POSTSCRIPT: Sea Dogs 4, Wildcats 7

CHAMPIONS
The Moncton Wildcats defeated the Saint John Sea Dogs 7-4 last night at the Moncton Coliseum, claiming their second President’s Cup Championship in franchise history.

SEA DOGS – WILDCATS GAME AT A GLANCE
Final Score: Saint John 4, Moncton 7
Saint John Goals: Michael Kirkpatrick (14, 15), Stephan MacAulay (2), and Yann Sauve (5)
Moncton Goals: Randy Cameron (1), Scott Brannon (5, 6), Marek Hrivik (4, 5), and Kelsey Tessier (13, 14)
Winning Goaltender: MON – Nicola Riopel (16-4)
Losing Goaltender: SJ – Marco Cousineau (14-7)
New 88.9 Top Dog: Michael Kirkpatrick

THE NUMBERS
Power Play: Wildcats: 0/7, Sea Dogs: 0/1
Shots on Goal: Wildcats: 15+17+11=43, Sea Dogs: 14+9+8=31
Attendance: 6,802

SAINT JOHN SCRATCHES
Out for Saint John were Gabriel Bourret due to a shoulder injury, Kevin Gagne with a knee injury, Steven Anthony with a groin injury, and Nicholas Pard with a foot injury. Tyrone Sock was a healthy scratch.

It appeared as though Gagne was in the lineup after he was not listed as an original scratch for the Sea Dogs. He was later noted to be out with a knee injury that has pushed him to the sidelines since round one.

With Bourret, Gagne, and Sock out, Saint John could dress only five defensemen. Aiden Kelly played as an extra forward.

Head coach Gerard Gallant told the Telegraph-Journal that is was tough to overcome the injuries to key players during the post-season.

"I think the biggest thing that was a factor was that it was the first time our depth was challenged this season. We missed (Nicholas) Pard, (Steven) Anthony and (Kevin) Gagne. Everybody has injuries in the playoffs, but we didn't have a bunch of guys who could fill in for those types of players."

AND SO IT ENDS
A season of unforgettable moments ended last night for the Saint John Sea Dogs.

“We had a great year,” said first year Sea Dogs 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."

The Sea Dogs season ended with a 7-4 loss to the Moncton Wildcats in Game Six of the President’s Cup Final. The ‘Cats skated around the Moncton Coliseum with the trophy after the game and will represent the QMJHL at the MasterCard Memorial Cup in Brandon, Manitoba.

Unlike in the first five games of the Final, the team that scored first failed to pull off a victory. Saint John opened the scoring just a minute into the game off a tipped point shot. But the Wildcats would score two goals to take a 2-1 lead into the second period.

The middle stanza proved to be a disaster for the Dogs as Marek Hrivik and Kelsey Tessier scored a goal each in a 42 second span to make it 4-1 Moncton. The ‘Cats would add on two more to all but clinch the league title.

But the Sea Dogs would not go away. Michael Kirkpatrick scored two goals 27 seconds apart to make it a 6-4 game. With Marco Cousineau pulled from his crease in a last ditch effort, Yann Sauve riffled a wrist shot that beat Nicola Riopel to make it a two goal game with 2:40 to go. But Scott Brannon would throw the puck into the empty net to clinch a Moncton victory.

"We just weren't good enough,'' Gallant said to the Telegraph-Journal. "When they started taking it to us, we just couldn't withhold the storm and we weren't strong enough. When it was 6-1 we battled back, but it was too little, too late.”

THANKS FOR TAKING PART
"I think this is going to make the rivalry between these clubs even stronger for years to come," said Wildcats owner Robert Irving to the Times & Transcript.

"I want to congratulate Scott McCain and the Sea Dogs organization for the terrific season they had. They put up a great fight and forced us to work for it. Both our championships are sweet in their own way.”

Irving was one of the last members of the Wildcats to hoist the trophy.

"I think this series was great for the league and great for hockey in New Brunswick," said Irving. "Saint John put up a great fight. We faced four very tough opponents in the playoffs, but if you want to be the best you've got to beat the best.”

SAY IT AIN’T SO
Marco Cousineau played his heart out in the playoffs for the Saint John Sea Dogs. But even though the coaching staff and fans acknowledged his hard work in the Final, the 20-year old veteran leaves disapointed.

Cousineau told Le Journal de Quebec that he felt he did not play well in the series and that the Wildcats wanted it more than the Sea Dogs. All of this after a series where Moncton outshot Saint John in every game.

Overall, the Wildcats outscored the Dogs 32-18 in the six game affair.

THANKS FOR THE MEMORIES
For three Sea Dogs, last night was their last game in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League. Goaltender Marco Cousineau and forwards Nicholas Petersen and Mike Hoffman all ended their junior career on a sour note.

The trio, who show a lot of similarities to the 2007-2008 overage crop of Travis Fullerton, Alexander Picard, and Scott Howes, were a major reason why Saint John made it so far this season.

News 88.9 reports that Yann Sauve will likely not be back:

… most likely defenseman Sauve who is expected to sign a contract soon with the Vancouver Canucks.

TOUGH TO TAKE
Regular season and division crowns can only take you so far in the playoffs. The Sea Dogs learned that the hard way.

"It's the worst feeling in the world,'' said Michael Kirkpatrick about the loss. "I know what this feels like know and there's no chance I want to feel it again. I thought we had the better team, but we just couldn't pull it off.”

"Sure I`d like to be out there celebrating a championship right now," Gerard Gallant said to T-J. "But the kids learned a lot this season. We have a lot of character in that room. We had that 22-game winning streak, so there are lots of highs but it doesn`t seem like that right now."

MVP
Gabriel Bourque was awarded the Guy-Lafleur Trophy as the playoffs MVP after registering 29 points, including 19 goals. QMJHL Vice-President of Hockey Operations Marcel Patenaude presented the trophy to Bourque.

"I have my dream now. I finally realized this," Bourque said to the Times & Transcript.

DUMB PENALTIES
As frustration began to boil over, the Sea Dogs took several dumb penalties last night.

The dumbest came from Mike Hoffman – the QMJHL’s sportsman of the year. Hoffman deliberately ran into Moncton net minder Nicola Riopel at the icing line, tossing him onto the ice. Riopel pulled his signature “I’ve fallen and I can’t get up” routine to ensure Hoffman was penalizied.

The worst penalty came in the third period with the Wildcats’ lead cut to three goals. Will Johnston went off at 4:19 for slashing, killing all momentum for the Sea Dogs.

THE ‘WOO’ IS BACK
Gerry Green called the game for Rogers TV yesterday. Several folks were critical of Green’s work, saying he was too biased towards the Wildcats on a provincial television station.

“On Gerry Green Whoo-ing, he was woo-ing both teams when they scored,” said Jeff Despres on Twitter, a Rogers TV producer based out of Fredericton.

Green and his signature goal “Woooo” was the voice of the Wildcats on News 91.9 last season.

GOOD FOR YOU, SON
With two goals on the night, Michael Kirkpatrick finishes atop the QMJHL playoff scoring board with 31 points.

The 19-year old finished the playoffs with 15 goals, tying Scott Howes’ team record.

WILDCATS POST-GAME


GREAT PICS
Our friend/enemy Marc Grandmaison has an amazing photo gallery from the game on his Facebook page.

QUICK HITS
This was only the second Monday game of the Sea Dogs’ season. The first was in round three against Victoriaville… last night’s sell-out means all six games of the QMJHL Final were sold-out… Michael Kirkpatrick turned 20-years old yesterday… it was the second year in a row that Nicholas Petersen was on the losing side of the President’s Cup… the Wildcats had championship hats on immediately following the game… goaltender Nicola Riopel was one of the last players to lift the trophy… the Sea Dogs are cleaning out their lockers today… the Wildcats were scheduled to leave the Moncton airport for Manitoba Wednesday afternoon… all of the Wildcats’ wins in the series were by three goals or more.

MOVING ON
Moncton opens the Memorial Cup tournament on Saturday against the Calgary Hitmen. The first game of the national final is Friday when the host Brandon Wheat Kings play the defending champions from Windsor.

NOW WHAT
The season is done – be we’re not. Station Nation will be presenting our awards post later this week along with a bunch of season wrap-up stuff.