NHL Network U.S. showcases best of CHL with Mastercard Memorial Cup Coverage beginning May 21

NEW YORK – For the fourth consecutive year, NHL Network U.S. will showcase the best teams in Canadian major junior hockey as they compete for a national championship title at the 2011 MasterCard Memorial Cup tournament.  NHL Network U.S will feature a combination of live and tape delayed broadcasts throughout the 10 days of competition from the tournament's host city of Mississauga, Ontario. 

Fans will have the opportunity to see the NHL's future stars and 2011 draft picks as they take to the ice from May 19-29 at the Canadian Hockey League's pinnacle tournament.  Those teams challenging for the 2011 MasterCard Memorial Cup include Western Hockey League (WHL) champion Kootenay Ice, Ontario Hockey League (OHL) champion Owen Sound Attack and Quebec Major Junior Hockey League (QMJHL) champion Saint John Sea Dogs, plus the host team Mississauga St. Michael's Majors (OHL).

NHL Network U.S. will air Rogers Sportsnet's coverage of all tournament games with the broadcast team of play-by-play man Peter Loubardias, analyst Sam Cosentino and host Rob Faulds. All games will be broadcast in high definition.

Tournament coverage will begin on Saturday, May 21, at 9:00 a.m. ET with the re-broadcast of the previous night's action between the Saint John Sea Dogs and the host Mississauga St. Michael's Majors.  Saint John is led by top-ranked prospects C Jonathan Huberdeau (No. 3 ranked) and D Nathan Beaulieu (No. 5 ranked), two of nine Sea Dogs on NHL Central Scouting's final ranking list.  Mississauga's captain C Casey Cizikas, drafted 92nd by the NY Islanders in 2009, will lead the Majors to their first Memorial Cup appearance since 1961. 

In the second game of Saturday's double-header, NHL Network U.S. will provide live coverage when the Owen Sound Attack take on the Kootenay Ice at 7:00 p.m. ET.  WHL Eastern Conference MVP and Kootenay center Cody Eakin, drafted 85th by the Washington Capitals in 2009, will lead the Ice against Owen Sound, which is coming off a big Game 7 win in the OHL championship series.  The Attack's 17-year-old, draft-eligible goaltender Jordan Binnington only allowed four goals on 70 shots over the last two games of the series.

Additional live game coverage will be added to the NHL Network U.S. schedule as the NHL's Conference Finals series conclude.  Fans are encouraged to check the schedule at www.nhlnetwork.com for updates.
 
All of NHL Network's live broadcasts will feature intermissions originating from the NHL Network studio in Toronto.  NHL Network will also feature nightly Memorial Cup coverage on NHL On The Fly with tournament news and notes and game analysis. 

NHL.com also will have special coverage of the tournament in its entirety with a team of reporters and videographers on-site to cover the sights and sounds of the CHL's best.  
   
The 2011 MasterCard Memorial Cup tournament features 25 recently drafted players from 20 NHL Clubs and 17 players eligible for the 2011 NHL Entry Draft who have been ranked by NHL Central Scouting.

Kootenay Ice

Brayden McNabb	BUF	66th in 2009
Cody Eakin	WSH	85th in 2009
Max Reinhart	CGY	64th in 2010
Joey Leach	CGY	73rd in 2010
Drew Czerwonka	EDM	166th in 2010
John Neibrandt	2011 eligible - ranked No. 170
Jagger Dirk	2011 eligible - ranked No. 188

Mississauga St. Michael's Majors

Casey Cizikas	NYI	92nd in 2009
Brett Flemming	WSH	145th in 2009
Maxim Kitsyn	LA	158th in 2009
Devante Smith-Pelly	ANA	42nd in 2010
Justin Shugg	CAR	105th in 2010
Rob Flick	CHI	120th in 2010
Gregg Sutch	BUF	143rd in 2010
Stuart Percy	2011 eligible - ranked No. 53
Joseph Cramarossa	2011 eligible - ranked No. 63
Dylan DeMelo	2011 eligible - ranked No. 121

Owen Sound Attack

Jesse Blacker	TOR	58th in 2009
Garrett Wilson	FLA	107th in 2009
Michael Zador	TB	148th in 2009
Scott Stajcer	NYR	140th in 2009
Joey Hishon	COL	17th in 2010
Geoffrey Schemitsch	TB	96th in 2010
Jordan Binnington	2011 eligible - ranked No. 3 Goalie
Andrew Fritsch	2011 eligible - ranked No. 84
Keevin Cutting	2011 eligible - ranked No. 87

       
Saint John Sea Dogs

Jacob DeSerres	PHI	84th in 2008
Simon Després	PIT	30th in 2009
Éric Gélinas	NJ	54th in 2009
Steven Anthony	VAN	187th in 2009
Stanislav Galiev	WSH	86th in 2010
Mathieu Corbeil-Thériault	CBJ	102nd in 2010
Stephen MacAulay	STL	164th in 2010
Jonathan Huberdeau	2011 eligible - ranked No. 3
Nathan Beaulieu	2011 eligible - ranked No. 5
Zack Phillips	2011 eligible - ranked No. 15
Tomas Jurco	2011 eligible - ranked No. 20
Scott Oke	2011 eligible - ranked No. 44
Ryan Tesink	2011 eligible - ranked No. 47
Gabriel Bourret	2011 eligible - ranked No. 92
Aidan Kelly	2011 eligible - ranked No. 94
Jason Cameron	2011 eligible - ranked No. 124

   
2011 MasterCard Memorial Cup on NHL Network U.S. Schedule (all times Eastern)

Date	Game	Time (ET)
Sat., May 21	Saint John vs. Mississauga	9:00 a.m. (tape delay from 5/20)
	Owen Sound vs. Kootenay	7:00 p.m. (LIVE)
Sun., May 22	Mississauga vs. Kootenay	7:00 p.m. (LIVE)
Tues., May 24	Owen Sound vs. Saint John	12:00 p.m. (tape delay from 5/23)
Wed., May 25	Kootenay vs. Saint John	12:00 p.m. (tape delay from 5/24)
Thurs., May 26	Mississauga vs. Owen Sound	12:00 p.m. (tape delay from 5/25)
Thurs., May 26	Kootenay vs. Owen Sound (Tie-Breaker)	7:00 p.m. (LIVE)
Fri., May 27	Kooetenay vs. Owen Sound (Tie-Breaker)	12:00 p.m. (tape delay from 5/26)
Sat., May 28	Semi-Final: Mississauga vs. Kootenay	1:00 p.m. (tape delay from 5/27)
Sun., May 29	Championship Game - Mississauga vs. St. John	7:00 p.m. (LIVE)

** for a complete Memorial Cup schedule, visit www.mastercardmemorialcup.com