilton had 56 shots on net, compared to only 22 for Swift Current. Broncos goaltender Stuart Skinner made 54 saves in the loss, and was named the game's first star. Acadie–Bathurst faced Hamilton in the fifth round-robin game. A win by the Titan would guarantee them a berth in the championship game, or a win by Hamilton would earn at least a semifinal game appearance. The Bulldogs scored twice in the first period for a 2–0 lead, and held on for a 3–2 victory on a game-winning goal by Robert Thomas on a third period power play. Late in the third period the Titan had a power play, but Pouliot made a coaching decision to not pull out the goaltender for an extra attacker. Pouliot's reasoning was strategical, in that if Hamilton scored into an empty net for a two-goal victory, then Hamilton could advance to the final based on the tie-breaking procedure. He chose to defend a one-goal deficit instead to preserve the tie-breaking advantage. In the sixth and final round-robin game, the winless Broncos needed a win to force a tie-breaking game, and the Pats needed a win to secure at least a semifinal game appearance. Regina led 4–2 after the second period, and scored a fifth goal at 10:23 into the third period for a 5–2 advantage. Swift Current replied with two goals to pull within one with 2:49 remaining in the game. Libor Hajek scored on a power play for Regina with 1:37 remaining in the game for a two-goal lead. The Broncos scored a power play goal of their own with 50 seconds remaining in the game, but the comeback fell short in a 6–5 victory for Regina. Round-robin standings The Acadie–Bathurst Titan advanced directly to the championship game, based on the tie-breaking procedure for a three-way tie. The Regina Pats and the Hamilton Bulldogs qualified for the semifinal game, based on the same tie-breaking procedure. The Swift Current Broncos finished in fourth place and were eliminated. Austin Pratt scored the first goal of the game at 5:22 in the first period for Regina, however Nicolas Mattinen of the Bulldogs scored in the second to tie the game. The tie was short-lived as minutes later, the Pats took the lead again. In the third period, Sam Steel, who led the tournament with 13 points, scored the game-winning goal despite Will Bitten of the Bulldogs scoring his first goal of the tournament. In the end, the Pats scored an empty net goal to seal the game 4–2. ==Statistical leaders==
Statistical leaders
Skaters Sam Steel led all skaters with 13 points in the 2018 Memorial Cup. • GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; PIM = Penalty minutes Goaltenders Kaden Fulcher led all goaltenders with a goals against average of 2.27, and save percentage with 0.918. • GP = Games played; W = Wins; L = Losses; SA = Shots against; GA = Goals against; GAA = Goals against average; SV% = Save percentage; SO = Shutouts; TOI = Time on ice (minutes) } || Acadie–Bathurst Titan || 4 || 3 || 1 || 0 || 127 || 12 || 2.96 || .906 || 1 || 243 ==Awards==
Awards
The CHL handed out the following awards at the conclusion of the 2018 Memorial Cup: • Stafford Smythe Memorial Trophy (Most outstanding player): Sam Steel, Regina Pats • Ed Chynoweth Trophy (Top scorer): Sam Steel, Regina Pats • George Parsons Trophy (Most sportsmanlike player): Adam Holwell, Acadie–Bathurst Titan • Hap Emms Memorial Trophy (Best goaltender): Kaden Fulcher, Hamilton Bulldogs • Memorial Cup All-Star Team: ::Goaltender: Max Paddock, Regina Pats ::Defence: Noah Dobson, Acadie–Bathurst Titan; Josh Mahura, Regina Pats ::Forwards: Sam Steel, Regina Pats; Jeffrey Truchon-Viel, Acadie–Bathurst Titan; Samuel Asselin, Acadie–Bathurst Titan ==References==
tickerdossier.comtickerdossier.substack.com