The Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds of the Ontario Hockey League have withdrawn their bid to host the 2002 MasterCard Memorial Cup.
Five Ontario Hockey League teams were scheduled to make formal bids to host the 2002 MasterCard Memorial Cup, with the bid presentations taking place Tuesday, Dec. 18 in Toronto. The Greyhounds were scheduled to be one of those teams, but the club announced on Wednesday that it had decided to forgo the opportunity to bid, citing difficulties with their facility in accommodating a Memorial Cup at this time as the primary reason.
The OHL determined before this season that the top four teams in each of its two conferences (and ties, if any) at the 30-game mark of the regular season would have the opportunity to play host to the championship tournament of the Canadian Hockey League from May 18-26, 2002. All OHL teams hit the 30-game mark this past weekend and nine teams were eligible to make bids.
The league announced on Tuesday afternoon that five teams would make formal bid presentations at Toronto’s Airport Marriott Hotel. The other four teams that will still make bids on Dec. 18 are the Barrie Colts, the Erie Otters, the Guelph Storm and the Ottawa 67’s.
The Memorial Cup Selection Committee that will hear the formal presentations is comprised of Paul Beeston, chief operating officer, commissioner’s office for Major League Baseball, Frank Bonello, Director of the National Hockey League’s Central Scouting Bureau and Bryan O’Neill, former NHL Vice-President and now a consultant with the NHL. OHL commissioner and CHL President David Branch and league solicitor Gordon Kirke are non-voting members of the selection committee.
Each of the three leagues in the Canadian Hockey League – the Ontario Hockey League, the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League and the Western Hockey League – get the opportunity to play host to the CHL championship tournament once every three years. Last year the WHL played host and the WHL selected Regina, Saskatchewan as host city before the season began, with the Pats gaining a berth in the tournament as host team.
Each year the Memorial Cup increases in stature and size, so the teams bidding must ensure they can put everything in place to meet the requirements in time for the 2002 MasterCard Memorial Cup. The 30-game mark requirement has ensured a quality host team will participate. The champions of the QMJHL and the WHL will join the host team and the OHL champions in the tournament (if the host team also wins the OHL title, the OHL finalists will gain a berth in the four-team tournament).
A decision on the winning bid to host the 2002 MasterCard Memorial Cup is expected in mid-January, 2002.
WESTERN HOCKEY LEAGUE
There are no games in the WHL Thursday night.
There were five games in the WHL on Wednesday night. Kelowna blanked Swift Current 3-0, Regina stopped Brandon 3-1, Spokane doubled Saskatoon 4-2, Kamloops (3) got by Portland 3-2 and Moose Jaw and Lethbridge battled to a 3-3 tie.
At Kelowna, Josh Gorges scored a power play goal at 12:48 of the second period to break a scoreless tie to lead Kelowna. Ryan Cuthbert added a pair of assists to the attack while Jason Stone stopped all 25 shots he faced to record the shutout.
At Regina, Grant Jacobsen scored twice and added one assist to lead the Pats to the win. Chris Schlenker added a pair of assists for the winners, while Josh Harding made 26 saves in goal. Reagan Leslie scored the lone goal for Brandon before 4,017 fans.
At Spokane, Matthew Keith scored twice and Joff Kehler had one goal and two assist to lead Spokane to its win before 4,078 fans. Barry Brust made 22 saves to pick up the win in goal.
At Kamloops, the third ranked Blazers got two goals from Erik Christensen to
pick up the win. Scott Henkelman had three assists for Kamloops, while
Shaonne Morrison’s power play goal in the second period turned out to be the
game-winner. Davis parley made 33 saves for the winners, who were out-shot
35-26.
ONTARIO HOCKEY LEAGUE
There are three games in the OHL Thursday night. Ottawa travels to
Peterborough, Brampton is at Sarnia and Guelph (7) plays in Windsor.
There were no games in the OHL on Wednesday night.
QUEBEC MAJOR JUNIOR HOCKEY LEAGUE
There are three games in the QMJHL on Thursday night. Victoriaville plays at
Halifax (8), Montreal visits Baie-Comeau and Hull travels to Rimouski.
On Wednesday night in the QMJHL, Quebec defeated Moncton 5-2, Drummondville
blanked Val-d’Or 5-0 and Acadie-Bathurst (1) extended its unbeaten streak to
20 games with a 5-0 win over Hull.
Guy Chouinard picked up his 500th win in the QMJHL as his Remparts won at
Moncton. Chouinard is the all-time leader in wins in the QMJHL coaching
ranks. David Masse had three goals for the winners, while Shawn Collymore
scored the other two. Kevin Lachance made 18 saves in goal for the shutout
while Daniel Hudgin picked up two assists for the losers.
At Acadie-Bathurst, the Titan made it 20 games without a loss as Adam Russo
and Olivier Dannel split the goaltending duties during the shutout,
combining to make 20 saves. Jonathan Ferland had one goal and two assists
for the winners, while Hull’s Philippe Lacasse was stopped on a penalty
shot.
At Val-d’Or, Olivier Proulx had two goals and three assists for the winners,
while Frederic Faucher added two goals and two assists. Jean-Francois Racine
made 26 saves in goal to get the shutout for the Voltigeurs.
For complete QMJHL statistics and standings, visit the QMJHL site.
