The Plot Thickens in Vancouver

With the WHL champion Medicine Hat Tigers 4-1 victory over the OHL champion Plymouth Whalers last night, the next two nights are going to determine what happens the rest of the week.

The MAINEiacs still control their own destiny. A big win over the winless Whalers tonight coupled with a Vancouver Giants loss against Medicine Hat tomorrow could put Lewiston in a direct bye into Sunday’s championship game. A loss, pending on margin, could be costly, and the scenarios too numerous to discuss. As the old adage goes, “just win, baby.”

Yup, the team is without it’s captain. Marc-Andre Cliche’s separated shoulder is being played out in the media as being a big deal. In some aspects, it is. Cliche was dominant in his defensive forward role with Team Canada in the World Junior Championships, as well as his play in the QMJHL Presidents club run. His loss will be felt to a certain degree. This puts the spotlight firmly on his replacement on the top line, Simon Courcelles. A battle-tested warrior himself, who knows what it is like on the grand stage of Canadian junior hockey’s masterpiece series. For most of the season, Courcelles was on the third line with David Perron, and Lewiston fans know the kind of magic that those two can bring to the ice when paired up together. Courcelles will have a chance to prove yet again that his leadership from last year’s Memorial Cup with the Quebec Remparts is worth more than any dollar figure that can be named to it. If there is one player that can bring it all to the table, it is Courcelles.

The Whalers have nothing to lose and will go for broke to force a possible tiebreaking game on Thursday. The best that Plymouth can hope for is to defeat Lewiston and have Medicine Hat beat Vancouver tomorrow night. This will likely set up a rematch between Lewiston and Plymouth on Thursday, with the winner facing off in the semi-final the next evening.

It’s been overused in this column all season long, and it will get overused a little more. The Lewiston MAINEiacs just need to play their game, plain and simple. Sure, Vancouver was impressive Sunday afternoon, but Lewiston allowed them to be impressive. When the MAINEiacs play their game, as we’ve seen all season long, no matter the competition, Lewiston can dominate and win… no matter the adversity that it is up against.

Two, possibly three wins to junior hockey immortality. The choice is their own. Work with what got them to this stage, or bow out leaving question marks and finger pointing of what went wrong. Knowing how this team has rallied after a defeat, anything short of a full 60-minute effort tonight and here on out would be a major surprise and disappointment.

We still… believe.
Today’s Media

Justin Pelletier of the Lewiston Sun Journal files two stories today. Maineiacs look within after shaking off Sunday’s loss against Vancouver and looking forward to the winless Plymouth Whalers tonight. Cliche’s return doubtful as the prognosis on the MAINEiacs team captain is not good, but does leave a window cracked for hope.

The main sports page to the Vancouver Province with all the latest concerning the tournament.

Sportsnet has all wrap on last night’s Medicine Hat / Plymouth match complete with highlights.

Road Report from Jeff Mannix

The scenario for Lewiston to win the round robin and advance to the Memorial Cup Final.  That is because the Medicine Hat Tigers took care of the first piece of the puzzle last night with a 4-1 victory over the Plymouth Whalers.  Tyler Ennis was the big star of the game for Medicine Hat, as he had a hand in all four Tiger goals.  He scored twice and assisted on the other two.  Brennan Bosch scored once and added two assists.  Daine Todd scored a goal and had an assist.  The game was highlighted by a lot of physical and chippy play that included a few fights in the final ten minutes. 

The game was dominated from the start by Medicine Hat as Bosch scored on a big rebound left by Plymouth goalie Michal Neuvirth just 1:57 into the game to put Medicine Hat ahead 1-0.  At 4:25, Ennis scored his first of the game on a rush up the right side to double the Tigers lead, and force coach Michael Velucci to make a goaltending change, replacing Neuvirth with 17 year-old Jeremy Smith.  Neuvirth stopped just three of the five shots he faced. 

Smith did stop the bleeding, as he saved 30 of 32.  Ennis scored his second goal of the game on the power play at 1:43 of the second period from the doorstep.  Todd scored from the same spot on the power play just 0:38 seconds into the third.  But Plymouth would salvage something from the game at 1:32 of the third when James Neal scored his third goal of the tournament.  He leads all players in goals to this point at the Memorial Cup.

Lewiston is now tied with Medicine Hat for second place at 1-1, with Lewiston holding the tiebreaker at the moment by Saturday’s win over the Tigers.  Vancouver is first at 2-0, and Plymouth is last at 0-2. 

The Whalers now need to win tonight’s game against Lewiston to force a tiebreaker game, or the Whalers will be eliminated from the tournament.

Stopping Neal will be the key for the MAINEiacs, as his shot and speed have prooved to be very difficult for other teams to deal with.  Plymouth will have to recover quicky from a very poor performance, so far, the worst by any team in the Memorial Cup.  Vellucci also has a big decision to make overnight: which goalie does he start?  Neuvirth is the number one and has brought the Whalers to this point.  But, he played so badly and Smith played so well, it may be to Plymouth’s advantage to go back to Smith.

The MAINEiacs did not attend tonight’s game at Pacific Coliseum, instead opting for an early dinner and rest.  The MAINEiacs started their day at the Coliseum with an active stretching session and a lot of their volleyball game.  After that, they went back to the hotel before heading to lunch at the Catcus Club in downtown Vancouver before the big highlight of the day: a tour of the Vancouver Canucks facility at GM Place. 

The tour was arranged for the MAINEiacs by Canucks head coach Alain Vigneault.  Lewiston coach Clem Jodoin was one of Vigneault’s assistant coaches with the Montreal Canadiens .  Vigneault showed the MAINEiacs players the Canucks weight training facility, the players lounge with a large plasma-screen TV, the Canucks training facility which includes three reclining training tables, plus the Canucks dressing room, which has a carpet in the shape of hockey rink in the middle with a Canucks logo.  The team had their photo taken on that carpet.  The MAINEiacs also got to see the Canucks equipment room with numerous sticks and practice jerseys, plus the team’s mail room which has fan mail for all the players.  Trevor Linden doesn’t have a box, has has a crate  for his mail there’s so much, as does Matthias Ohlund.  Both players are dwarfed, tough, by goalie Roberto Luongo, who has two large creights dedicated only to him.

At the end of the visit, Vigneault gave a pep talk to the MAINEiacs players, telling them to enjoy their time at the tournament, because it is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity that many players never get.  He told them to play hard and play smart and concluded his talk by telling the team to “Kick some ass and have fun.  We’re pulling for you.  I think you can win it.”

Vigneault will join me during the first intermission of today’s broadcast for interview.  Our coverage of the Lewiston MAINEiacs taking on the Plymouth Whalers in the final game for each team of the Memorial Cup round robin from Pacific Coliseum in Vancouver will begin with the Memorial Cup Pregame Show at 7:30 p.m., ET for an 8:00 p.m., faceoff.  You can hear it on 1470 ESPN and at lewistonhockey.com.

offthepost@lewistonhockey.com