Cats set QMJHL record
Published Friday October 31st, 2008
3-2 shootout win over Rocket gives Moncton best ever start to a season
The Moncton Wildcats have gone where no team has gone before.
They own their piece of history after establishing a record for best-ever start to a Quebec Major Junior Hockey League season thanks to a 3-2 shootout win over the Prince Edward Island Rocket last night in front of 3,724 fans at the Moncton Coliseum.
Moncton is first overall in the league at 15-0-2-0, earning points in the first 17 games of the season. The 1972-73 Quebec Remparts held the previous league record for best start to a season by earning points in the first 16 games.
"It's an unbelievable feeling to set this league record," said Wildcats centre Randy Cameron. "We've got a pretty special group of guys on this team. The nice thing is we're still pretty humble. Nobody is getting big headed because of all the success that we're having.
"We've had to work for everything. It's definitely special to have this league record. It's something we can all look back on and be pretty proud of. The old record stood for 35 years so that shows how tough this kind of a streak is to achieve."
Wildcats goaltender Nicola Riopel turned aside all three shots he faced in the shootout and improved his record to 14-1. Cameron scored the only goal of the shootout on the final shot as the Wildcats extended their winning streak to a season high of eight games.
"I saw (Rocket goaltender Bobby Nadeau) was leaving the blocker side open," said Cameron. "I thought he was maybe trying to entice me to go there. I went there anyway and luckily it went in. It was a hard-fought game and we showed a lot of character to come from behind to get the win."
The Wildcats will meet the Halifax Mooseheads tomorrow at 7 p.m. at the Moncton Coliseum.
Brandon Gormley and Matt Eagles also scored for Moncton, which improved to 7-0-2-0 at home. Eagles also chipped in with an assist.
Chris Doyle scored both goals for P.E.I., which is fifth in the Atlantic Division at 7-9-0-2.
On the power play, Moncton was 1-for-6 and P.E.I. was 2-for-8. The Wildcats improved to 3-0-0-0 in the season series between these clubs.
Moncton is No. 2 in the Canadian Hockey League rankings, but it didn't look the part in this game. The hometown squad held a 46-25 shots edge, but it was forced to rally from a 2-0 deficit to extend its franchise record streak to 17 consecutive games earning a point.
The Wildcats held a 32-12 shots edge in the second period, third period and five-minute overtime combined. Nadeau wasn't tested much in the first half of the game, but the Rocket goaltender was under plenty of pressure from there onward.
Moncton held a 13-6 shots edge in the third period as it pressed for the equalizer. Eagles scored the lone goal in the frame and pulled the Wildcats into a 2-2 tie by banging in a loose puck in a goalmouth scramble at 15:29.
The Wildcats dictated the play with a 6-1 shots edge in the overtime, setting the stage for the shootout.
"We weren't sharp tonight," said Eagles. "We took some undisciplined penalties and we weren't playing smart hockey. The two goals they scored were both on a two-man advantage.
"I think aside from the penalties we played pretty well. We had 46 shots. You have to give their goaltender credit because he played well. Some guys might have thought it was going to be easy tonight, but you can never take anyone lightly. P.E.I. has a very good squad and they played us tough. I think we woke up pretty good once we got behind 2-0."
Moncton held a 14-13 shots edge in the scoreless first period. The Wildcats were assessed the first three penalties of the game, all in the opening 11 minutes, and that set them on their heals.
The Rocket were leading 9-5 in shots by the midway mark of the frame and had some good scoring chances with nothing to show for it.
Moncton controlled most of the play and held a 13-5 shots edge in the second period. But it got into more trouble by taking the first four penalties in the stanza and that proved to be the club's downfall.
The Rocket scored twice in 41 seconds to grab a 2-0 lead with both goals coming on a two-man advantage. Doyle opened the summary on a shot from the slot at 5:20. Doyle then cashed in on a perfect pass across the front of the net at 6:01.
The Rocket had seven of the nine power plays awarded in the opening half of the contest. The tide then turned when the Wildcats had four consecutive power plays in the final half of the second period.
The Wildcats capitalized on a two-man advantage and cut their deficit to 2-1 at 10:59 of the second period. Mark Barberio's slapshot from the blueline was redirected by Gormley.
"Any time you get over 40 shots in a game, you've got to be doing something right," said Eagles. "The problem tonight is that we generated shots in spurts as opposed to on a consistent basis."
Cameron continued the thought.
"It wasn't our best performance, but we battled and found a way to get the job done," he said. "We got behind the eight-ball and fell behind 2-0, but it speaks to the character on this team that we battled back. It's definitely a good sign for our team.
"Maybe we were feeling a little extra pressure trying to set the league record. We tried not to think about the record going into the game, but I'm sure it was in the back of everybody's mind."
Moncton head coach Danny Flynn offered his assessment.
"We were really ready to play tonight," he said. "In fact, the kids wanted this win and the league record so bad that they were a little nervous. That's junior hockey and it's part of the learning experience. We got a little off track because we were trying too hard and we got a little frustrated when things didn't go our way. But give us credit.
"Once we got down 2-0, we got back on track and showed pretty good composure. I thought the second and third periods we generated lots of shots and scoring chances and we carried the play in the overtime, too. Aside from setting the record, I'm proud of the way the guys dealt with frustration and clawed their way back in this game."
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