The Reminder is making its archives back to 2003 available on our website. Please note that, due to technical limitations, archive articles are presented without the usual formatting.
Hockey Canada announced that the start time for 2004 RBC Royal Bank Cup Championship game has been changed to 5:30 p.m. (MT) / 7:30 p.m. (ET) on Sunday May 16. The final will be broadcast live across Canada on the official broadcaster of Hockey Canada, TSN and RDS, and fans can follow the game's real-time statistics at www.hockeycanada.ca. Canada's National Junior 'A' Hockey final was originally scheduled to be played at 1 p.m. (MT) on Sunday, May 16. The decision to move the start time was to avoid a head-to-head match up with Sunday's NHL's Stanley Cup playoff game between Calgary and San Jose. Wayne Kartusch, the Chair of the RBC Royal Bank Cup, felt this change will allow hockey fans across the country to enjoy both games, "We did not feel it was in the best interest of our event to go up against the NHL playoffs. The RBC Royal Bank Cup deserves it's own attention to showcase what a fantastic caliber of hockey it is during prime time viewing." Five teams are taking part in this year's championship: the Nanaimo (BC) Clippers from the Pacific region, the Kindersley (SK) Klippers from the Western region, the Aurora (ON) Tigers from the Central region, the Nepean (ON) Raiders from the Eastern region and the host team, the Grande Prairie (AB) Storm. The teams have been playing round-robin games since May 8, and the top four teams will qualify for the playoff round. The semi-final games (first against fourth, second against third) will be held at 2 pm and 7:30 pm (MT) on Saturday, May 15th. The host team, Grande Prairie Storm, are the only team to qualify for the semi-finals thus far. The RBC Royal Bank Cup host committee also announced that the Championship game is sold out, but will accommodate the demand to see the game by setting up a live feed from TSN/RDS into the Storm Shelter and Fan Fest portion of the Crystal Centre Arena in Grande Prairie, AB. For more information on the 2004 RBC Royal Bank Cup, please visit the official website at www.royalbankcup.com.
