Zach Fucale began the 2015 QMJHL playoffs as the back up to Callum Booth but took over mid way through the first round. He led his Quebec Remparts past 3 series' against teams he used to play 8 or 9 times a season. First the Cape Breton Screaming Eagles in 7 games, then sweeping the Charlottetown Islanders and Moncton Wildcats in the second and third rounds respectively. Matt Murphy might have caused the Remparts the Q championship with a bad penalty but he'll have at the very least 3 more games to redeem himself. We'll have to wait and see if Brian Lovell will play in the tournament.
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| The 2015 MasterCard Memorial Cup logo on Colisee Pepsi ice Photo - mastercardmemorialcup.ca |
The Memorial Cup host Quebec Remparts are joined by the team they lost to in the President Cup finals; the Rimouski Oceanic, the OHL champion Oshawa Generals and the WHL champion Kelowna Rockets.
Rimouski ended the season atop the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League with 99 points. The Oceanic defeated the 16th place Victoriaville Tigres in 4 games, the 14th place Gatineau Olympiques in 5 games and the 6th place Val-d'Or Foreurs in 4 games. Their series against the 4th place Remparts was the most adversity that they faced during this year's playoffs, having to come from behind twice and win in double overtime in Game 7 to win the President Cup.
Oshawa finished the year first in the Eastern Conference and second overal in the Ontario Hockey League with 108 points. The Generals beat the 8th place Peterborough Petes in 5 games, the 5th place Niagara IceDogs in 5 games and the 3rd place North Bay Battalion in six games. They then went on to face Connor McDavid and the Western second place Erie Otters defeating them in 5 games to win the J. Robertson Cup.
Kelowna ended the season first in the Western Conference and second overall in the Western Hockey League with 112 points. The Rockets defeated the eigth place Tri-City Americans in four games, the fifth place Victoria Royals in five games and the third place Portland Winterhawks in six games. They then swept the Brandon Wheat Kings to take home the Ed Chynoweth Cup.
These 4 teams will play in the 10 day tournament, each playing one game against the other three teams with the top team advancing directly to the championship game.
Below is the full schedule (all times Atlantic):
May 22 Kelowna vs. Quebec 8:30 p.m.
May 23 Rimiouski vs. Oshawa 5:30 p.m.
May 24 Quebec vs. Oshawa 5:30 p.m.
May 25 Rimouski vs. Kelona 8:30 p.m.
May 26 Oshawa vs. Kelowna 8:30 p.m.
May 27 Quebec vs. Rimouski 8:30 p.m.
May 28 Tie-breaker 8:30 p.m.
May 29 Semi-final 8:30 p.m.
May 31 Championship 8:00 p.m.
Good luck to all four teams! Who do you think will win the Memorial Cup?
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