Memorial Cup 2010 Kickoff

When the Brandon Wheat Kings and the Windsor Spitfires face off tonight in the first game of the Memorial Cup, all eyes will be on the hometown team.

And that’s just the way they want it.

“It’s been a long time coming and we’re definitely excited,” Wheat Kings center Brayden Schenn said after their morning skate.  “There’s a good vibe around the city, the organization is pumped and the players are pumped.  Now it’s puck drop and we can’t wait.”

For a relatively inexperienced Brandon team, Schenn is looking to draw on his experience at the World Junior tournament to help spur them on.

“Hopefully I can bring that on [the experience] with my teammates and kind of tell them what to expect,” he said.  “There is going to be a lot of nerves going into tonight and I think a tournament like that helps.”

Wheat Kings trade deadline acquisition Travis Hamonic believes both teams will match up well.

“They skate well, have good defensive presence and their goaltender is really good,” he said.  “It’s going to be a quick paced game and I know both teams will want to push it to how they want to play.”

The defending champion Spitfires come into the tournament having won their last eight games.  This includes coming back from a 0-3 deficit against the Kitchener Rangers, as well as sweeping the CHL’s best team in the regular season, the Barrie Colts, in the final.

They are looking to be the first team to repeat as Memorial Cup champions since the Kamloops Blazers accomplished the feat in 1994 and 1995.

“I think we’re all excited and realize we have a chance to do something special,” said the OHL’s leading playoff scorer Taylor Hall.  “We can’t have any lapses or anything like last year [when they went down 0-2].  We have a lot of depth and need to play well off the bat.”

Trade deadline acquisition Zack Kassian doesn’t believe fatigue will be a factor as both teams haven’t played in over a week and a half.

“It’s the Memorial Cup.  You have to find that second gear,” he said.  “They’ve been off for a while but I’m sure they’ve had some tough, battling practices and will be ready to go in their own barn.”

Having never played each other before, Schenn feels as though you can do some preparation, but should try not to get too engulfed with it.

“You can do a little video, but you can’t over prepare that’s for sure,” he said.  “You don’t know what to expect or what any of their favorite plays are like when you play teams from the WHL eight times in a year.  We have one crack at them now and just don’t want to over prepare.”

Kassian believes there is some preparation but it ultimately comes down to which team does the little things better.

“You watch some video you try to get some stuff on them,” he said.  “But it’s what we do and what our team does, and if we do that well we’ll be pretty successful.”

Since the Memorial Cup went to the four team format with the host team being predetermined, there have been five teams win the Memorial Cup that weren’t the league champions.

To say there is pressure on Brandon is an understatement.

“It’s going to be a bit of nervous energy,” Schenn said.  “We have to get through the first five to ten minutes and we should be good.  Our team is excited to play and we’re looking forward to it.”

Puck drop is 7pm (8pm EST) live from the Keystone Center.