Moncton Wildcats
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| Moncton Wildcats | |
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| City: | Moncton, New Brunswick |
| League: | Q.M.J.H.L. |
| Division: | Eastern |
| Founded: | 1995-96 |
| Home Arena: | Moncton Coliseum |
| Colours: | Red, White, Blue & Yellow |
| Head Coach: | John Torchetti |
| General Manager: | vacant |
| Franchise history | |
| 1995-1996: | Moncton Alpines |
| 1996-Present: | Moncton Wildcats |
The Moncton Wildcats are a junior ice hockey team in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League. They play at the Moncton Coliseum in Moncton, New Brunswick, Canada. The franchise was granted for the 1995-96 season, and they were known as the Moncton Alpines for that season only. After winning the 2005-06 QMJHL championship, the team hosted the 2006 Memorial Cup. The Moncton Coliseum was previously host to the New Brunswick Hawks, Moncton Alpines, Moncton Golden Flames and the Moncton Hawks.
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[edit] History
The Moncton Alpines franchise was granted by the QMJHL in 1995 in the wake of successful expansion to Halifax, Nova Scotia in 1994. However, the Alpines struggled mightily both on and off the ice. The team went through an initial year of financial difficulty and struggled to attract fans. There was some discussion of folding or moving the team, but instead the franchise was purchased by Robert Irving on May 28, 1996. On June 19, 1996, the team was officially renamed to the Moncton Wildcats and the new uniforms and logo were unveiled. The Wildcats' first game took place on September 22, 1996, in front of 7,506 fans. They won 9-6 over the Victoriaville Tigres. The team would finish 16-52-2 for 34 points and last place.
The first few years of the Wildcats in Moncton featured a gradual improvement in the team's fortunes as more teams were added to the Maritimes and junior hockey took hold in the region. The 1999-2000 season was the greatest in Wildcats history to date as the team dominated with a 44-20-5-3 record. In the playoffs the team steamrolled to the QMJHL final against Rimouski. Injuries robbed the Wildcats of Simon Laliberté and Mirko Murovic, but the final blow to the Wildcats came just before the final started, when team leading scorer Jonathan Roy was diagnosed with cancer. The off-ice distractions took their toll and Moncton lost in the final in six games. Roy would ultimately beat cancer and is still playing hockey.
The next few seasons featured more rebuilding. In 2002-03, the Wildcats were led by goaltending from Corey Crawford and Steve Bernier's 101 points. In the playoffs, their time was short lived, as the fell in the quarterfinal 4 games to 2 against the Québec Remparts. At the NHL Draft Steve Bernier was selected 16th Overall by San Jose, goalie Corey Crawford by Chicago in the 2nd Round, and Nathan Saunders by Anaheim in the 4th Round.
In 2003-04, Corey Crawford set a team record for wins with 35, and 4 players had 30+ goal seasons: Steve Bernier with 36, Mathieu Betournay with 33, Konstantin Zakharov with 33, and Martins Karsums with 30. In the first Round, Moncton defeated the Baie-Comeau Drakkar in 4 games. In the Quarterfinal, they overtook the PEI Rocket 4 games to 2. In the Semi-Final, they finally defeated arch-rival Rimouski Océanic 4 games to 1. In the President's Cup Final for the first time, Moncton lost to the Gatineau Olympiques in 5 games, losing 4 games to 1.
In 2004-05, the "Sidney Crosby Show" was selling out buildings everywhere, and with the NHL Lockout, Corey Crawford stayed in Moncton. Helped by his backup, Jean-Christophe Blanchard, they finished with a combined 2.47 GAA, best in the QMJHL. Steve Bernier again had a 30+ goal season, with 36. Adam Pineault had 26 goals, while Bruce Graham chipped in 23, and Stephane Goulet finished with 22. Nathan Saunders set a new club record with 198 penalty minutes, finishing with a career record of 794 PIMS. In the playoffs, the Cats took Drummondville in the first round, 4 games to 2. In the Conference Quarterfinal, they were knocked out by the Rouyn-Noranda Huskies 4 games to 2.
In 2005, it was announced that Moncton would host the 2006 Memorial Cup. The team hired former NHL Coach Of The Year Ted Nolan, and acquired players such as Keith Yandle, and various rookies. The team's slogan for 2005-06 was "New Coach, New Team, New Attitude". The Wildcats finished in first place in the league, going 52-15-0-3 for 107 points and winning the Jean Rougeau Trophy for the first time in club history. They also recorded the longest winning streak of the QMJHL season. The Cats acquired Victoriaville Tigres goalie Josh Tordjman halfway through the season, as well as Luc Bourdon from the Val-d'Or Foreurs. They defeated Victoriaville 4 games to 1 in the first round, and did the same to the Halifax Mooseheads, defeating them 4 games to 1. The Wildcats defeated the Gatineau Olympiques 4 games to 1 in the third round. They were now back to the President's Cup, against Patrick Roy's Québec Remparts. In Game 1, Moncton beat the Remparts 4-3 in OT. Some more OT heroics resulted in a 3-2 win in Game 2. Quebec battled back for Game 3, winning 3-1. The Remparts tied the series at 2-2 with a 4-3 OT victory in Game 4. In Game 5, Moncton again used OT to get by Quebec 3-2. In Game 6, in front of a sold-out Moncton Coliseum crowd, Moncton took the trophy home, winning 3-2.
In the Memorial Cup against the Remparts, Vancouver Giants and Peterborough Petes, Moncton finished second in the round-robin after defeating Peterborough and Vancouver but losing to Québec. The Wildcats defeated the Giants in the semi-final, but lost to the Remparts 6-2 in the Memorial Cup final.
[edit] NHL Alumni
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[edit] Yearly Results
- 1995-96 Moncton Alpines
- 1996-Present Moncton Wildcats
[edit] Regular Season
Legend:
T = Tie (1995-2005), SL = Shoot Out Loss (2005-06 onward), OTL = Overtime Loss
| Season | Games | Won | Lost | T/SL | OTL | Goals For |
Goals Against |
Pct. | Points | Standing |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1995-96 | 70 | 14 | 48 | 8 | - | 215 | 360 | 0.257 | 36 | 7th in Dilio |
| 1996-97 | 70 | 16 | 52 | 2 | - | 192 | 354 | 0.243 | 34 | 7th in Dilio |
| 1997-98 | 70 | 39 | 32 | 9 | - | 240 | 229 | 0.479 | 67 | 4th in Dilio |
| 1998-99 | 70 | 38 | 25 | 7 | - | 257 | 235 | 0.593 | 81 | 4th in Dilio |
| 1999-00 | 72 | 44 | 20 | 5 | 3 | 292 | 211 | 0.646 | 96 | 1st in Maritimes |
| 2000-01 | 72 | 23 | 41 | 6 | 2 | 246 | 323 | 0.361 | 54 | 4th in Maritimes |
| 2001-02 | 72 | 20 | 41 | 4 | 7 | 214 | 287 | 0.306 | 75 | 4th in Maritimes |
| 2002-03 | 72 | 37 | 20 | 10 | 5 | 255 | 216 | 0.583 | 89 | 3rd in Maritimes |
| 2003-04 | 70 | 46 | 19 | 3 | 2 | 270 | 206 | 0.679 | 97 | 2nd in Atlantic |
| 2004-05 | 70 | 37 | 23 | 8 | 2 | 206 | 175 | 0.586 | 84 | 2nd in Atlantic |
| 2005-06 | 70 | 52 | 15 | 0 | 3 | 345 | 184 | 0.776 | 107 | 1st in East |
| 2006-07 | 70 | 39 | 25 | 2 | 4 | 254 | 263 | 0.557 | 84 | 3rd in East |
[edit] Playoffs
- 1995-96 - Out of Playoffs.
- 1996-97 - Out of Playoffs.
- 1997-98 - Defeated Chicoutimi Saguenéens 4 games to 2 in first round.
Lost to Rimouski Océanic in semi-final round-robin. - 1998-99 - Lost to Rimouski Océanic 4 games to 0 in first round.
- 1999-00 - Received first-round bye.
Defeated Acadie-Bathurst Titan 4 games to 0 in quarter-finals.
Defeated Québec Remparts 4 games to 3 in semi-finals.
Lost to Rimouski Océanic 4 games to 2 in QMJHL finals. - 2000-01 - Out of Playoffs.
- 2001-02 - Out of Playoffs.
- 2002-03 - Lost to Québec Remparts 4 games to 2 in first round.
- 2003-04 - Defeated Baie-Comeau Drakkar 4 games to 0 in first round.
Defeated P.E.I. Rocket 4 games to 2 in quarter-finals.
Defeated Rimouski Océanic 4 games to 1 in semi-finals.
Lost to Hull Olympiques 4 games to 1 in QMJHL finals. - 2004-05 - Defeated Drummondville Voltigeurs 4 games to 2 in first round.
Lost to Rouyn-Noranda Huskies 4 games to 2 in quarter-finals. - 2005-06 - Defeated Victoriaville Tigres in conference quarter-finals.
Defeated Halifax Mooseheads 4 games to 1 in conference semi-finals.
Defeated Gatineau Olympiques 4 games to 1 in conference finals.
Defeated Québec Remparts 4 games to 2 in QMJHL finals. QMJHL CHAMPIONS
Finished Memorial Cup round-robin in second place.
Defeated Vancouver Giants 4-1 in the semi-final.
Lost to Québec Remparts 6-2 in Memorial Cup final. - 2006-07 - Lost to Halifax Mooseheads 4 games to 3 in conference quarter-finals.
