GET YOUR CAT FACE ON

BY BERT RICHARDSON
STATION NATION STAFF

With their season now over, every Saint John Sea Dogs fan is asking themselves the same question: now what?

Many will hit the golf course, some will watch the Boston Bruins implode, and others will finally do a job they have put off for nine months. But with some hockey still to be played, Sea Dogs fans must make the decision on who to cheer for next.

Fans have had little time to make a decision with the MasterCard Memorial Cup just hours away from beginning. They could cheer for the rather unknown Brandon Wheat Kings who will be playing the tournament on home ice. Or how about the Calgary Hitmen, who play in a city where the majority of Saint Johners have moved too. But they could also join the Windsor Spitfire fan club with their backup goaltender, Troy Passingham, playing a season with the Sea Dogs in 2007-08.

But no, these three teams just won’t do. Instead, the majority of the populous find themselves looking up the highway for salvation.

The Moncton Wildcats, to put it simply, spanked around the Sea Dogs in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League Final to win the President’s Cup. Not only that, but the Wildcats also captured the Rivalry Cup fan challenge for the second year in a row.

Add in the fact that these two teams are based 90 minutes apart and you would certainly think there would be some hate towards their provincial rivals. But there isn’t.

Reading newspaper comments, Twitter pages, and Facebook sites in the past week has shown me that Sea Dogs fans are proud to call the Wildcats their neighbors.

For the next week, they are not only Moncton’s team – they are the QMJHL’s team, the Maritimes team, and most importantly they are New Brunswick’s team.

There is a sense of pride in New Brunswick about having one of their teams participate on the national stage. Whether it be the coast-to-coast television audience or having “Moncton” printed in newspapers across the country, NBer’s know that they are represented well at the Memorial Cup.

Or perhaps it is about respect, something pointed out in Les Stoodley’s Memorial Cup blog today when a Brandon hotel misspelled Moncton as “Monton.”

But even with an entire province behind them, you know ‘Cats fans will be ready.

"The fans gave us a huge boost at our home games all season and especially in the playoffs,” said Wildcats center Randy Cameron to the Times & Transcript earlier this week. “Then in the league final we had 800 or 900 fans per game in Saint John and they were louder than the Saint John fans. It really makes a difference knowing that your fans are behind you 100 per cent whether you're at home or on the road.''

So will you be cheering for the Wildcats during the Memorial Cup? I certainly hope so.

Editors Note: Bert Richardson has been following the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League for the past five years. Bert, who has worked with Station Nation over the past year, has chosen to begin a column. He can be reached at stationnation@yahoo.ca.