The 2005 Memorial Cup (branded as the 2005 Mastercard Memorial Cup for sponsorship reasons) was held May 21–29, 2005 at the John Labatt Centre in London, Ontario. It was the 87th annual Memorial Cup competition and determined the major junior ice hockey champion of the Canadian Hockey League (CHL). The Cup tournament featured the champions from the Western Hockey League (WHL), the Kelowna Rockets; the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League (QMJHL), the Rimouski Océanic; the Ottawa 67's representing the Ontario Hockey League (OHL); and the host team. Since the host team, the London Knights, won the Ontario Hockey League championship against the Ottawa 67's, the 67's earned the right to represent the OHL as the League runner-up.

2005 Memorial Cup
Tournament details
Venue(s)John Labatt Centre
London, Ontario
DatesMay 21–29, 2005
Teams4
Host teamLondon Knights (OHL)
TV partner(s)Rogers Sportsnet
Final positions
ChampionsLondon Knights (OHL) (1st title)
Tournament statistics
Games played8
Attendance71,240 (8,905 per game)
← 2004
2006 →
Silver bowl trophy with two large handles, mounted on a wide black plinth engraved with team names on silver plates.
The Memorial Cup trophy

The Knights had never won the Memorial Cup, unlike the other three teams, despite having a franchise for longer than any of the other three teams (40 seasons). The year 2005 marked both London's first-ever OHL championship and first Memorial Cup victory in its 40-year history.

Round-robin standings

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Pos Team Pld W L GF GA
1 London Knights (host) (OHL) 3 3 0 13 7
2 Rimouski Océanic (QMJHL) 3 2 1 11 10
3 Ottawa 67's (OHL runner-up) 3 1 2 8 11
4 Kelowna Rockets (WHL) 3 0 3 7 11
Source: [citation needed]

Coverage

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Media attention was unusually high, with the television ratings the highest ever recorded for the tournament.[1] There were several reasons for this increase in media attention:

  1. Lack of competition from the NHL Stanley Cup playoffs. The NHL's 2004–05 season was cancelled due to the aforementioned lockout, which made the Memorial Cup the most important North American hockey playoff tournament at the time of the event. Furthermore, some of the young prospects were able to play for their junior teams instead of playing for their affiliated NHL teams. As such, the higher-skilled junior players helped facilitate more competitive games.
  2. The presence of arguably two of the strongest teams ever in junior hockey:
    1. The London Knights went 31 games in a row undefeated to begin their season, setting a new CHL record. The team was ranked first in the weekly CHL rankings for the entire length of the season. The Knights had also never won the Memorial Cup in their entire 40-year history, providing the opportunity for the team to win their first Cup in London, as well as during the city's sesquicentennial year.
    2. The Rimouski Océanic, with superstar Sidney Crosby, went even longer undefeated at the end of the season and into the QMJHL playoffs, setting a new League record with 28 games undefeated. They actually went 35 games without losing including the regular season and QMJHL playoffs, with a third-round loss to Chicoutimi being their only loss in the QMJHL in the 2005 calendar year half of the 2004–05 season. As the CHL did not count the playoff games towards their streak, London's mark remains the longest in the record books, a fact that the Océanic used as motivation. 2005 was also to be Crosby's last year in the CHL and final opportunity to win the Memorial Cup.
  3. The Kelowna Rockets were the defending Memorial Cup champions.
  4. The Ottawa 67's, coached by the "legendary" Brian Kilrea, finished in a distant 6th place in their conference but made a strong playoff performance to come back to face the Knights in the OHL final.

Rosters

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Kelowna Rockets (WHL) London Knights (host)

Goaltenders

Defensemen

Forwards

Head coach: Jeff Truitt

Goaltenders

Defensemen

Forwards

Head coach: Dale Hunter

Ottawa 67's (OHL) Rimouski Océanic (QMJHL)

Goaltenders

Defensemen

Forwards

Head coach: Brian Kilrea

Goaltenders

Defensemen

Forwards

Head coach: Doris Labonte

Schedule

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Round robin

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May 21, 2005Rimouski3–4 (OT)LondonJohn Labatt Centre
S. Crosby 06:37
M. Pouliot 09:09
D. Roussin 16:52
GoalsM. Methot 02:37
D. Fritsche 21:44
C. Perry 44:02
M. Methot 69:36
May 22, 2005Ottawa3–2 (2OT)KelownaJohn Labatt Centre
M. Mancari 26:56
E. Reid 42:55
B. Staubitz 95:41
GoalsT. Bodie 04:34
B. Comeau 31:34
May 23, 2005London4–2KelownaJohn Labatt Centre
D. Larman 07:16
C. Perry 27:22
C. Perry 34:02
D. Larman 46:50
GoalsT. Bodie 00:39
D. Deschamps 50:46
May 24, 2005Ottawa3–4RimouskiJohn Labatt Centre
L. Kaspar 18:24
B. Staubitz 40:50
J. McGinn 52:28
GoalsS. Crosby 11:18
D. Roussin 14:19
M. Pouliot 21:00
D. Roussin 47:00
May 25, 2005Kelowna3–4RimouskiJohn Labatt Centre
T. Spurgeon 22:14
B. Comeau 42:23
B. Comeau 46:14
GoalsZ. Hrdel 17:01
S. Crosby 24:53
M. Scalzo 31:57
F. Bolduc 36:14
May 26, 2005London5–2OttawaJohn Labatt Centre
D. Girardi 11:46
D. Hunter 24:56
D. Syvret 31:52
C. Perry 37:13
D. Fritsche 58:10
GoalsC. Hulit 08:48
M. Mancari 40:53

Semifinal

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May 28, 2005Ottawa4–7RimouskiJohn Labatt Centre
J. McGinn 05:43
J. McGinn 07:20
D. Joslin 42:11
J. Talbot 56:42
GoalsS. Crosby 01:48
P. Coulombe 04:40
M. Pouliot 09:45
S. Crosby 21:41
P. Coulombe 43:27
M. Scalzo 46:46
S. Crosby 51:47

Final

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May 29, 2005Rimouski0–4LondonJohn Labatt Centre
GoalsD. Fritsche 03:45
B. Rodney 17:00
D. Bolland 21:48
R. Schremp 42:34

Scoring leaders

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  1. Sidney Crosby, RIM (6g, 5a, 11pts)
  2. Marc-Antoine Pouliot, RIM (3g, 7a, 10pts)
  3. Dany Roussin, RIM (3g, 6a, 9pts)
  4. Mario Scalzo, RIM (2g, 7a, 9pts)
  5. Corey Perry, LDN (4g, 3a, 7pts)
  6. Patrick Coulombe, RIM (2g, 5a, 7pts)
  7. Dan Fritsche, LDN (3g, 3a, 6pts)
  8. Rob Schremp, LDN (1g, 5a, 6pts)
  9. Danny Syvret, LDN (1g, 4a, 5pts)
  10. Dylan Hunter, LDN (1g, 4a, 5pts)

Leading goaltenders

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  1. Adam Dennis, LDN (1.58 gaa, .936 sv%)
  2. Kristofer Westblom, KEL (3.08 gaa, .910 sv%)
  3. Cedrick Desjardins, RIM (3.69 gaa, .914 sv%)
  4. Danny Battochio, OTT (3.93 gaa, .907 sv%)

Award winners

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All-Star Team

The road to the cup

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WHL playoffs

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Conference quarterfinals Conference semifinals Conference finals WHL Championship
            
E1 Brandon 4
E4 Moose Jaw 1
E1 Brandon 4
C3 Calgary 3
C2 Lethbridge 1
C3 Calgary 4
E1 Brandon 4
Eastern
E3 Prince Albert 3
C1 Medicine Hat 4
C4 Red Deer 3
C1 Medicine Hat 2
E3 Prince Albert 4
E2 Saskatoon 0
E3 Prince Albert 4
E1 Brandon 1
B2 Kelowna 4
B1 Kootenay 4
B4 Kamloops 2
B1 Kootenay 4
U3 Everett 0
U2 Portland 3
U3 Everett 4
B1 Kootenay 2
Western
B2 Kelowna 4
B2 Kelowna 4
B3 Vancouver 2
B2 Kelowna 4
U1 Seattle 3
U1 Seattle 4
U4 Tri-City 1

OHL playoffs

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Conference quarterfinals Conference semifinals Conference finals Finals
            
E1 Mississauga 1
E8 Toronto 4
E8 Toronto 1
E2 Peterborough 4
E2 Peterborough 4
E7 Belleville 1
E2 Peterborough 0
E6 Ottawa 4
E3 Barrie 2
E6 Ottawa 4
E6 Ottawa 4
E5 Sudbury 2
E4 Brampton 2
E5 Sudbury 4
E6 Ottawa 1
W1 London 4
W1 London 4
W8 Guelph 0
W1 London 4
W7 Windsor 0
W2 S.S. Marie 3
W7 Windsor 4
W1 London 4
W4 Kitchener 1
W3 Owen Sound 4
W6 Plymouth 0
W3 Owen Sound 0
W4 Kitchener 4
W4 Kitchener 4
W5 Erie 2

QMJHL playoffs

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First round Quarterfinals Semifinals Finals
            
1 Rimouski 4
10 Lewiston 0
7 Shawinigan 0
10 Lewiston 4
1 Rimouski 4
4 Chicoutimi 1
4 Chicoutimi 4
13 Baie-Comeau 2
4 Chicoutimi 4
5 Québec 2
5 Québec 4
12 Victoriaville 3
1 Rimouski 4
2 Halifax 0
2 Halifax 4
8 Gatineau 1
8 Gatineau 4
9 Cape Breton 1
2 Halifax 4
3 Rouyn-Noranda 0
3 Rouyn-Noranda 4
6 Moncton 2
6 Moncton
11 Drummondville 2

References

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