Canadian Junior Hockey 1996 - 97 Memorial Cup

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The 1997 Memorial Cup was hosted by the Hull Olympiques. The Olympiques had won the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League championship defeating the Chicoutimi Sagueneens in four games. The runner up Sagueneens represented the QMJHL. The Oshawa Generals won the Ontario Hockey League title by defeating the Ottawa 67's in six games. The Lethbridge Hurricanes defeated the Seattle Thunderbirds in four games to win their first ever Western Hockey League title. At the conclusion of the six game round robin the standings had Lethbridge, Oshawa, and Hull all with records of two wins and one loss while Chicoutimi was winless and was eliminated from the tournament. Based on the goal differential tie-breaking formula Hull advanced to the final while Lethbridge and Oshawa would meet in the semifinal. Lethbridge defeated Oshawa 5-4 in overtime to secure a berth in the Memorial Cup final. In the final game the Olympiques posted a 5-1 win to capture their first ever Memorial Cup title and give the QMJHL back-to-back Canadian Hockey League championships. The Memorial Cup was originally known as the OHA Memorial Cup and was donated by the Ontario Hockey Association in March, 1919. Initially the Cup was awarded to the national junior hockey champions of Canada. Later on it came to signify Junior 'A' hockey supremacy when in 1934, junior hockey in Canada was divided into 'A' and 'B' classifications. In 1971, junior 'A' hockey was divided once again to form a major junior and a Tier 'II' level. The Memorial Cup was awarded to the higher category. In 1972, a round-robin tournament format replaced the old play-down system to determine the champions. Since then, the champions of the Western Hockey League (WHL), the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League (QMJHL) and the Ontario Hockey League (OHL), along with a host club, have met each spring in a round-robin series with the two top teams playing off in a sudden-death game to determine the Cup champions.

Canadian Junior Hockey 1996 - 97 Memorial Cup Games

Saturday May-10, 1997 - Oshawa 5, Chicoutimi 3
Sunday May-11, 1997 - Lethbridge 4, Chicoutimi 2
Sunday May-11, 1997 - Hull 8, Oshawa 0
Tuesday May-13, 1997 - Lethbridge 7, Hull 6
Wednesday May-14, 1997 - Oshawa 2, Lethbridge 1
Thursday May-15, 1997 - Hull 8, Chicoutimi 5
Saturday May-17, 1997 - Lethbridge 5, Oshawa 4
Sunday May-18, 1997 - Hull 5, Lethbridge 1

Canadian Junior Hockey 1996 - 97 Memorial Cup Winning Roster

1997 - Hull Olympiques - Alexandre Audet, Francis Bélanger, Martin Biron, Keven Brochu, Christian Bronsard, Alexandre Couture, Jonathan Délisle, Mathieu Descoteaux, Christian Dubé, Martin Ethier, Eric Hunter, Martin Johnston, Mario Larocque, Ryan Lauzon, Steven Low, Donald MacLean, Martin Ménard, Eric Naud, Francis Nault, Pavel Rosa, Jaret Sledz, Colin White, Peter Worrell, Claude Julien (general manager and coach).

Canadian Junior Hockey 1996 - 97 Memorial Cup Awards

Tournament MVP - Christian Dube, Hull Olympiques
Sportsmanship: Radoslav Suchy, Chicoutimi Saguenéens
Leading Scorer: Christian Dube, Hull Olympiques
Outstanding Goaltender: Christian Bronsard, Hull Olympiques
All Star Team: Goaltender - Christian Bronsard (Hull)
Forwards - Centre - Chritian Dube (Hull), Left Wing - Byron Ritchie (Lethbridge), Right Wing - Martin Menard (Hull)
Defencemen - Chris Phillips (Lethbridge), Jan Snopek (Oshawa)