Ahead of the official opening of the 99th Memorial Cup tournament, marked Thursday night by the arrival of the trophy and parade through the city, the head coaches of the competing teams met for a brief Q&A.
Spitfires coach Rocky Thompson said that “The Hockey ops, volunteer groups, and our team have done an outstanding job on this tournament. Our team has been preparing for this game, and while we had a heartbreaking loss to the London Knights, it was a great learning experience. It’s made me a better coach, and us a better team. If you ask the players, they’ve really grown from this experience.