Byron with a helper in Gatineau loss

At the Memorial Cup in Kitchener, Paul Byron picked up an assist in Gatineau's 6-3 loss to Belleville. The 5'10 Byron spotted an open Claude Giroux to tie the game at 3-3 midway through the second period, but that was all the exciting pair could muster as Gatineau fell to 0-2 at the gathering of the the CHL's best. Byron has registered an assist in each of the tourney losses.

Giroux, who played two games for the Philadelphia Flyers in February, scored his first of the tournament at 9:35 of the second period. Quick-handed Paul Byron sent a pass through the top of the crease and Giroux deflected the puck low on Murphy's glove hand.

The Bulls held their ground in the deciding frame, wearing down les Olympiques with three goals in the final 7:00 of play to pick up their first Memorial Cup victory. Gatineau will look to get their first win tomorrow when they square off against WHL representatives, Spokane.

Byron and Giroux to be reunited?

It looks like Gatineau Coach Benoit Groulx is ready to break his initial strategy, and again pair up his dual speedsters, Paul Byron and Claude Giroux, for the club's Mem Cup match-up with Belleville on Monday.

Olympiques coach Benoit Groulx, who split up Giroux and speedy centre Paul Byron during Friday's contest, says he will probably put them back together against Belleville. Whatever Groulx decides to do, he expects his front-line players to be better than they were against Kitchener. "It's not done yet, but chances are pretty high they will be playing together," Groulx said. "We addressed the situation with (Giroux and Byron). In a tournament like this, they brought us here, we're not going to start to point the finger at them. But we know it, they know it: they have to be our top guys on the ice if we hope to win this, and we're confident that they got their bad game out of their system."

It's hard to imagine why the coach would split up the deadly duo in their game one loss. Entering Kitchener, Byron and Giroux had combined for 83 points in their 19-game QMJHL title run, while three others averaged over a point-per-game. Byron would end the article with a quote that should please most Sabres fans.

Groulx said Sunday's practice was a good, intense session. Now it's time to face the Bulls. "They have a strong team and a very good goalie. They have their strengths, we have ours. The most important thing for us (tonight) is to start the game on the right foot." Byron, who scored one goal against the Rangers but had a plus/minus mark of minus-one, knows he must be one of those strengths. "If you can't handle the pressure, you shouldn't be here," Byron said.

Enroth done with SSK, expects to be in Portland

News site Lanstidningen i Soldertalje is reporting that Jhonas Enroth will not be returning to SSK of the SEL, and instead is focusing on getting a deal done with the Sabres before the June 1st deadline. After that date, Buffalo will no longer own the rights to the Swedish netminder. Enroth mentions the Portland Pirates by name as his expected 2008-09 club. He's not against playing with the farm club "as long as the Sabres offer does not pay him poorly". He isn't ruling out a return to the SEL, but admits that he hasn't spoken to his agent regarding that option. For those who haven't been following, Portland is the long rumored destination of Buffalo's AHL partner next season. The Sabres have confirmed that they were ending the league's longest running affiliation agreement with Rochester, but no official announcement has been made regarding Portland. The Pirates, who have been stocked with Anaheim Ducks prospects the past three seasons, are currently playing the AHL Eastern Conference Finals. Expect a Larry Quinn press conference shortly after the Pirates season concludes.

Byron scores again; 'Piques fall in opener

Paul Byron scored his 22nd goal of the post-season, but Gatineau opened the 2008 Mastercard Memorial Cup with a 6-5 OT loss to host, Kitchener. Trailing 3-1, Byron crashed the net in the second period to slide a rebound past Josh Unice to close the gap to one. Before any of the eleven goals were scored, Byron made noise with the first hit of the game just :15 in that sent Rangers scorer Justin Azevedo down to the ice in the neutral zone. With coach Benoit Groulx separating the red-hot duo of Byron and Claude Giroux (51 playoff points) for most of the night, one may wonder if Gatineau takes the heat off each player, and rolls with what has worked best when they take the ice Monday against Belleville.

Gogulla fields a few questions

Last week, Philip Gogulla (2005, 48th overall) spoke to IIHF.com after Germany's win over Slovakia at the World Championship. The short Q&A doesn't reveal anything about his future plans, but it's worth the plug regardless. Gogulla: We must play smart hockey

In watching you play, you seem more of a playmaker than a shooter. Am I right? Gogulla: Yes, I guess I am. I probably should shoot more but the goal that made it 3-1, I saw Michael Hackert on my right side and gave him a nice pass. You have to get the puck to skaters in a position to score, and that's what I like to do.

In six games, Gogulla has scored a goal and three assists. This ties him for third on the team in points, which is a job well done considering he's taken the fewest shifts among players who've skated in every game. The 6'2, 198-pound winger has just four shots on goal all tourney (supporting his quote above), but he's proven his worth as Germany's youngest player.

Byron gears up for Memorial Cup

Today's Ottawa Citizen featured a preview of the Gatineau Olympiques' Memorial Cup appearance. C Paul Byron enters the tournament as the CHL's top goal scorer with 21 goals. The next closest player is Kitchener RW Matt Halischuk with 16. Groulx, Olympiques gear up for another run at Memorial Cup

Three players with something to prove in Kitchener, even if they say they don't, are Claude Giroux, Paul Byron and Darryl Smith. Giroux and Byron were both passed over in the Ontario Hockey League draft before joining the Olympiques, while Smith started his major-junior career with the OHL's Guelph Storm before joining the Olympiques in 2005. Byron played junior B with the Ottawa West Golden Knights. "Things happen for a reason and not being drafted by the OHL was probably the best thing that ever happened to me," said Byron, who a year ago was a sixth-round draft pick by the NHL's Buffalo Sabres. "I'm happy Gatineau gave me the opportunity to play here, and I'm going to go to the Memorial Cup and play as hard as I can to win."

The Olympiques open the tournament Friday against the host Kitchener Rangers.

Persson heading to Timra?

Swedish news source Dagbladet is reporting that Timra may be interested in signing D Dennis Persson to a contract for 2008-09. Former DIF Asst. Coach Challe Berglund is entering year two as Timra's bench boss (with a second former DIF assistant as his wing man), and it's possible that his interest in the free agent blueliner may stem from their brief connection in Djurgarden. With Timra being a participant in Elitserien, this could be a positive sign for Persson after a tough 2007-08 season. Difficulty achieving ice time with Djurgarden landed the 6'1 defenseman in Sweden's second division, HockeyAllsvenskan. After the season, DIF decided that Persson no longer fit into their plans. Perhaps a fresh SEL start on a less-cluttered blue line in Timra is the ingredient to releasing the skills that made him the 24th pick at the 2006 draft. How does this impact his status with the Sabres? For now, it doesn't. Persson can be signed by the Sabres and still play under contract in the SEL. Remember, Henrik Tallinder ('97) played three seasons in Sweden and another in Finland before coming across the pond. All this really tells us is that Persson is likely to remain overseas for at least another season before pursuing a North American hockey career.

Season ends for MacKenzie

In the deciding fifth game of the Clark Cup Finals, Waterloo D Drew MacKenzie picked up an assist as the 'Hawks fell to Omaha, 4-3 in OT.

Drew MacKenzie made a nice play in neutral ice to help Waterloo jump ahead. MacKenzie's pass ignited Liivik on a mini-breakaway along the boards and as he carried the puck behind Palmisano, he sent a centering pass to Juutilainen who beat the Lancer netminder 5-hole for a 2-1 lead with 3:36 to go.

In 11 playoff games, the New Canaan, CT native compiled six assists and was a +2. It's expected that he will participate in the Prospect Camp shortly after the June draft before heading to the University of Vermont for the fall semester.

Byron, Gatineau to play for Memorial Cup

Paul Byron had two assists as Gatineau closed out their QMJHL quest for the President's Cup with a 7-3 rout of Rouyn-Noranda. Chosen 179th overall in the 2007 draft, Byron finished second in playoff scoring with 32 points, including a league-best 21 goals. Gatineau gets it done

After Giroux finished off a shorthanded breakaway with a backhand goal into the top of the net two minutes later, Byron set up Pistilli for two one-timer goals that Pistilli rocketed into the net. After Piche had scored for the Huskies, Byron setup Pistilli for another one timer after Gougeon and defenceman Guillaume Lepine had some miscommunication and coughed up the puck.

With the QMJHL title in tow, les Olympiques move on to battle for CHL bragging rights at the 2008 Memorial Cup.

The Olympiques are now off to Kitchener, Ont., for the Memorial Cup, and will play their first game Friday against the host Rangers. The Belleville Bulls will represent the Ontario Hockey League despite the fact they trail their best-of-seven final with the Rangers 3-2. After a four-game sweep over the Lethbridge Hurricanes in the Western Hockey League final, the Spokane Chiefs will be the fourth entry at the national junior championship tournament.

Gogulla gets a goal; Germans fall

Philip Gogulla notched his first goal of the World Championship, but the Germans needed more in their 3-2 loss to Norway.

Philip Gogulla made it 2-0 at 4:09 into the second period with a great second effort when his initial backhand did not beat Pal Grontes. Staying with the play, Gogulla jammed it home for his first-ever World Championship goal. Prior to this, Gogulla had seven assists since joining the national team in 2007.

Gogulla's tally put Germany ahead 2-0, but three unanswered goals sank the club over the final period and a half.