Day 6 . . . pregame

DAY 6 AT THE 2010 MASTERCARD MEMORIAL CUP . . .

UPDATE: Brandon will start Jacob DeSerres in goal and has scratched D Jordan Hale, D Ryley Miller and F Jesse Sinatynski. . . . Calgary will have Martin Jones in goal and has scratched F Brandon Kozun, D Peter Kosterman, D Jaynen Rissling (upper body) and F Cody Sylvester (ill).
The referees are Nicolas Dutil (QMJHL) and Darcy Burchell (OHL). The linesmen are Jeff Jobson and Kiel Murchison, both of the WHL.
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PREGAME:
It’s the Calgary Hitmen, the champions of the WHL, against the host Brandon Wheat Kings in the final round-robin game at this event.
These teams both are 1-1 and already know they will meet again in the semifinal game on Friday night.
So what’s at stake tonight?
The winner will be declared the home team for Friday’s game, meaning it will get the benefit of the last line change.
And, of course, the winner of Friday’s game will meet the Windsor Spitfires in Sunday’s final.
This will be the 10th meeting of this season between Brandon and Calgary. The Wheat Kings won three of four games (3-0-0-1) in the regular-season, while Calgary took out Brandon in five games in the Eastern Conference final.
The Wheat Kings won the first game of that series, 4-3, in Calgary. The Hitmen won the second game, 3-2 on an Ian Schultz OT goal, and never looked back. Calgary won that series in five games, leaving no doubt with a 6-1 victory in the clincher.
The Hitmen actually have eliminated the Wheat Kings in three of the last four seasons, sweeping them in the conference final in the spring of 2009, and taking them out in six games in a conference semifinal in 2007.
In those three playoff series, the Hitmen hold a 12-3 edge. Do you think maybe the Wheat Kings have something to prove against Calgary?
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On the other hand, how much is there really to play for tonight? Both teams know they'll meet again Friday, so the No. 1 priority has to be staying healthy. Doesn't it?
But then again there is some pride on the line, what with the Wheat Kings playing in front of the home crowd and already being embarrassed once here. Or have you forgotten that they lost 9-3 to Windsor on Friday?
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Don’t expect to see Calgary F Brandon Kozun, who led all WHL scorers in the regular season and again in the playoffs. He suffered an ankle injury in the last game (Game 5) of the WHL’s championship final against the Tri-City Americans. He hasn’t had much skating time since then and I wouldn’t expect him to play before Friday’s semifinal.
The Hitmen also will be without F Cody Sylvester, who is said to be ill.
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The Stone brothers will go head-to-head here tonight. D Michael Stone is the captain of the Hitmen; his brother, Mark, is a forward with the Wheat Kings.
Seeing as they’re both in town, you might think they would have gotten together for breakfast or lunch . . . or perhaps met up just to say hello. Right?
Wrong?
Their mother, Jackie, told David Larkins of the Brandon Sun that there hasn’t been any contact between the brothers, who are from Winnipeg.
Jackie told Larkins that it was Mark’s birthday on Thursday — he turned 18 — but that didn’t matter to Michael, 19, who didn’t even talk to his brother to wish him a happy birthday.
Perhaps the two will exchange a birthday hug somewhere along the boards tonight.
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The Wheat Kings are expected to give Jacob DeSerres his second straight start in goal. DeSerres, who is from Calgary, blanked the Moncton Wildcats 4-0 on Sunday. That was the first Memorial Cup shutout by a Brandon goaltender.
The Wheat Kings’ organization now has played 25 Memorial Cup games.
Brandon lost 4-3 (with one tie) to the Montreal Royals in 1949.
In 1979, in Verdun, Que., the Wheat Kings lost 2-1 in OT to the Peterborough Petes in the championship game.
In 1995 in Kamloops and in 1996 in Peterborough, the Wheat Kings lost in the semifinal.
DeSerres was selected by the Philadelphia Flyers in the third round of the 2008 bantam draft but hasn’t signed an NHL contract.
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F Del Cowan, 20, is one of the really good stories here.
Cowan is from Hartney, which is just a short drive from here, and he actually started what would have been his third season with the Wheat Kings.
Cowan played in seven games with Brandon before getting caught up in the 20-year-old numbers game. He was traded to Prince George and played in six games with the Cougars, before they sent him to the Hitmen.
In 54 regular-season games with Calgary, Cowan, who admits to being a lunch-bucket guy, had 27 points, including 14 goals.
In the playoffs is where he really blossomed, though, picking up 16 points, 12 of them assists, in 23 games.
He got a resounding ovation from the crowd here Saturday when he was introduced prior the Calgary’s first game. You can bet he’ll have some fans in the crowd again tonight.