Day Five - Games Just Don't Happen

There is artistry in the anticipation.  The London Knights will walk into a pristine dressing room for game two of the MasterCard Memorial Cup.

Knights dressing room in Saskatoon

The sweaters are perfectly clean.  Each piece of equipment has a place.

The team of Dean Patterson, Bob Martin and Chris Maton work long hours to transport some of the luxury the Knights enjoy at Budweiser Gardens to Saskatoon's Credit Union Centre.

It takes a lot of work.  With four teams using the same facility dressing rooms are not like at home. The Blades upgraded dressing room facilities recently, but visiting teams don't start with the same benefits.

"I had to prepare for this," Maton told CJBK's Mike Stubbs.  "But the team really couldn't. They didn't want to jinx anything."

Listen for the entire interview on NewsTalk 1290 tonight between 7:00 - 8:00 p.m.

The large London Knights logo (which no one can step on) is on a carpet in the middle of the floor.  Each player has a mat in front of his dressing area.  The skates are sharpened to order by Maton who also calls the slight  athletic odor the 'sweet smell of success..."  

The Knights take on the Portland Winterhawks tonight.  London can really take control of their own fate with a victory.  With a second loss, Portland would face Saskatoon on Wednesday only one loss away from going home.  Should the Knights lose they would have to beat an angry Halifax team tomorrow to avoid a tie breaker.

..and the men who make it happen L to R - Bob Martin, Dean Patterson and Chris Maton

Max Domi sitting in front of an image of himself painted onto the steps at Credit Union Centre