THE DREAM FALLS SHORT

STATION NATION RECAP
FINAL: Sea Dogs 4, Wildcats 7

MONCTON – Just like that - it’s over.

With a 7-4 win in Game Six of the President’s Cup Final, the Moncton Wildcats clinched their second Quebec Major Junior Hockey League title over the Saint John Sea Dogs Monday at the Moncton Coliseum.

The Sea Dogs scored first but could not hang on against the determined Wildcats. Moncton held period leads of 2-1 and 6-1.

"We had a great year,” said Sea Dogs head coach Gerard Gallant to the Sea Dogs’ Twitter page. “I'm proud of every guy in that locker room and we've got nothing to be ashamed of."

Scott Brannon scored twice for the winners and hoisted the President’s Cup for the first time as captain of the Wildcats. Kelsey Tessier and Marek Hrivik also had a pair of markers while a single goal came from Randy Cameron.

Michael Kirkpatrick had two goals while singles came from Stephan MacAulay and Yann Sauve.

Marco Cousineau could not handle the hot Wildcats offense, allowing six goals and an empty net marker on 42 shots.

Nicola Riopel made 27 saves on his way to a first star performance.

Saint John went 0/1 on the power play while Moncton went 0/7.

FIRST PERIOD
Saint John wasted little time getting on the scoreboard. At the one minute mark, a pass from along the boards found Nathan Beaulieu at the point. The defenseman blasted a shot that was tipped five-hole by Stephen MacAulay to make it 1-0 Sea Dogs early.

Following the goal, the Dogs seem to take some life out of the Wildcats. Yann Sauve had a good chance with a point shot moments later. Then Nicholas Petersen centered the puck for Zach Phillips but had his shot blocked by Alex Wall.

Moncton started to gain some momentum halfway through the period. The puck was centered for Gabriel Bourque on the doorstep but he was held up. Then a sharp angle shot from along the side boards trickled through the blue paint behind Marco Cousineau but went wide.

Moncton tied the game at 13:24 on a strange play. Cousineau made the first stop but sent the rebound up high. Christian Morin tried to bat the puck away with his hand but failed, allowing the disc to fall in the crease. Randy Cameron was right there to swing it in and make it a 1-1 game.

Jonathan Huberdeau headed to the box at 15:11 but the Dogs would put together a superior penalty kill to stop the ‘Cats’ power play.

The Wildcats struck again at 19:10. Kelsey Tessier centered the puck with a nice backhand pass to Scott Brannon in the slot. Brannon wristed a hard shot over the blocker of Cousineau to make it 2-1 Moncton.

Yann Sauve headed to the box at 19:42 of the first, giving the Wildcats a power play on fresh ice to start the second.

Shots in the opening frame were 15-14 Wildcats.

SECOND PERIOD
The Sea Dogs opened the period on the penalty kill but would kill it off with a solid effort.

The Wildcats extended their lead to 3-1 at 2:12. Cole MacMillan made a beautiful spin move to center a pass for Marek Hrivik. The import roofed a shot over Cousineau’s glove to make to give the ‘Cats a two goal lead.

Less than a minute later at 2:54, Gabriel Bourque fed Tessier with a cross ice pass. The former Quebec Rempart one timed the puck past Cousineau to make it 4-1 Wildcats.

Hoffman would not help the Sea Dogs’ cause at 4:42, heading to the penalty box. Shortly after, MacAulay headed off for closing his hand on the puck. On the two man advantage, the Wildcats had some good pressure but would not score. Their best chance came when the puck sat on the goal line only to be cleared by Saint John defenseman Sauve.

Hoffman took a dumb penalty at 6:53, running into Nicola Riopel and knocking him to the ice. Riopel, made 90% out of sugar, fell to the ice in pain. The trainer came out but he he would shockingly stay in the game.

Just as Hoffman was about to step out of the box, Cameron sent a pass down low to Tessier. The Fredericton native walked around a fallen Cousineau to net his second of the game and make it 5-1 Moncton.

Tessier headed off at 13:27 for goaltender interference. On the power play, Saint John showed little life and failed to get anything going.

The Wildcats continued their onslaught at 18:21. Hrivik simply threw the puck on goal where it hit a Saint John player in close. The disc deflected over Cousineau to make it 6-1 blowout after two periods.

Shots in the second were 17-9 Moncton.

THIRD PERIOD
Michael Kirkpatrick was determined to make a game of this one. The 19-year old made it 6-2 at 3:16 on a sharp angle shot that went high blocker on Riopel.

Less than a minute later at 3:43, Kirkpatrick was at it again. Huberdeau sent the center man a nice down low feed and then went five-hole to beat Riopel and to make it a 6-3 game.

After Saint John killed off a Will Johnston slashing penalty, Petersen almost broke loose on a breakaway but was hauled down cleanly by a Moncton defenseman. The Dogs kept the pressure on with a cross crease pass finding Kirkpatrick but tipping it high.

Kirkpatrick headed to the box at 14:44 for high sticking David Savard. The Sea Dogs would kill it off though with the Wildcats sitting back on their lead.

Sea Dogs head coach Gerard Gallant called a timeout and pulled Cousineau out of his crease at 17:20. With the extra man out for the Dogs, Sauve wired a shot from along the boards that beat Riopel through traffic to make it a 6-4 lead.

But with under two minutes to go, Scott Brannon iced the game with an empty net marker to clinch the Wildcats their second President’s Cup.

Shots in the third were 11-8 Moncton.

NOTES: See Station Nation tomorrow afternoon for Sea Dogs Postcript.

Photo credit: Marc Grandmaison