Didn't get a chance to post after the semi-final last night....
As a Hitmen fan, that was a tough loss. Especially when you know that it's highly likely that Calgary is the better team of the two; they played seven times between the WHL playoffs and the Memorial Cup and the Hitmen won five of the seven.
But one thing there is no doubt about: Brandon deserved to win last night. They may have been a little shaky in the first period but starting with the 2nd period, the Wheat Kings owned that game. Calgary fans can bitch all they want about who the better team really was but it all comes down to this: both teams knew they had to win last night. Only one of them played like it.
And I see WHL people saying they'll cheer for Windsor now tomorrow because they don't want a "backdoor" team to win. Please....stop with the "backdoor" stuff and the criticisms of the host team format the tournament uses. It's not Brandon's fault the tournament is this way. It's not their players' fault. And it's not like they are some collection of chumps; I firmly believe that had they beaten the Hitmen in the WHL playoffs, they would have been the WHL champs. They are probably the 2nd-most qualified team to represent the WHL. So let's support them and cheer for them to bring the Memorial Cup back to the best junior hockey league in the world tomorrow.
As for the Memorial Cup format....yeah, it has some flaws. But you know what? Every year we debate this and nobody has yet come up with a better idea. You can't just have the three league champs in a (possibly) neutral site and still expect to sell all these tickets. And you can't have three league champs in one of them's building and still have the tournament be the big event that it is; you can't put together a party like that in one week or two weeks. For the Memorial Cup to have the kind of big party atmosphere that we all love and expect, you need the predetermined host city, and you need their team to be in the tournament if you want the local interest that is also required. It's not perfect but it is the best format that we have to choose from.
7 comments:
What do you think of this Alan. You take the 3 other finalists from the leagues, and the team with the most regular season points goes to the cup instead of the host team? This way the host team is still encouraged to be competitive to get into their own tournament, but it isn't a guaranteed spot. So in this case, the 4th team would be Barrie.
Nick
Nick, your idea is no good for a number of reasons. First of all, the host team is almost always very competitive. The host league puts lots of pressure on the host team to ensure this. Having Barrie in this year would be no different than Brandon. They both lost out to the eventual league champion and both were considered the second best team in their respective league.
Secondly, having Barrie host this year's tournament wouldn't work for the reason Alan posted. Barrie wouldn't have known they were hosting until a week before and that is no where near enough time to plan this event. There is a reason the host team is announced 12 - 18 months in advance. That much time is needed to properly put this event on.
Bully73
Brandon was NOT considered the second best team in the WHL by anyone but possibly a homer Wheat Kings fan. Tri-Cities would have that honor, by both finishing first in their conference AND actually getting to the finals (instead of getting absolutely destroyed in the 3rd round). I don't really have a problem with Brandon, if they do eventually win it all, but there should just be an asterisk beside their name in the record books that says "Paid to get in".
I have no problem with a host team I do have a problem with meaningless games that happen on occasion at this tournament. How about this and I know there are obvious flaws: Top ranked team (how to be determined is to be determined but this year give it to Windsor) plays host team in best of three as do teams 2 and 3. Play the games on alternating nights. Final is also a best of three. There are flaws, there could be a minimum of six games and a max of 9 so how do you sell tickets to the tournament. And you would not know for certain when the final game of the tournament is. This format would ramp up the importance of each and every game and there would be no meaningless games.
sorry that should read that teams two and three also play a best of three...versus each other...
bully73...i think you misread the first post, and i completely agree with him/her
if the regular season champions host the memorial cup they would have close to 2 months to organize the tournament not 2 weeks
Is there any reason at all that the host city's team absolutely has to have their team in the tournament? Or even have a CHL team period? I have a hard time believing that they would have trouble selling out a tournament like this, and it also might help them find a new market or two. Might also have a few less 9-3 games........
Post a Comment