Game Results

N.A. Juniors Memorial Cup Game Night: 5/21

Windsor Spitfires 6 vs. Rimouski Oceanic 4 (Tiebreaker)
W/C Luca Cunti, RIM: 0-0-0,+1, 0 PIM, 0 SOG
MemCup totals: 4 GP, 2-0-2, -2, 2 PIM
Playoff totals: 13 GP, 4-5-9, -2, 12 PIM
Season totals: 57 GP, 20-25-45, +10, 32 PIM

Rimouski couldn’t hold on to a 4-2 lead entering the third period - giving up three quick goals to the Spitfires in just over 3 ½ minutes - and now their season and Memorial Cup experience is officially over.

Cunti was rather quiet on the night, but did create some scoring chances with his vision and speed. He had at least one Grade A scoring chance when he broke in alone on Windsor goalie Andrew Engelage, but he failed to shoot quickly and had the puck knocked off his stick.

Cunti’s first full season of play since his time in Europe two years ago started slowly, but when he got going, Cunti was a force offensively. He has a large mountain to climb to learn the physical, 2-way North American game that the Lightning would like to see from him, but he certainly has a foundation to work with. He is eligible to be signed and spend next year in the minors, but his next step remains up in the air right now.

N.A. Juniors Memorial Cup Game Night: 5/20

Drummondville Voltigeurs 3 vs. Rimouski Oceanic 2 (OT) (Round Robin)
W/C Luca Cunti, RIM: 1-0-1,-1, 0 PIM, 3 SOG
MemCup totals: 3 GP, 2-0-2, -3, 2 PIM
Playoff totals: 13 GP, 4-5-9, -2, 12 PIM
Season totals: 57 GP, 20-25-45, +10, 32 PIM

Rimouski dominated the Volts – who had dominated them in a 4-0 playoff sweep weeks earlier – but they simply couldn’t figure out Volts goaltender Marco Cousineau (Ducks). Cousineau was outstanding in this game, making up for a very sub-par effort against Windsor the previous night.

Cunti scored the Oceanic’s opening goal when he darted through the blue ice and knocked a rebound under Cousineau. The 'Nics outshot the Volts 41-20 and out chanced them by a large margin, also. Gabriel Dumont (N.A. No. 153 for 2009 draft) scored the OT winner on one of the few Drummondville chances when he won the puck along the sidewall from Felix Lefrancois (undrafted, unranked), darted into the middle, eluding Rimouski’s top defenseman Marc-Andre Bourdon (Flyers), who tried to knock him over but missed horribly, then proceeded to get multiple shots on sprawled-out Rimouski goaltender Maxim Gougeon (undrafted) while Cunti weakly attempted to tie up his stick. Dumont’s second shot went in over the outstretched arm of Gougeon, and Drummondville was sent on to the semifinals.

Rimouski (1-2) will play in a rematch with Windsor (1-2) – a hard-fought 5-4 Oceanic win days ago – in a tiebreaker game to produce the second semifinalist. NHL Network will have the game Thursday night.

For more on Cunti’s performance, see Pete’s blog.

Note: Current Bolt Vincent Lecavalier and Lightning Conn Smythe winner Brad Richards were honored before the game by the Oceanic for their contributions to the team. Former Lightning Michel Ouellet was also present for the ceremonial face-off. Richards' No.39 and Lecavalier's No.4 are hanging in the Rimouski rafters. Both are considered legends in the small Quebec hockey-heavy city. Richards won MVP as he led the Oceanic to a Memorial Cup championship in Halifax in 2000.

N.A. Juniors Memorial Cup Game Night: 5/17

Windsor Spitfires 4 vs. Rimouski Oceanic 5 (Round Robin)
W/C Luca Cunti, RIM: 1-0-1,-1, 2 PIM (high sticking), 3 SOG
MemCup totals: 2 GP, 1-0-1, -2, 2 PIM
Playoff totals: 13 GP, 4-5-9, -2, 12 PIM
Season totals: 57 GP, 20-25-45, +10, 32 PIM

A fantastic game between the heavily-favored Spits and the host Oceanic. Cunti scored his first goal of the tournament on a one-timer down low off a nice feed from Kevin Veilleux (Penguins), after Veilleux performed a fancy toe-drag around the stick of a Windsor defender. Cunti nearly repaid him for the feed with a somewhat accidental set-up for a Grade A scoring chance late in the game. Veilleux's shot was stopped by Andrew Engelage, however. For a full report, see Pete's blog.

N.A. Juniors Game Night: 5/15

Kelowna Rockets 4 @ Rimouski Oceanic 1 (Memorial Cup Round Robin)
W/C Luca Cunti, RIM: 0-0-0, E, 0 PIM, 2 SOG
Playoff totals: 13 GP, 4-5-9, -2, 12 PIM
Season totals: 57 GP, 20-25-45, +10, 32 PIM

Don’t let the final score fool you, if not for Rimouski goaltender Maxim Gougeon, the Rockets could have picked up where Drummondville left off and put a snowman on the Oceanic. Rimouski was outshot 42-20, including 17-8 in the first period where it looked like Kelowna was running offensive drills in the Oceanic zone. Tyler Myers (Sabres) had a goal and two assists in the game and was rather dominant. When that prospect fills out, he may be among the most dominant at the next level, too. Tyson Barrie, son of Lightning owner Len Barrie, also had a good game and showed a quick stick and decision making in his own zone to go with his offensive prowess. At one point the Sportsnet broadcasters mentioned speaking with scouts who say Tampa Bay early in the second round is a likely destination for Barrie at this summer’s draft.

As for the Lightning’s current prospect in the tournament, Cunti was arguably Rimouski’s most dangerous player, creating a half-dozen scoring chances – a couple of which were Grade A. For an excellent write-up on Cunti’s performance, see Pete’s blog post on the subject.

Johan Harju had three shots on goal in 13:27 as Sweden defeated Team USA 4-2 to capture World Championships bronze. Harju finishes the tournament with 2 goals and 4 points in 9 games with 4 penalty minutes and a +4 rating. Harju averaged 14:26 of ice time per game.

Steven Stamkos and Martin St. Louis were scoreless as Canada fell to Russia 2-1 in the World Championships gold medal match. Stamkos and St. Louis will take home silver medals for their efforts in Switzerland. Canada outshot the Russians 38-17 but could not solve Ilya Bryzlagov to get the tying marker. Stamkos had 5 shots on goal in 14:56 for the Canadians. St. Louis had 2 shots in 21:05.

Both St. Louis and Stamkos were named by the media to the Tournament All-Star team. Martin St. Louis also was selected as one of Canada's three best players in the tournament by the tournament's coaches.

In the final ranking, Russia finished 1st (Koshechkin), Canada finished 2nd (St. Louis and Stamkos), Sweden 3rd (Harju), Finland 5th (Niskala and Ramo), and Latvia 7th (Karsums).