Rimouski Océanic

Rimouski Océanic
City Rimouski, Quebec
League Quebec Major Junior Hockey League
Conference Telus
Division Telus East
Founded 1995 (1995)–96
Home arena Colisée Financière Sun Life
Colours Royal blue, white and navy blue
              
General manager Serge Beausoleil
Head coach Serge Beausoleil
Championships 2000 Memorial Cup Champions, 2004-2005 QMJHL Champions, 2014-2015 QMJHL Champions

Website
http://www.oceanic.qc.ca/

Franchise history
1969–82 Sherbrooke Castors
1982–89 Saint-Jean Castors
1989–95 Saint-Jean Lynx
1995–present Rimouski Océanic

The Rimouski Océanic are a junior ice hockey team in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League (QMJHL). The franchise was granted for the 1969–70 season as the Sherbrooke Castors. The Castors played in Sherbrooke from 1969 to 1982 before moving to Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu, Quebec, in 1982 to become the Saint-Jean Castors. In 1989, the team was renamed the Saint-Jean Lynx. In 1995, the team then moved to Rimouski, Quebec, to become the Rimouski Océanic.

The Océanic logo is an ocean liner with a set of teeth on the bow, jutting out of waves creating both a profile that suggests both a striking shark and a fleur-de-lis. The team colours are royal blue, navy blue and white, and their home arena is the Colisée de Rimouski. The team's sweater has proven popular in the United States, as Reebok has issued it with current Pittsburgh Penguins star Sidney Crosby's number 87 on it.

The team won the QMJHL championship in the 1999–2000 season and went on to win the Memorial Cup that year, with a team featuring future NHL star Brad Richards.

The team is currently one of the more well-known teams in the Canadian Hockey League (CHL), particularly because of the addition of Sidney Crosby in the 2003–04 season. Crosby's 135 points for the club set a new record for a 16-year-old in the QMJHL and was second only to Wayne Gretzky in that particular age-group for all Canadian hockey. Other notable alumni through the years include Vincent Lecavalier, Brad Richards, Ryane Clowe and Michael Frolik.

In 2005, the Océanic set a QMJHL record after going 28 consecutive games without a loss. The team then went on to win seven games in a row in the playoffs, improving the unbeaten streak to an unofficial 35-straight. They won their second QMJHL championship in five years and subsequently represented the QMJHL in the 2005 Memorial Cup. After losing the opener against the hometown London Knights, the Océanic beat both the defending Memorial Cup champion Kelowna Rockets, who were in their third-straight Memorial Cup, and the Ottawa 67's. Rimouski then beat the 67's again in the semi-finals to set up a rematch of their opening game against the Knights. However, the Océanic were shut out in the final game 4–0.

The QMJHL announced on April 3, 2008, that the Océanic were chosen to host the 2009 Memorial Cup.[1]

In the 2014–15 season, the Océanic captured the QMJHL championship in double overtime of the seventh game against the Quebec Remparts. Because the Remparts were the hosts of 2015 Memorial Cup, they had already qualified for the Memorial Cup tournament prior to the QMJHL final, thus entering Rimouski into the Cup tournament. The Océanic finished 1–2 in the round robin portion in the tournament, advancing to the tie-breaker to play the Remparts, ultimately losing 5–2.

NHL alumni

References

  1. ↑ Rimouski wins 2009 MasterCard Memorial Cup bid

External links

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