Memorial Cup Schedule

Press Release

TORONTO, Friday, January 30, 2009 – The Canadian Hockey League in association with and the 2009 MasterCard Memorial Cup Host Committee today announced the start times and matchups for the nine games of the National Championship event.

The tournament gets underway with round-robin action on Friday May 15, 2009, with a 7:00pm ET start featuring the host Rimouski Oceanic taking on the WHL champions. The games on Saturday March 16th and Sunday March 17th will both begin at 4:30pm ET. The remainder of the weekday games will be evening face-offs at 7:00pm ET. The Championship Final is slated for Sunday May 24, 2009, at 4:30pm ET. All games will be broadcast to a national audience on Rogers Sportsnet and RDS.

The 91st edition of the MasterCard Memorial Cup will take place in Rimouski, Quebec and features the host Rimouski Oceanic with the league champions of the CHL’s Quebec Major Junior Hockey League, the Western Hockey League, and the Ontario Hockey League.

The Complete Schedule is as follows:

Round-robin Game 1 – WHL vs. Rimouski on Friday May 15, 2009 at 7:00pm ET

Round-robin Game 2 – QMJHL vs. OHL on Saturday May 16, 2009 at 4:30pm ET

Round-robin Game 3 – Rimouski vs. OHL on Sunday May 17, 2009 at 4:30pm ET

Round-robin Game 4 – QMJHL vs. WHL on Monday May 18, 2009 at 7:00pm ET

Round-robin Game 5 – OHL vs. WHL on Tuesday May 19, 2009 at 7:00pm ET

Round-robin Game 6 – Rimouski vs. QMJHL on Wednesday May 20, 2009 at 7:00pm ET

Tie-breaker (if necessary) – Thursday May 21, 2009 at 7:00pm ET

Semi-final – Friday May 22, 2009 at 7:00pm ET

Championship Final – Sunday May 24, 2009 at 4:30pm ET

The WHL’s Spokane Chiefs defeated the host club and OHL Champion Kitchener Rangers 4-1 at the 2008 MasterCard Memorial Cup. The Gatineau Olympiques represented the QMJHL with the Belleville Bulls also representing the OHL.

For more information about the event please visit www.mastercardmemorialcup.com or www.coupememorialmastercard.com.

(Nathan also is a writer for Maineiacs Post to Post and the Maine Hockey Journal. He can be reached at fourniern@students.nescom.edu)