The Belleville Bulls have already earned a berth in the Mastercard Memorial Cup - where they may get a rude welcome.
So, boys and girls, let's talk about what we've learned so far in the OHL championship between the Kitchener Rangers and the Belleville Bulls?
Lesson #1, never count a team down 3-0 in a series out completely. Secondly, it isn't exactly Brian Burke and Kevin Lowe, but these two teams really can't stand one another. Oh, finally— and, pay attention, this is an important one — OHL jerseys are asbestos-free.
Looks like this series took a serious turn towards Nastyville during Game 2 in Belleville when Geoff Killing of the Bulls tossed the jersey of Mike Mascioli into a bloodthirsty crowd after Mascioli gave Stephen Blunden a brief lesson in Ass Whoppin' 101.
Apparently, a few Belleville fans either can't stand red, white and blue together or concluded Mascioli hadn't seen a bar of soap in a few days, as one of them torched Mascioli's jersey with a lighter. No word yet if the campfire atmosphere caused anyone to break out in a verse of Kumbaya or Beans, Beans The Noisy Fruit.
OK, so both the Bulls and Rangers have already earned a berth in the Memorial Cup and perhaps this is a little gamesmanship leading up to the quest for junior hockey supremacy. Maybe it is more than that, and the teams really can't be in the same city together. But uh, Belleville needs to be reminded that the Memorial Cup will be staged in — get ready for it — Kitchener, where they will be welcomed with the same sort of open-armed glee reserved for Roger Clemens when he pounds on Brian McNamee's door.
Nothing wrong with a nasty little rivalry, but some liquored-up doofus in the stands has officially made the Bulls Public Enemy #1 in southwestern Ontario. Enjoy your trip — and the police escort — boys.
With a pummeling of Blunden and his showboating afterwards, Mascioli may have become the most hated man in Belleville.
It's nothing compared to the welcome the Bulls can expect in Kitchener later this month.