2004 Memorial Cup: Schedule and Scores

2004 will go down as the year defense and goaltending ruled in Canadian junior hockey. The Kelowna Rockets won the 2004 Memorial Cup by stifling some of the best young scorers in the game. In their four tournament games combined, the Rockets allowed just 102 shots and three goals.

Kelowna finished the job with a comeback victory over the Gatineau Olympiques in the championship game. The first goal of the game did not come until 6:32 of the third period, when Guillaume Fournier scored for Gatineau. But Randall Gelech and Justin Keller scored 3:06 apart to push Kelowna into the lead, which the Rockets preserved with their trademark defensive style and Kelly Guard's goaltending.

To the surprise of nobody, Guard was named the MVP and top goaltender of the 2004 Memorial Cup. Guard has recently signed with the Ottawa Senators. Gatineau defenceman Doug O'Brien, a Tampa Bay Lightning draft pick, was the top scorer with three goals and five assists.

Gatineau's Jean-Michel Daoust, Medicine Hat's Clark MacArthur and Kelowna's Gelech were the forwards named to the tournament all-star team. O'Brien and Kelowna's Shea Weber were chosen all-star defencemen.

Sunday, May 23: Championship Game:
Kelowna 2 - Gatineau 1
Kelowna Rockets Win 2004 Memorial Cup

Saturday, May 22: Semifinal Game:
Gatineau 6 - Medicine Hat 5

2004 Memorial Cup Round Robin Results

Saturday, May 15: Kelowna 1 - Guelph 0
Sunday, May 16: Gatineau 3 - Medicine Hat 1
Monday, May 17: Kelowna 4 - Gatineau 1
Tuesday, May 18: Medicine Hat 2 - Guelph 1
Wednesday, May 19: Gatineau 7 - Guelph 2
Thursday, May 20: Kelowna 2 - Medicine Hat 1

Final round robin standings listed at the bottom of this page.

2004 Memorial Cup Teams

The Kelowna Rockets are this year's host team. The 2003 WHL champions had the best record in the league this season, and made it to the semifinals before losing a seven-game series to the Everett Silvertips.

The Medicine Hat Tigers are the 2004 WHL champs. Ending the season with the league's second-best record (six points behind Kelowna), the Tigers lost just four playoff games en route to the title, sweeping Everett in four straight games in the final series.

The Guelph Storm emerged as winners in the OHL. Guelph swept Mississauga in the final series. But the championship was forged in the semifinals, where the Storm prevailed in an epic seven-game battle against the powerful London Knights.

The Gatineau Olympiques were the dominant team in the QMJHL, leading the league in wins and points before rolling through the playoffs with 12 wins in 15 games. Gatineau also won the 2003 QMJHL title, and finished second at the '03 Memorial Cup.

Tournament Format

Since 1919, the Memorial Cup has been awarded to the top junior hockey team in Canada. Under its current format, adopted in 1983, the tournament brings together new champions from the Western Hockey League (WHL), Ontario Hockey League (OHL) and Quebec Major Junior Hockey League (QMJHL), along with a host team. The host city is selected one year in advance, rotating between the three leagues. The 2003 Memorial Cup champions were the Kitchener Rangers of the OHL.

The teams play a single round-robin schedule of three games each. The first-place team earns a bye to the championship game. The second and third-place teams meet in the semifinal. If there is a tie for third place, the schedule allows for a tie-breaker game.

2004 Memorial Cup - Final Round Robin Standings

Team	W	L	T	GF	GA	Pts
Kelowna Rockets	3	0	0	7	2	6
Gatineau Olympiques	2	1	0	11	7	4
Medicine Hat Tigers	1	2	0	4	5	2
Guelph Storm	0	3	0	3	10	0