Yorkregion.com - Sports - Tanaka hopes cup trip is memorable
Tanaka hopes cup trip is memorable
Sports
May 15, 2008 11:29 PM
By: Mike Hayakawa
Cory Tanaka is living a moment of which all junior hockey players.
The
19-year-old Stouffville resident is playing in the Memorial Cup,
emblematic of major junior A supremacy. It starts tomorrow in Kitchener.
Tanaka
will have to wait until Saturday when his Belleville Bulls open against
the Western Hockey League champion Spokane Chiefs at 4 p.m.
The
Bulls earned the right to compete after reaching the Ontario Hockey
League final before losing to the host Kitchener Rangers 4-1 in
Monday’s seventh game. With the OHL hosting this year’s Memorial Cup,
it was granted two berths.
“Sure we felt bad about losing to
Kitchener. But we’ve just got to keep our heads up,” Tanaka said. “It
sure feels pretty good to be going to the Memorial Cup.”
This is
Tanaka’s third year with the Bulls, who acquired him during the 2005-06
season from Plymouth where he launched his OHL career in 2004-05.
He knew they could make a serious run because of the team’s veteran presence.
“With
the number of returning main core guys we had back from last year’s
team I had no doubt we could reach the OHL final,” Tanaka said.
“We just worked hard and played a good team game. We followed our system of solid defence and capitalizing on scoring chances.”
The
five-foot, 10-inch tall, 184-pound forward enjoyed plenty of individual
glory after compiling personal highs in regular season goals with 13
along with 38 assists in 68 games.
He also recorded a team-best +33 in the plus/minus ratings during the regular season.
During the postseason, Tanaka amassed eight goals and six assists in 21 games and had a +7 plus/minus rating.
Making
Tanaka’s feats more remarkable is he did it while playing with various
linemates. During the playoffs, he skated on a line with Adam Perry and
Jan Mursak.
“I feel that I had a good year. I worked hard and
capitalized on what chances I’ve been given,” he said. “But my
individual statistics do not matter.”
The Bulls must shrug off the disappointment in losing to the Rangers and refocus their efforts, he said.
A
rematch with the Rangers in the final, would be the ideal match-up, he
said, adding he knows Gatineau (the Quebec champions) and Spokane have
their own ideas.
“We’ve just got to play our game and do what we
need to do to win and play the way we can play,” he said. “Everyone is
confident and we know we’re a good team.”
His older brother, Cale, just finished his second year with the University of Alabama Huntsville Chargers team.
When
not on the ice, the younger Tanaka takes business courses at Loyalist
College in Belleville and just finished his second year.
But with one more year of junior eligibility, Tanaka said he would like to return to the Bulls as an over-ager.
“Right now, I’m just taking things one day at a time,” he said.
While
Tanaka is the lone Stouffville resident in the Memorial Cup, the
Rangers have a former member of the Stouffville Spirit on their roster,
Mike Duco.
The 20-year-old forward played with the Spirit during the 2003-04 Provincial Junior A Hockey League season.
The Memorial Cup games can be viewed on Rogers Sportsnet.