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 Wildcats also won the 2009–10 QMJHL championship. which sent the team to compete in the 2010 Memorial Cup in Brandon, Manitoba. They were eliminated from contention after going winless in the round robin portion of the tournament.

History

The Moncton Alpines joined the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League in the wake of successful expansion to Halifax, Nova Scotia, for the 1995–96 season. They played for one season coached by Lucien DeBlois. 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 finished 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 team dominated with a 44-20-5-3 record. In the playoffs the team steamrolled to the QMJHL semi-final against Rimouski. Injuries robbed the Wildcats of Simon Laliberte and Mirko Murovic, but the final blow to the Wildcats came just before the semi-final started, when team leading scorer Jonathan Roy was diagnosed with cancer. The off-ice distractions took their toll and Moncton lost the series in five games. Roy would ultimately beat cancer and went on to a pro career in the minor pro, European and senior ranks.

The next few seasons featured more rebuilding. In 2002–03, Corey Crawford's goaltending and Steve Bernier's 101 points led the Wildcats to a 37-20-10-5 record. In the playoffs, they fell in the quarter-final four games to two against the Quebec 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 four games. In the quarter-final, they beat the PEI Rocket four games to two. In the semifinal, they finally defeated arch-rival Rimouski Océanic four games to one. In the President's Cup Final for the first time, Moncton lost to the Gatineau Olympiques four games to one.

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, four games to two before being knocked out by the Rouyn-Noranda Huskies four games to two.

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. 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 four games to one in the first round, and did the same to the Halifax Mooseheads. The Wildcats defeated the Gatineau Olympiques four games to one in the third round. to return to the President's Cup, this time against Patrick Roy's Quebec Remparts. In Game 1, Moncton beat the Remparts 4-3 in overtime. 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 Quebec. The Wildcats defeated the Giants in the semi-final, but lost to the Remparts 6-2 in the Memorial Cup final.

Nolan went on to an NHL coaching job with the New York Islanders, along with assistant coach Danny Flynn. He was replaced by another coach with an NHL resume in John Torchetti. Torchetti led a young team to a 39-25-4-2 record before losing to the Halifax Mooseheads four games to three in the first round of the playoffs. Torchetti moved on to accept a post as associate coach with the Chicago Blackhawks.

The Wildcats brought Flynn back as their new head coach and director of hockey operations for 2007–08. Flynn traded away top veterans Phil Mangan, Matt Marquardt and Murdock MacLellan at the Christmas trading period and guided the team to a 21-34-5-10 record. The team set a new franchise mark for offensive futility, scoring just 191 goals. Chris Morehouse took over the captaincy after Mangan's departure, and was honoured as the QMJHL and Canadian Hockey League Humanitarian of the Year for his extensive work in the community.

In the 2008–09 season the Wildcats beat two QMJHL records. They beat the record for most games straight with at least one point at the start of a season. They also beat the record for most consecutive road wins at the start of a season. They also finished the season with the second highest points total in frachise history with 102.

QMJHL RECORD - On March 15/09 Nicola Riopel became the first goalkeeper in the history of the league, to complete the regular season with a goal-against-average of 2.01. Previous record was established in 1997–98 by Patrick Couture (2.09).

QMJHL RECORD – Moncton Wildcats – this team has realized a new League record of 149 goals allowed in one season. Previous record was established in 2003–04 by the Cape Breton Screaming Eagles (164).

Current roster

Forwards

Defensemen

Goaltenders

Coaches

NHL drafted alumni

Team records

Yearly results

• 1995–96 Moncton Alpines
• 1996–present Moncton Wildcats

Regular season

Legend: OTL = Overtime loss, SL = Shootout loss

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 and Quebec Remparts in round-robin.
• 1998–99 - Lost to Rimouski Océanic 4 games to 0 in first round.
• 1999–2000 - Defeated Acadie-Bathurst Titan 4 games to 0 in first round.
  Defeated Quebec Remparts 4 games to 3 in second round.
  Lost to Rimouski Océanic 4 games to 1 in QMJHL semi-finals.
• 2000–01 - Out of playoffs.
• 2001–02 - Out of playoffs.
• 2002–03 - Lost to Quebec 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 4 games to 1 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 Quebec 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 Quebec Remparts 6-2 in Memorial Cup final.
• 2006–07 - Lost to Halifax Mooseheads 4 games to 3 in conference quarter-finals.
• 2007–08 - Out of playoffs.
• 2008–09 - Defeated P.E.I. Rocket 4 games to 1 in first round.
  Lost to Rimouski Oceanic 4-1 in Second Round
• 2009-10 - Defeated Cape Breton Screaming Eagles 4 games to 1 in first round.
  Defeated Royun Noranda Huskies 4 games to 1 in second round
  Defeated Drummondville Voltigeures 4 games to 1 in the third round.
  Defeated Saint John Sea Dogs 4 games to 2 in final round to win the Presidents Cup. QMJHL CHAMPIONS
  Advanced to the Memorial Cup in Brandon, Manitoba.
  Finished Memorial Cup round-robin in fourth place and eliminated from contention.

See also

• List of ice hockey teams in New Brunswick

References

External links

• Official Site
• QMJHL stats