WELCOME TO THE HITMEN BOOSTER CLUB WEBSITE Well folks, it's been 11 long years since the Calgary Hitmen have had an opportunity to participate in the Memorial Cup.  It's the ultimate tournament where the best of the best in the Canadian Hockey League battle it out for Junior Hockey's greatest prize.  It's also 10 days of fun for a Junior Hockey fan.   I'm writing this blog to give you some insight as to what it's like to take in the Memorial Cup and everything it has to offer for the typical fan.   Day One Friday, May 14th   We left Calgary for the 12 hour drive to Brandon yesterday and arrived last night at about 8:30 PM local time. Once we arrived we met up with several other Calgary Hitmen fans who had already arrived before us to do a little socializing in one of the rooms.  There is a group of 72 Junior Hockey Junkies who are making the trip to Brandon and about 25 of them are staying in our hotel, the Trails West Inn.   We started off the morning with a nice bacon & egg breakfast which the hotel offers for just $4.50 available every day during Mem Cup and then headed out to the rink to checkout the venue and watch the Hitmen morning practice.  We ran into Michael Stone's parents Jackie and Rob as well as former Hitmen forward Brodie Dupont who is living and training in Brandon over the summer.  Brodie is doing well and said he received a ton of icetime this year with the NYR AHL affiliate Hartford Wolfpack as the Pack suffered numerous injuries in their lineup this season.  Brodie also received the Wolfpack "Man of the Year"  award in recognition of all his work in the community in the Hartford area this past season so it's good to see he is carrying on with the humanitarian efforts that he was a big part of in the Calgary community during his Hitmen years.   While we were speaking with Brodie, one of the Hitmen players on the ice took a slapshot and broke the glass behind the goal.  It was probably Stone but his mom Jackie said he was innocent and jokingly said she wasn't paying for any damages.    After practice, we moved on to checkout the lay of the land for this year's tournament.  The Keystone Centre is a multi-plex consisting of 4 arenas, a pavilion, the Manitoba Room and a curling club along with a large hotel, the CanadInns and some restaurant/pubs.  The large building has been transformed to support numerous Memorial Cup activities.   After a quick tour around, our group headed back to the hotel for a bit of a rest before the big game.  We put on our Hitmen jerseys and headed back to the rink for the Memorial Cup opening ceremonies and the first game between the hosting Brandon Wheatkings and the defending Mem Cup Champion Windsor Spitfires.  The game was pretty onesided as the Wheatties showed a lot of rust and the Spits showed why they are the defending Memorial Cup champs!  After the game we went to the Molson Hockey Haus for some refreshments and talked hockey other fans from Brandon and across Canada. The MHH had a live rock band called Almost Famous who were actually really good and kept everyone pretty entertained with classic rock.    While in the Molson Hockey Haus, we ran into Brandon Wheatking alumni Jordan Tootoo who is now a Nashville Predator and the New York Ranger's Wade Redden.  One of our gang, Allan King, is from Seattle and by pure coincidence was wearing his game worn Tootoo BWK jersey that night so Jordan graciously autographed it for him. This certainly made Kinger's night.      Day Two Saturday, May 15th   This morning we had to be up early.  There was a brunch organized for about 150 of us from various Fan Clubs and Booster Clubs.   This has turned into an annual thing over the past 4 years and gives everyone a chance to visit old friends and check out all the jerseys from across the CHL.  Everyone brings stuff from their own organization and we did some draws so everybody was able to walk away with a gift.  The brunch was held at a restaurant in the arena so we headed straight over to the rink for the Hitmen / Moncton Wildcats game.  It was a 2:00 start so it was a little earlier than we would have liked.  I think the Hitmen would agree as they were pretty slow coming out of the gate.  Thankfully Jonesy held them in the game and after spotting Moncton a 3 goal lead, the Hitmen found their legs in the 3rd period and clawed backed to an amazing win with Tyler Shattock's game winning goal with less than 3 minutes in the game.  Whatta game!   All four teams have a family room reserved for after each of their games so the boys can have a visit with family and friends.  We were lucky enough to be invited in and got a chance to speak to some of the boys and congratulate them on their big comeback win which was cool.  After visiting with the players we went down to the Molson Hockey Haus to meet up with the rest of the group to make plans for the rest of the evening.  We ran into John Lawrence who played with the Hitmen earlier this season and a couple of us went for a bite with him and his Calgary billets Moe & Mike Cook along with Matt MacKenzie's dad Ron.  After dinner John headed back to Neepawa and the rest of us went back to Molson Hockey Haus for the Manitoba Social that evening which was a Randy Bachman concert.  Randy is looking a little older than we'd like to remember but he can sure still play that guitar!  It was a lot of fun.  It sounds like these Socials were actually taking place in communities all over Manitoba that night. Day Three Sunday, May 16th   This morning we had to get up early as the game was a 2:00 PM local start.  As usual, all the Hitmen fans met up at Molson Hockey Haus a couple hours prior to the game.  Today's game featured Brandon against Moncton.  Brandon rebounded after their lop-sided loss to the Spitfires Friday night shutting out the Wildcats 4-0.  This was a good win for them and brought their fans back to life as they were still in shock after Friday night.   After the game, we went back to Molson Hockey Haus to make plans on what to do for the evening.  While inside MHH, we ran into New York Ranger Wade Redden, who is in town to do an official puck drop as a BWK alumni.  We also ran into former Hitmen captain Carson McMillan and his mom Donna.  Donna is volunteering in the Media Centre which allows her to watch the games from the press box and inputting tournament stats into the computer after each period...nice gig if you can get it!  Carson is going to be taking in all the Hitmen games during the week showing his support for the boys.  After visiting with the McMillans we walked over to the Tavern Pub located inside the venue to take in the Montreal vs Philadelphia playoff game making Yours Truly very happy!  The Junior Hockey Junkies comandeered several tables in the pub so we sat with Ron MacKenzie (Matt's dad) Dianne Lawrence (John's mom) and billets Mike and Moe Cook along with Jackie and Lorlei Schram for a nice dinner.  After dinner and the big Flyers win, we retired back to the hotel...early for a change!  Del Cowan's family owns a large farm just outside Brandon and Del's mom invited the entire Hitmen team and their parents out for a Steak Bar-B-Que tonight that apparently went very well.   Day Four Monday, May 17th   Today was Game 2 for the Hitmen so we were all pretty pumped!  The Hitmen played Windsor, the much-hyped tournament favorites.  It was also Michael Stone Day for some of us.  Michael is not too popular in this rink so his mom Jackie gave us the heads up that it might not be safe for anyone to wear his jersey around here.  Of course, when we heard this we decided to round up as many of Stoner's jerseys as we could find and wear them in mass!  Jackie brought some of his jerseys to the rink for 3 members of our group as well as Mike's girlfriend, some relatives, etc.  A large group of us, supporting the Junior Hockey Junkies, weres also taped by Sportsnet for the opening of the game to be played on their Hi-Def network tonight.  We did it in just two takes!  Unfortunately, we suffered our first loss of the tourny as the boys spotted their opposition another 3-0 lead again but there was no comeback in the cards today. Day Five Tuesday, May 18th   Today's game featured the undefeated Windsor Spitfires versus the Moncton Wildcats.  It was also Elvis Day.  Junior Hockey Junkie Dave "Bubba" Gorsline has attended every Memorial Cup tournament since 1999.  Each year Bubba gets a hockey jersey from on host team.  On the back of the jersey, the words "Memorial Cup", along with the last 2 digits of the host year, are featured.  Each year a new jersey is added to his collection and every year a new Elvis , wearing an Elvis wig and one of these jerseys, is added to the group.  This year 10 of us Elvis' made our way to the arena.  Sportsnet tracked us down an taped another intro to tonight's game.  This one took 3 takes!  CBC Radio also interview Kim "Santa" Thomas to get more insight into why we attend the Mem Cup each year. We were treated to our first overtime game.  Unfortunately, with their 3rd consecutive loss, the flu-ridden Wildcats were eliminated from the tournament.   After the game, the Hockey Hall of Fame invited us to their annual Stanley Cup Party which was held in an upscale condo in downtown Brandon.  It was a blast and everyone was quite excited with the exception of Hitmen fan Rob Schuler.  As a die-hard Bruins fan, Rob was forced to make good on a wager with Yours Truly after his Bruins were eliminated by the Flyers last week.  Rob donned a Bobby Clarke Flyers jersey and was then photographed with the Holy Grail ...it was a night he'll always remember!    Day Six Wednesday, May 19th   This morning a couple of us walked to the rink to take in the Hockey Hall of Fame exhibit.  There was a HUGE line-up when we got to the entrance...turns out the Stanley Cup wasmaking one more appearance after our party.  It was brought in for one day so local hockey fans can get to check it out and get there pictures taken with it.  We also got to check out the the Ed Chynoweth WHL Championship trophy...it was awesome to see the names of our Calgary Hitmen already engraved on it!   After leaving the rink, we went back to the hotel for a quick visit to the hot tub and then put on our battlegear for the big Hitmen vs Brandon rematch.  Whatta game!  Jonesy was back on track and the guys had a much better game than the previous one.  Only home ice for the Semi-Final was up for grabs but both teams played hard with our boys coming out victorious. It was sure nice to see Justin Kirsch get some ice team for the very first time even though it was at the expense of Cody Sylvester being a scratch due to the flu.  After the game we went and had a quick visit with some of the Hitmen players in the Family Room reserved for the Hitmen families and friends.  We ended the evening in the MHH again before leaving for a quick bite since it was fairly late in the evening. Day Seven Thursday, May 20th   Today was the first day since the tournament started that we did not have a hockey game so no tie-breaker game was necessary.  The Hitmen parents were treated to a day tour of a local Hutterite colony organized by Del Cowan's parents once again showing their great hospitality.  The players, for the most part, spent the day hanging out at their hotel after their practice.  Ron Mackenzie went and visited his son Matt for about a half hour before the boys had to congregate for a Team Dinner.  Ron then joined billets Mike & Moe Cook and some of our gang for a Chinese food buffet dinner.  The rest of the gang put together a Bar-B-Que down at a local park.  While our gang was enjoying our Chinese food, the rock band Mudmen came in to eat.  It turns out they were playing at MHH tonight as the feature act.  These guys fuse rock & roll along with bagpipes played by 2 brothers, Robby & Steven Cameron.  Jackie & Lorlei Schram and I decided to check out their show which was pretty entertaining.  Unfortunately, the crowd was pretty small since there was no tie-breaker game.  We spoke with the band after the show and they are actually big wrestling fans so they had lots of questions about Bret "The Hitmen" Hart.  The Mudmen played at the season opener between the Flames and Oilers in Edmonton last October and are currently putting together a documentary to hopefully be aired on CBC.   Day Eight Friday, May 21st   This morning Dale Baird, Tim Stoddard and I went to the rink to watch the Spitfires practice.  We ran into Mack Royer's dad Kelly and Jay Rissling's dad also named Kelly.  Jay's dad is a former WHL player who played in Lethbridge and Portland in the 80's.  He told a few stories of his playing days as a pugilist which were pretty funny.  We also ran into Michael Stone's mom Jackie again.  She was a little intense about tonight's games since she has one boy playing for each team and only one is going through to the final on Sunday.  We also met the much talked about Taylor Hall after the practice and he graciously agreed to pose for a few pictures...even though I was sporting a Hitmen ballcap!  We also met Eric Wellwood, a left winger with the Spits as well as a Flyer draft pick.  Eric took some time out for photos as well.   Jackie dropped us back at our hotel after the practice so we could get ready for the big rematch between the Hitmen and the Wheatkings.  We went back to MHH for our pregame festivities and ran into several fans from Calgary who made the trip down for the weekend. Grant Pollock from Global Sports and Glen Campbell from Calgary CTV Sports also made the trip down and interviewed several of us fans.  I was hoping the Hitmen would get a large lead on Brandon in the first period so I could relax and enjoy the remainder of the game with little stress...unfortunately, after being down 2 goals, the Wheatties were able to come up with a strong 2nd period and keep the game close.  Brandon eventually tied up the game and even gained a 1 goal lead on our boys until Misha Fisenko scored the tying goal with  only a few minutes left in the game forcing the game into OT...so much for a stress free game!  Unfortunately, the Hitmen dream season came to an abrupt end when Brandon's Eric Fehr scored early in the OT to advance to the final against Windsor.   After the game quite a few Hitmen fans went to the MHH to drown their sorrows.  I went back to the Victoria Inn where the Flames organization put together a hospitality suite for the Hitmen players, families, billets and close friends to chill out with the boys after a long and successful season and post-season.  The guys were able to let their hair down a bit and unwind.  It wasn't the outcome any of us wanted but the Calgary Hitmen  had a great season and we're all very proud of them...let's not forget, they are the 2009-2010 WHL Champions after all!  Day Nine Saturday, May 22nd   This was an off day no game scheduled.  Our gang was still a little in shock over the Hitmen game from last night.  We pretty much hug around the hotel for mst of the day.  We had some other fans come over to our room and we all watched the Flyers vs Canadiens game in the afternoon.  After the game  we all went out for a quick supper.  Last night there was a sold out Tom Cochrane concert at Molson Hockey Haus which a bunch of us took in.  The show was pretty good and eventually the Memorial Cup trophy was even brought on stage accompanied by Tom Cochrane wearing a Brandon WheatKings jersey to get the crowd even more excited...surprise, surprise!  The place was packed with over 1300 people but we did run into former Hitmen defensemen Alex Plante taking in the show and had a quick chat.  That was pretty much it for Day 9!   Day Ten Sunday, May 23rd   Today was the final day of the 2010 Memorial Cup; I can't believe how fast 10 days goes!   The host Brandon Wheat Kings played the reigning 2009 Memorial Cup winning Windsor Spitfires.  We seen many Brandon fans before the game that were noticably inconspicuous earlier in the tournament and there were a lot of new BWK jerseys tonight.  Windsor had a large contingent of fans who made the trek from Ontario which was great to see.  The game itself was a 9-1 landslide in favour of the Spitfires.  Taylor Hall was named the tournament MVP for a second straight year which has never been done before.  Our own Calgary Hitmen player Martin Jones was named the top goalie of the tournament and Jonesy and Jimmy Bubnick were both named to the tournament Allstar Team.   We stayed around to watch the Spitfires team celebration and then went to the Molson Hockey Haus to say our final goodbyes to the other Hitmen fans that we won't see again until next season or maybe even next Mem Cup for the out of towners.  About 10 of us from our hotel went for a final supper at Boston Pizza before returniing back to our rooms for some last minute packing as we will all be heading home tomorrow.   Another Memorial Cup is over and it was a great 10 days of junior hockey once again.  Now it's time to make plans for Mississauga in 2011 and here's hoping our Calgary Hitmen will be coming along for the ride once again!  It was a blast.   Enjoy your summer and we'll see you in September for the raising of the banners at the Dome.