Memorial Cup Schedule

Did you notice all my predictions for the game sevens were wrong? That's right: the NHL is as hard to predict as it is to eat soup like a fork and knife.

Don't look for too many updates around here for a while. Me and Mrs. NYIFORLIFE.com will be living the jet set life on a vacation out west. No truth to the rumor that we're sweeping into Phoenix to make a bid for the Coyotes, either. But we are going someplace hot and hopefully sunny.

While the NHL moves into the Conference Finals, the Canadian Junior ranks will hold their own hardware tournament, the Memorial Cup. Our friends over at the NHL Network (how did we live without you?) will be showing all the games in the tournament. I got to see some of the Memorial Cup last year and it was a heck of a lot of fun. Here's the schedule below:


Friday, May 15, 2009
6:00 PM Memorial Cup Preview Show
7:00 PM 2009 Memorial Cup: Kelowna Rockets vs. Rimouski Oceanic


Saturday, May 16, 2009
4:30 PM 2009 Memorial Cup: Drummondville Voltigeurs vs. Windsor
Spitfires


Sunday, May 17, 2009
4:30 PM 2009 Memorial Cup: Rimouski Oceanic vs. Windsor Spitfires


Monday, May 18, 2009
7:00 PM 2009 Memorial Cup: Drummondville Voltigeurs vs. Kelowna Rockets


Tuesday, May 19, 2009
7:00 PM 2009 Memorial Cup: Windsor Spitfires vs. Kelowna Rockets


Wednesday, May 20, 2009
7:00 PM 2009 Memorial Cup: Rimouski Oceanic vs. Drummondville Voltigeurs


Friday, May 22, 2009
7:00 PM 2009 Memorial Cup Semi Final Game - Teams TBD


Sunday, May 24, 2009
4:30 PM 2009 Memorial Cup Championship Game: Teams TBD


And there is actually some Islanders news: Dan Lacroix has been let go and the word is that the Islanders will be looking to replace him with an assistant coach with "ties to the organization" to help out on the defensive end. We all know that our young d-core need a coach just for them.

See you in a while. Thanks for reading NYIFORLIFE.com

Some random thoughts after returning from vacation...

First off, I picked the Penguins to win the Cup in six over the Red Wings. So, there you go. Don't the Penguins realize that to win the cup that they're going to need to score a goal once in a while?

And where the heck is Evgeni Malkin? I swear if he was wearing a red and white striped shirt that we'd be calling him Waldo right about now. Crosby hasn't been outstanding but at least there is an effort there when he skates into the swarming Detroit defense. This thing is over in four unless Geno gets off his backside.

While in Las Vegas, I was in a store that was broadcasting the Mike and Mike Show on ESPN Radio. Mark Messier was a guest and Mike Golic's opening statement made me want to puke. I'm not going to even bother trying to explain it here. Why does the NHL and hockey feel like they always need to apologize for the game? Needless to say, my wife and I left the store quickly before I heard any more.

Memo to Mike Golic and everyone else: the world does not revolve around ESPN. Take that from a guy born and bred in Bristol, CT.

There was also a story floating around that the NHL had outdrawn the NBA this season by an average of 6 fans per game. Those six people are the coolest people ever. Of course, you won't hear this on you-know-where.

Chris Botta, as you all know by now, has resigned as PR guru for the Islanders. I didn't know what to write about this for the longest time because I didn't know if it was going to make any kind of difference on the ice or not. Right now, I doubt that it will but you never know. The man has been apparently been tireless working for the team for some 20 years and if his blog is any proof, the guy is going to have one heck of a book to write one of these days. He's been through it all from the Spano nightmare; the Gang of Four; working with Mike Milbury; fishsticks, etc. Get working on the book, Chris!

Did you all see the Memorial Cup? The Spokane Chiefs won, if you're scoring at home, and we know that you are. Had to feel terribly for Spokane captain Chris Bruton, who raised the Cup over his head in triumph, only to see the trophy fall apart as he was about to pass it to a teammate. The look on the poor kid's face when the trophy fell to the ice was one of total shock and fear.

Of course, it wasn't too bad after all. Seems the real Memorial Cup is at the Hall of Fame in Toronto and the one that broke was actually a replica. Funny, but you'd think the replica would be stabilized for these emotional photographic events, but I guess not in this case.