Cats De-clawed

So, I get one wrong once in a while. I'm not perfect.

Now that I've had a few days to digest the Memorial Cup final, I feel I can comment on the game. A game in which the Moncton Wildcats were beaten by the Quebec Remparts in game that ended up being a showcase for Canada's best junior player.

The Remparts, who won 6 - 2, were led by young Russian phenom Alexander Radulov who had 2 goals and 3 assists in the game. On his second goal, he literally went end-to-end and scored by banking the puck off an opposing defenseman's skate. He was electrifying all night, not to mention all season (61 goals, 93 assists in 62 games in the regular season). The Predator fans will enjoy this young man next season.

What was most impressive was how the Remparts took control of the game in the first two periods. At one point, they were up 4 - 0 on the #1 ranked team in Canada, who were playing at home. Quebec was no slouch (ranked #2 in Canada), but that's still no easy feat.

The Moncton Wildcats had a great tournament and made the city proud. Unlike the offensively charged Remparts, the Wildcats are led by their goalie and their defence. Nobody on defence played horribly and Josh Tordjman was decent in the nets. None of them, however, played exceptionally well. It didn't help that one of the CHL's best defensemen, future Vancouver Canuck Luc Bourdon, was playing on one leg.

No excuses though. The Remparts were great and were the best team on that day. Kudos to Patrick Roy for teaching the new generation how to win. Not many are better at it than he is. Plus, if ever his goalie is having a horrible game, he'll surely pull him out before 9 goals are scored.