Day 5 . . . first period

DAY 5 AT THE MASTERCARD MEMORIAL CUP . . .

FIRST PERIOD:
The referees are Matt Kirk and Pat Smith, both from the WHL. . . . No one will remember this event more than Kirk. This is his third game in five nights and he is from Brandon. Good for him. . . . The linesmen are Chris Carlson and Justin Hull. . . . So it’s an all-WHL officiating team. Which means it will be a well-officiated game. Right fans? . . . A neat touch to the ceremonial faceoff tonight. Eight members of the 1959 Winnipeg Braves are here tonight. The last team to win the Memorial Cup, they did it right here in Brandon. The final game of the series was moved here after a circus took over the arena in Winnipeg. . . . Oh, do these gentlemen get a resounding standing ovation. Great stuff! . . . Laurie Langrelle and Bobby Leiter, both of whom starred with the Braves, are there, as is Pat Angers of Neepawa, who was a pretty good baseball player in these parts, too. . . . Old friend Ted Knight, who once owned a chunk of the Regina Pats, isn’t here but he was on that Braves team. . . . Former Brandon Wheat Kings F Ryan Craig also is on the carpet and he gets a standing ovation, too. . . . I understand that Bill Fairbairn will be involved in one of the ceremonial faceoffs before this is over. Ahh, the days when Fairbairn and Juha Widing ruled this town. . . . I am the only person in my five-seat row on the press bench. Lots of room tonight. . . . There’s a trip and the first PP goes to Windsor. . . . Windsor LW Taylor Hall’s first shift, on the PP, isn’t a good one as he twice loses the puck and the Spitfires don’t get set up. . . . But it was more bad bounces than bad management on his part. . . . G Shane Owen makes his first three saves and he looks to be cool about it. . . . He’s a 19-year-old from Markham, Ont. . . . And now Moncton is on the PP. . . . Owen put up 14 victories and a 2.12 GAA while backing up Nicola Riopel in the regular season. But he played only 42 minutes in the playoffs and this is his first appearance here. . . . Moncton F Ted Stephens just took a hard bump and he’s head for the bench with his right arm hanging. . . . Moncton gets a chance off the rush and Grubauer makes the save. . . . It will be interesting to see how the crowd reacts to goals tonight. Gotta think the Wildcats are the underdogs and will get the loudest cheers. . . . Windsor F Justin Shugg gets loose on the right side and Owen makes a save up high. I think that one stung. . . . Moncton has an 8-5 edge in shots. . . . Philly 1, Montreal 0 on the scoreboard and a small ripple goes through the crowd. . . . Moncton D David Savard uses one of the shortest sticks I have ever seen. According to the Wildcats guide, he is 6-foot-2 and 212 pounds. . . . Great outside-in move by Windsor F Eric Wellwood but he can’t beat Owen. . . . Moncton comes close down at the far end and there’s a holding penalty. . . . Moncton will be on the PP after the timeout. . . . Big glove same by Grubauer on F Scott Brannon. . . . Windsor head coach Bob Boughner loves Hall, and with good reason, but Grubauer gives them a lot of confidence where it’s most important. . . . There’s another Brandon bounce on a Moncton dump-in, but this time the puck goes directly to Grubauer. Gotta think the goaltenders are a lot more alert on those plays these days. . . . The 50/50 pot is at $11,295. This time, I’m in three times. . . . Moncton F Alain Saulnier centres from behind the net to twin brother Alex but he misfires from in tight. . . . We’re scoreless and Moncton has a 13-8 edge in shots at the TV timeout. . . . Grubauer with a glove on a Cole MacMillan shot. . . . Boughner can’t be liking what he’s seeing to this point. Not much jump in the Spitfires. . . . Windsor tries the old Hail Mary and it almost works. It’s the long, high flip pass to Hall who is racing up the ice. But he can’t get free deep in the offensive zone. . . . Windsor takes a penalty with 1:42 left in a scoreless period. . . . It’s D Ryan Ellis off for tripping and Moncton goes up 1-0 as F Randy Cameron catches Grubauer moving the wrong way and floats one in from the blue line. Cameron dropped his right shoulder a bit and Grubauer, I think, anticipated the puck going to the other side of the ice. . . . Moncton with a 16-10 edge in shots. . . . And now Windsor gets a PP with 55.1 seconds left. . . . Looks like Ellis got a stick in the face from F Alex Saulnier. . . . D Cam Fowler pulls Windsor even with a slapper from the point that goes off a post and in with 7.4 seconds left. Hall won’t get an assist but he made a great play, down on one knee, to maintain possession in the corner to the left of Owen. . . . We’re 1-1 after one with Moncton leading 16-11 on the shot clock.