Moncton, Rimouski fight for survival at Memorial Cup
Published
The Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League champion Moncton Wildcats and Memorial Cup host Rimouski Oceanic fight for survival when the two teams clash in the final round-robin game of the tournament on Wednesday.
After each team lost their first two games of the tournament, the winner of this game will advance to face either the London Knights or Medicine Hat Tigers in the semifinals while the loser will be eliminated from the tournament.
The game is also a rematch of the QMJHL Championship Series that saw the Wildcats defeat the Oceanic in six games.
Moncton got the early jump on Rimouski in the championship series, winning the first three games to put Rimouski's back against the wall.
The Oceanic wouldn't go down without a fight, becoming the first team in QMJHL Final history to force a Game 6 after being in a 0-3 deficit, but eventually came up short.
NHL top prospect Caleb Desnoyers won the Guy LaFleur Trophy as QMJHL playoff MVP after he finished second in postseason scoring with nine goals and 30 points.
The 6-foot-2 centre is No. 6 on TSN Hockey Insider Bob McKenzie's most recent draft rankings and listed at No. 7 on TSN Director of Scouting Craig Button's May draft list.
“He’s such a complete and competitive player,” Button said before the tournament. “He’s smart on all areas on the ice, offensively and defensively. He’s wired to win and is a big-time competitive leader. He’s won everywhere and he’s trying to win another thing.”
Desnoyers is also finalist for the Michel-Biere Trophy for the QMJHL's regular season MVP after finishing fifth in the league in scoring with 35 goals and 84 points.
Moncton opened the tournament with a hard-luck 3-2 overtime loss to London on Saturday that saw goaltender Mathis Rousseau stand on his head in order to keep his team in the game.
The Wildcats were outshot 48-29 in the game, including a wave in the third period that saw London outshoot Moncton 16-3.
"Rousseau just kept making the saves time after time," said Button after the game. "When you get that type of goaltending, teams know that one shot can reward that goaltender with the win because of his superb play.
"In the end, he could only do what he was capable of doing but he did it at an exceptional level [on Saturday evening]."
Rousseau had to be strong again on Monday when they took on Medicine Hat, who ended up outshooting Moncton 41-22 in their 3-1 victory.
Defenceman Dyllan Gill has scored two of the Wildcats' three goals in the tournament, including the lone goal against the Tigers.
Rimouski has been led throughout the postseason by their captain Jacob Mathieu, who led the QMJHL playoffs in scoring with 17 goals and 31 points.
The Oceanic sustained some adversity in the playoffs with star players like Mathieu Cataford and Eriks Mateiko missing some time with injuries while star defenceman Spencer Gill has missed the entire postseason and tournament with a broken ankle.
With the team missing key players at different times during the playoffs, they’ve had to rely on their structure, which made them stronger throughout their lineup.
"[Rimouski] learned how to play together without some of their better players,” Button said before the tournament. “What that does is it forges a strength in them where not only are they going to play hard and smart, but they know they’ll be successful. Even with injuries they never waivered and just kept winning."
They opened the Memorial Cup against Medicine Hat on Friday, losing 5-4 with the winner coming with just 2:41 remaining in the third period.
Rimouski then took on London on Sunday where they were able to take a 1-0 lead in the second period, but allowed three unanswered goals the rest of the way in the 3-1 loss.
Despite Sunday's loss, goaltender Mathis Langevin stymied the Knights for most of the game, stopping 33 of 35 shots.
The 18-year-old netminder was easily the QMJHL's best goaltender during the playoffs, going 12-4 with a 1.57 goals-against average and .944 save percentage.
"Langevin had to face an onslaught at times [against the Knights] and he was terrific," Button said after the Oceanic's loss on Sunday. "When you get this type of goaltending, not only does it discourage your opponent, it tells your team that you just need one goal to win."