Monday, May 27, 2013

MEMORIAL CUP ATTENDANCE HITS 4TH ALL-TIME

Press Release

Saskatoon, SK – The Canadian Hockey League is proud to congratulate the Halifax Mooseheads for winning the 95th edition of the MasterCard Memorial Cup with a 6-4 victory over the Portland Winterhawks Sunday evening bringing to a close a successful 2013 MasterCard Memorial Cup in Saskatoon.

“We measure the success of an event by the level of play and the quality of the teams and players, individual performances by players, along with community support and attendance.  All of which were outstanding in Saskatoon,” said CHL President David Branch.  “Our thanks to Jack Brodsky and Tim Gitzel and the entire 2013 MasterCard Memorial Cup Host Committee and volunteers for their tremendous efforts.”

Nathan MacKinnon scored three goals and two assists in the Championship Final and was named MVP of the 2013 MasterCard Memorial Cup with a tournament-high 13 points.

Sunday’s Championship Final featured the top two teams in the CHL with the number one ranked Moosheads (58-6-3-1) against the number two ranked Winterhawks (57-12-1-2) in the BMO CHL Top-10.  Both clubs were the only two teams in the entire CHL to appear in the rankings in all 26 weeks of the season.

The final also featured the top three players eligible for the 2013 NHL Draft including the Winterhawks’ Seth Jones, along with the Mooseheads’ duo of MacKinnon and CHL Player of the Year Jonathan Drouin.  A total of 17 players ranked by NHL Central Scouting for the 2013 NHL Draft competed in the 2013 MasterCard Memorial Cup including projected first round picks such as Bo Horvat, Max Domi, and Nikita Zadorov of the London Knights, and the Mooseheads’ Zach Fucale who is the top ranked goaltender.

In addition to on ice success, the 2013 MasterCard Memorial Cup achieved the fourth-highest attendance total in championship history.  A crowd of 11, 488 for Sunday’s Final brought the nine-game attendance total to 82,503 placing Saskatoon fourth behind only Vancouver 2007 (9 games - 121,561), Quebec City 2003 (8 games - 84,686), and Ottawa 1999 (8 games – 84,200).  This year’s average attendance of 9,167 also ranks fifth in MasterCard Memorial Cup history and is 3,800 higher than any championship held since 2009.

“Thanks to the support of our loyal fans and corporate partners, the 2013 MasterCard Memorial Cup has been a successful tournament,” said Jack Brodsky, co-chair of the event with Tim Gitzel. “The hard work of our volunteers has delivered a first-class event and we’re proud to have hosted the hockey world in Saskatoon.”

Following Sunday’s Final, the Canadian Hockey League also announced the individual award winners and tournament all-stars as selected by NHL Central Scouting.

2013 MasterCard Memorial Cup Awards:
Stafford Smythe Memorial Trophy (Most Valuable Player) – Nathan MacKinnon (Halifax Mooseheads)
Ed Chynoweth Trophy (Top Scorer) – Nathan MacKinnon (Halifax Mooseheads)
George Parsons Trophy (Most Sportsmanlike Player) – Bo Horvat (London Knights)
Hap Emms Memorial Trophy (Outstanding Goaltender) – Andrey Makarov (Saskatoon Blades)

2013 MasterCard Memorial Cup All-Stars:
Goaltender – Zachary Fucale (Halifax Mooseheads)
Defence – Derrick Pouliot (Portland Winterhawks)
Defence – Konrad Abeltshauser (Halifax Mooseheads)
Forward – Nathan MacKinnon (Halifax Mooseheads)
Forward – Martin Frk (Halifax Mooseheads)
Forward – Ty Rattie (Portland Winterhawks)

The 2013 MasterCard Memorial Cup is proudly supported by MasterCard, title sponsor of this event for 15 straight years.  Associate sponsors include Bank of Montreal, Subway, Old Dutch, Post, and broadcast partners Sportsnet and TVA Sports.  

For more information about the event please visit www.mastercardmemorialcup.ca.

 (Nathan can be reached at nathanfournier@mainehockeyjournal.com)

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