Sunday . . .

Michael Russo of the Minneapolis StarTribune attended a memorial service for Derek Boogaard on Sunday evening at the Xcel Energy Center. Boogaard’s family was there, as were former teammates, friends, officials from the Minnesota Wild and fans.
Russo’s story is right here, along with a photo gallery.
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Russo, who has done such a terrific job of writing about all that has transpired since Friday, blogged about the memorial service. That piece is right here.
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And there’s more right here from the Hockey Wilderness blog.
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“We shouldn't require reminders. We should know, innately, that death plays no favorites, that not even the strongest escape this planet alive.” . . . That is how Jim Souhan of the Minneapolis StarTribune began his Sunday column.
It’s today’s good read and it’s right here.
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AND IN OTHER NEWS . . .
F Alexandre Beauregard’s first goal was the last one.
Beauregard, a 19-year-old winger, scored his first goal of the QMJHL playoffs at 15:45 of the second OT on Sunday, giving the Saint John Sea Dogs a 3-2 victory over the host Gatineau Olympiques. . . . The Sea Dogs, who went 9-0 in playoff road games, won the QMJHL final 4-2 and have advanced to the Memorial Cup. . . . Former WHL G Jacob DeSerres stopped 36 shots for the Sea Dogs. He will make his second straight trip to the Memorial Cup, having played for the host Brandon Wheat Kings a year ago. . . . The Sea Dogs, who went 58-7-1 in the regular season, forced OT when Jonathan Huberdeau scored his 16th goal of the playoffs with 23.3 seconds left in the third period. . . . Attendance was 4,000.
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Earlier Sunday, the visiting Owen Sound Attack got a goal from F Jarrod Maidens at 3:27 of OT to beat the host Mississauga St. Michael’s Majors 3-2 and win the OHL championship in seven games. . . . Attendance was 5,517 with an estimated 3,000 of those from Owen Sound, which won its first OHL title since the franchise relocated there from Guelph in time for the 1989-90 season. . . . Both teams will play in the Memorial Cup — Owen Sound as OHL champion and Mississauga as the host team. . . . Terry Virtue, a former WHL defenceman who later was an assistant coach with the Tri-City Americans, is on the Owen Sound coaching staff.
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The Memorial Cup opens Friday in Mississauga, with Saint John going up against Mississauga. Owen Sound and the WHL-champion Kootenay Ice get into action on Saturday.
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Matt Coxford of the Cranbrook Daily Townsman has written a piece on how much winning the Ed Chynoweth Cup meant to Jeff Chynoweth, the president and general manager of the Kootenay Ice. That story is right here.
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Jim Matheson, the Edmonton Journal’s Hall of Fame hockey writer, takes a look at Kootenay Ice head coach Kris Knoblauch, who played five seasons with the U of Alberta Golden Bears. It was while playing for Rob Daum with the Golden Bears that Knoblauch first had thoughts of coaching. Matty’s piece is right here.
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If you missed it, Finland won the IIHF world championship on Sunday, beating arch-rival Sweden 6-1 in Kosice, Slovakia. It is Finland’s first world title since 1995. . . . Interestingly, the on-ice officials all were from Canada. The referees were Brent Reiber, a former WHL official who has lived in Switzerland for a number of years now, and OHL veteran Darcy Burchell. The linesmen were Keil Murchison and Chris Carlson, both of whom are WHL officials.
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THE COACHING GAME: Chris Brooks, a native of Stratford, Ont., is the new head coach at the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point. He replaces Wil Nichol, who resigned to accept an NHL front-office position. Brooks was the head coach of the Central league’s Rio Grande Valley Killer Bees for the last three seasons.

gdrinnan@kamloopsnews.ca
     
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