2011 NHL Entry Draft
2011 NHL Entry Draft Hats

Majors, Sea Dogs ready for puck drop

Sunday, 05.29.2011 / 6:23 PM

By Mike G. Morreale - NHL.com Staff Writer / NHL.com at the Memorial Cup Final blog

Share with your Friends


NHL.com at the Memorial Cup Final blog
Majors, Sea Dogs ready for puck drop
The stage is set here at Hershey Centre for MasterCard Memorial Cup championship between the Mississauga St. Michael's Majors and the Saint John Sea Dogs. The fans are filing in to the arena and all are expecting a classic showdown between the top two teams in the Canadian Hockey League.
 
For Mississauga coach Dave Cameron, it's a shot at finally sealing the deal in a final-round game this season. If you'll recall, the 52-year-old coach dropped a 5-3 decision to Team Russia in the gold medal game as the bench boss for the Canadian Junior National Team in the World Junior Championship in Buffalo, N.Y., in January. He then lost 4 of the last 5 games against Owen Sound to drop a seven-game  series to Owen Sound in the Ontario Hockey League championship.
 
Meanwhile, Saint John coach Gerard Gallant, whose team is 12-1 on the road during the playoffs, is seeking his first Memorial Cup. As a player, Gallant lost a shot at a CHL title as a member of the Sherbrooke Castors in 1982 and the Verdun Juniors in 1983.
 
While much talk has been made of the coaches, there's also an interesting twist involving both goalies. Jacob DeSerres of Saint John is looking to rebound in this year's final game after allowing all nine goals as a member of the Brandon Wheat Kings in a 9-1 loss to the Windsor Spitfires in 2010. Mississauga's J.P. Anderson would likely be in the running for tournament MVP with a victory over the offensively-charged Sea Dogs. Anderson, who has allowed just one goal in each of the past three games, sports a sparkling 1.76 goals-against average and .939 save percentage.