MONCTON WINS RIVALRY CUP

The Moncton Wildcats officially won the 2009-2010 Brunswick News Rivalry Cup Monday afternoon. The win comes after the Sea Dogs released on their Twitter page that the Wildcats had won the Holiday Food Drive.

The food drive gives the ‘Cats another five points for 21.5 total points in seven games. The Saint John Sea Dogs have only 14.5 points. Even if the Dogs win the fan challenge and the next game between the two on Sunday, it will only give them a total of 18.5.

"It's a long-shot now," said Wayne Long, president of the Saint John Sea Dogs hockey club, on Sunday to the Telegraph-Journal. "But we are not conceding anything yet we need to tally up some more numbers."

"You can see by the pictures in the bins that an absolutely magnificent amount of food was brought in," he said. "Even if we lose the food challenge it’s a win for Romero House."

Moncton brought in a ridicules amount of food on December 31 at the Moncton Coliseum, a game that saw the Sea Dogs defeat the Wildcats in an epic shootout. Saint John appeared to have a fair amount as well, but it was more difficult to see the total amount because of the way the Sea Dogs were collecting the items.

This is Moncton’s second straight Rivalry Cup victory after they won the trophy last season in a miniature version of the challenge. Saint John led the challenge for much of the first half of the season but fell behind because of low attendance numbers.

The Wildcats have averaged 6,301 fans for their three home games against the Sea Dogs this season. Before Friday’s sell-out, there had been an average of 3,945 fans for the three Saint John games.

The one game remaining goes this Sunday at 8:00 pm at the Moncton Coliseum. The game will be broadcasted across North America on Rogers Sportsnet and the NHL Network in the United States.

Here's a breakdown of Rivalry Cup scoring through seven of the eight games:

Overall score
Moncton 16.5, Saint John 14.5

Attendance
Moncton 6.5, Saint John 3.5

On-ice
Moncton 10, Saint John 9

Mascot challenge
Fleaburn (Saint John) 2, Wild Willie (Moncton) 0

Food Drive
Moncton 5, Saint John 0

Fan Challenge
Still to be completed. Two points are awarded for the most fans wearing team apparel away from home. Moncton had 191 fans at Harbour Station on Friday.