RIMOUSKI, Que. – They were loud, proud and ready to roar. By game‘s end, though, the hometown fans had little to cheer for.
The Kelowna Rockets opened the 2009 Memorial Cup with a big statement, posting a one-sided 4-1 victory over the host Rimouski Oceanic on Friday night. Entering the tournament, the Rockets were considered underdogs.
Not anymore. Not after outshooting Rimouski more than two-to-one before a sellout crowd. Not after dominating a contest in which the numbers didn‘t tell the entire story.
“It was a good start, but a lot of times that first win is the toughest one to win,” Rockets bench boss Ryan Huska said after earning his first Memorial Cup victory as a head coach. “We did a good job, especially coming out from the opening faceoff in the first period. I thought we did a good job of letting them know that we‘re here to play.
“There were a few lapses in our game at times, but, overall, we did a good job of responding, especially in tough situations.”
The Rockets had a pair of tough situations against Rimouski, specifically a pair of long five-on-three power plays for the Oceanic, the first coming late in the first period and the second late in the second. However, with a mix of puck luck and blocking shooting lanes, Kelowna came away unscathed.
“Those were really big (kills),” said Huska, who is competing in his seventh Memorial Cup. “You never want to see yourself in those situations, especially lengthy five-on-threes. The first one, (goalie Mark Guggenberger) did a very good job of making saves for us, and the second one, our penalty killers did a great job with their sticks deflecting a lot of pucks away.
“We really didn‘t give them a lot of opportunities on that second one. Those were very, very important in tonight‘s game, and they could have had a larger impact on the game the other way.”
Tyler Myers, Jamie Benn, Ian Duval, with a highlight-reel goal, and Lucas Bloodoff scored for Kelowna, which led 1-0 and 3-0 at the period breaks. Both Benn and Myers had three-point nights, each adding two assists. Midway through the third, Philippe Cornet replied for Rimouski, which was outshot 42-20, including 17-8 and 32-12 after 20 and 40 minutes, respectively.
Guggenberger made 19 saves, while Maxim Gougeon put in a good effort for Rimouski with 38 stops.
The Rockets don‘t play again until Monday, when they take on the QMJHL champion Drummondville Voltigeurs. Today, at 1:30 p.m. PT, the Volts battle the OHL champion Windsor Spitfires, the consensus No. 1 seed in this four-team event.
One surprising aspect of Friday‘s contest was how Rimouski collapsed in its zone, and allowed Kelowna to almost cycle at will.
“Our guys did a great job of playing in the other zone, and I think that really showed in the shots,” said Guggenberger, who, at times, went minutes without seeing a puck. “We came here to win, and I think we proved it right there.”
“We talked a lot about getting that first win,” said Rockets captain Colin Long. “(Huska‘s) been here before, and he said that first win is important so we can get into the semis. But, honestly, we feel we didn‘t play the way we can, especially for a full 60 minutes. Everyone knows we can be better.”
Myers opened the scoring six minutes into the first period, wristing home a screened shot from the high slot after nearly five consecutive minutes of pressure in Rimouski‘s end. The shot was Kelowna‘s eighth on net as the Rockets jumped out to an 8-0 shot lead.
Rimouski‘s first five-on-three of the night came eight minutes later, when Cody Almond was hit for hooking at 13:57, then Collin Bowman for delay of game at 14:08 after firing the puck over this arena‘s low glass. The glass in Rimouski is untraditionally short, with panes measuring five feet along the endboards and four feet along the side. In the WHL, panes measure eight feet and six feet.
In the second, Benn made it 2-0 at 4:33 with a power-play goal, pouncing on a rebound from the right post following a Myers one-timer from the left blue-line. One minute later, Duval made it 3-0 with a standout goal, and the game was effectively over. After taking a high saucer pass from centre ice and controlling it with one hand while breaking in over Rimouski‘s blue-line, Duval found himself on a brief breakaway and converted it, going far side from the left faceoff circle.
“It was a great pass by (Mikael Backlund),” said Duval. “I just knocked it down, and I guess I was kinda lucky there. I saw a little bit of the top of the net, so I buried my head and shot it as hard and as high as I could.
“They were a new team to us, and we didn‘t know what to expect. They totally play a different style than we do in the Western League; it‘s more of a run-and-gun style instead of structural hockey, but we had a good effort tonight. It‘s good to get the first win in the first game.”
In the third, Bloodoff, one of four bodies in front of Gougeon, pushed Kelowna‘s lead to 4-0 by redirecting a Tyson Barrie screened wrist shot from the left faceoff circle. Cornet closed out the scoring at 13:04 with a wrister from above the hashmarks.
ICE CHIPS: Kelowna‘s scratches for Friday‘s game were D Aaron Borejko, RW Spencer Main and RW Shane McColgan. . . . Kelowna was 1-for-3 on the power play; Rimouski was 0-for-5. . . . The Memorial Cup was first presented in 1919 as a memorial to Canadian service personnel killed during World War 1. . . . For the game, the Oceanic wore commemorative jerseys honouring the Canadian armed forces, light and dark blue sweaters with an image of the HMCS Rimouski. The ship, a corvette, escorted convoys during World War II. The one-time jerseys were to be auctioned off. Top of Page
