2007 Memorial Cup Explained

The 2007 MasterCard Memorial Cup was played in May 2007 in Vancouver, British Columbia, at the Pacific Coliseum. It was the 89th annual Memorial Cup competition and determined the major junior ice hockey champion of the Canadian Hockey League (CHL). The tournament was competed between the WHL champion, the Medicine Hat Tigers; the OHL champion, the Plymouth Whalers; the QMJHL champion, the Lewiston Maineiacs; and the host team and tournament champion, Vancouver Giants, who were competing in their second consecutive national junior championship. The Memorial Cup tournament was a four team tournament with a round-robin format. The Giants won their first Memorial Cup, defeating Medicine Hat 3–1 in the second all-WHL final in tournament history (the first was in 1989). The tournament set a new Memorial Cup attendance record with 121,561 fans attending the nine games. The previous record of 84,686 was set at the 2003 tournament in Quebec City.

The tournament was the first to feature two league champions based in the United States, from Lewiston, Maine and Plymouth, Michigan, respectively. The only previous Memorial Cup to feature two American teams was the 1998 Memorial Cup, featuring the WHL champion, the Portland Winter Hawks and the host, the Spokane Chiefs. The 2007 MasterCard Memorial Cup was also the first to feature the two-referee system.

The Memorial Cup trophy's ties to Canadian military were evident when Canadian Forces units delivered it to the championship by sea, aboard ; by air, hoisted aboard a CH-149 Cormorant helicopter; and by land, via the armoured 39th Canadian Brigade Group Convoy.^[1]

Rosters

Vancouver Giants (host)	Plymouth Whalers (OHL)
Goaltenders 29 – Tyson Sexsmith 30 – Blaine Neufeld Defencemen  4 – Brendan Mikkelson  5 – Neil Manning  6 – Cody Franson  7 – Jonathon Blum 21 – Brett Festerling 23 – A. J. Thelen 25 – Nolan Toigo 28 – Brent Regner Forwards 9 – Evander Kane 10 – Lance Bouma 11 – J. D. Watt 12 – Tim Kraus 14 – Craig Cunningham 15 – Spencer Machacek 16 – Wacey Rabbit 18 – Mitch Czibere 19 – James Wright 20 – Mario Bliznak 22 – Kenndal McArdle 24 – Garet Hunt 26 – Michal Repik 27 – Milan Lucic 38 – Mike Wuchterl Head coach: Don Hay	Goaltenders 30 – Jeremy Smith 40 – Michal Neuvirth Defencemen  2 – Brett Bellemore  3 – Wes Cunningham  4 – Leo Jenner  5 – Jozef Sladok  6 – Steven Whitely 10 – Ryan McGinnis 26 – Steve Ward 28 – Zack Shepley 34 – Jordan O'Neill Forwards  7 – Jared Boll  9 – Vern Cooper 11 – Evan Brophey 12 – Kaine Geldart 13 – Sean O'Connor 15 – Andrew Fournier 16 – Brett Valiquette 17 – Dan Collins 19 – James Neal 20 – Chris Terry 21 – Tommy Sestito 22 – AJ Jenks 23 – Joe McCann 25 – Joe Gaynor 27 – Daniel Ryder Head coach: Mike Vellucci
Lewiston Maineiacs (QMJHL)	Medicine Hat Tigers (WHL)
Goaltenders  1 – Jonathan Bernier 30 – Peter Delmas Defencemen  2 – Michael Ward  3 – Chad Denny  4 – Tom Michalik 15 – Marc-Andre Crete 46 – Kevin Marshall 48 – Patrick Cusack 79 – Michal Korenko Forwards  5 – Alexander Beaton  9 – Simon Courcelles 10 – Marc-Andre Cliche 11 – Stefano Giliati 19 – Marc-Andre Daneau 20 – Jakub Bundil 21 – David Taylor 22 – Chris Tutalo 27 – Eric Castonguay 34 – Stefan Chaput 39 – David Perron 47 – Danick Paquette 55 – Sebastien Piche 72 – Pierre-Luc Faubert 89 – Triston Manson Head coach: Clement Jodoin	Goaltenders 31 – Ryan Holfeld 33 – Matt Keetley Defencemen  3 – Gord Baldwin  4 – David Schlemko  5 – Trevor Glass 10 – Kris Russell 18 – Michael Sauer 24 – Mark Isherwood 27 – Shayne Brown 29 – Jordan Bendfeld Forwards  9 – Brennan Bosch 11 – Scott Wasden 12 – Colton Grant 14 – Darren Helm 15 – Derek Dorsett 16 – Daine Todd 17 – Tyler Swystun 19 – Matt Lowry 20 – Kevin Undershute 21 – Jerrid Sauer 22 – Tyler Ennis 23 – Jordan Hickmott 25 – Jakub Rumpel 28 – Bretton Cameron 36 – Chris Stevens Head coach: Willie Desjardins

Schedule

Championship game

Leading scorers

Player	GP	G	A	Pts	PIM
Michal Repik, Vancouver	5	3	4	7	4
Milan Lucic, Vancouver	5	2	5	7	12
Tom Sestito, Plymouth	5	2	5	7	6
James Neal, Plymouth	5	5	1	6	42
Mario Bliznak, Vancouver	5	1	5	6	2
Tyler Ennis, Medicine Hat	4	2	2	4	4
Kenndal McArdle, Vancouver	5	2	2	4	6
J. D. Watt, Vancouver	5	1	3	4	14
Spencer Machacek, Vancouver	5	3	0	3	0
Simon Courcelles, Lewiston	4	2	1	3	0
Evan Brophey, Plymouth	5	2	1	3	18
Andrew Fournier, Plymouth	5	2	1	3	0
Wacey Rabbit, Vancouver	5	2	1	3	2

Leading goaltenders

Goalies Have To Play A Minimum Of 60 Minutes To Be Listed.

Player	GP	W	L	MINS	GA	GAA	SO	Sv%
Tyson Sexsmith, Vancouver	5	4	1	300	7	1.40	0	.936
Matt Keetley, Medicine Hat	4	2	2	238	6	1.51	1	.949
Jonathan Bernier, Lewiston	4	1	3	203	7	2.07	0	.940
Michal Neuvirth, Plymouth	5	2	3	219	11	3.02	0	.902
Jeremy Smith, Plymouth	2	0	0	91	7	4.63	0	.883

Award winners

• Stafford Smythe Memorial Trophy (MVP): Milan Lucic, Vancouver
• George Parsons Trophy (Sportsmanship): Brennan Bosch, Medicine Hat
• Hap Emms Memorial Trophy (Goaltender): Matt Keetley, Medicine Hat
• Ed Chynoweth Trophy (Leading Scorer): Michal Repik, Vancouver

All-star team

• Goal: Matt Keetley, Medicine Hat
• Defence: Brendan Mikkelson, Vancouver; Cody Franson, Vancouver
• Forwards: Darren Helm, Medicine Hat; Michal Repik, Vancouver; Milan Lucic, Vancouver

Road to the cup

QMJHL playoffs

^†Shawinigan seeded 8th in Eastern division.

WHL playoffs

External links

• Memorial Cup
• Canadian Hockey League

Notes and References

1. Web site: Legacy of the Memorial Cup . Canadian Geographic . Walker . Nick . April 1, 2014 . May 8, 2018 . April 25, 2018 . https://web.archive.org/web/20180425114859/https://www.canadiangeographic.ca/article/legacy-memorial-cup . dead .