KITCHENER, Ont. -- Chris Bruton had dreamed of hoisting the Memorial Cup. But the Spokane Chiefs captain never dreamed of dropping it.

"I tried to bobble it there," said Bruton. "But I don't know, it just kind of crumbled in my hands. I'm sure it will be all over YouTube and I'll get all kinds of e-mails for the rest of my life over that."

It was moments after his team had defeated the Kitchener Rangers 4-1 in the Canadian Hockey League championship final that Bruton ceremoniously lifted the Memorial Cup above his head. As he attempted to pass the trophy to teammate Trevor Glass, it fell and broke into several pieces.

Luckily for the players, it was a replica. The real trophy resides in the Hockey Hall of Fame.

Of course, the more than 7,000 fans in attendance did not know that. And the pro-Rangers crowd, which had been graciously applauding the visiting U.S.-based team, immediately turned their cheers into boos.

"They definitely made us know we broke it," said an embarrassed Glass. "It's just one of those things that happens and it's not going to put a damper on our celebration.

"We won the Cup," added Bruton. "That's all that matters."

Indeed, the Chiefs may have failed at properly hoisting a trophy. But the Western Hockey League champions were dominant in every other category during the Memorial Cup.

Spokane went undefeated in the four-team tournament. Goaltender Dustin Tokarski was crowned MVP. And four players -- Tokarski, defenceman Justin Falk, and forwards Drayson Bowman and Mitch Wahl -- were named to the all-star team.

Not a bad accomplishment for an otherwise blue-collar team that lacked an identity before the tournament began. From now on, the Chiefs can be described in one word: champions.

"We made a name for ourselves in the playoffs, more than ever," said Bruton.

"And as we came here, I think we showed the media and all the fans what we're about."

The Chiefs, who have only four NHL-drafted players, were ultimately about team effort and consistent goaltending.

Up until recently, Tokarski was not considered a high-level prospect. That will probably change. The 18-year-old, who allowed one goal in each of his last three games, stopped 52 shots against the Rangers Sunday.

"With team success comes individual success," said Tokarski, who is draft eligible this year. "I thank our team all year for battling for that. Hopefully, a team takes a chance on me."

Backed by a boisterous home crowd, which rang cowbells and banged on drums, the Rangers came out attacking.

Kitchener took a 1-0 lead on a Brandon Mashinter goal at 5:01 in the first period. And it seemed that the momentum of Friday's 9-0 semifinal win against the Belleville Bulls had carried over into the final.

It was a short-lived theory, as Spokane tied the game with less than four minutes remaining in the opening frame.

Chiefs forward Ondrej Roman was circling around the net with a head of steam on the power play, when chants of "hit him" echoed throughout the Memorial Auditorium. Rangers captain Matt Pepe obliged. But it was at the expense of leaving another player wide open.

Before Roman was checked off the puck, he fed a pass to Judd Blackwater, who fired a shot past goaltender Josh Unice.

The Chiefs went up 3-1 in the second period and never looked back.

Bowman, who headed into the final with a tournament-leading five goals, scored the game-winner at 4:11 into the middle frame. It was just 61 seconds later when Glass sailed a wrist shot over Unice's glove hand to give Spokane a two-goal cushion.

From there, it was all about Tokarski, who stopped all 25 shots he faced in the third period.

"We fired everything at him," said Rangers forward Matt Halischuk, "but unfortunately we didn't come up at the right side tonight."

With 56.2 seconds remaining in the game, Chiefs forward Jared Cowen added an empty-net goal.

"It's cool being an American team to win a Memorial Cup," said Bowman, a native of Littleton, Colo. "It feels great. We did come a long way.

© The Leader-Post (Regina) 2008

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