Wildcats take series lead; quarterfinals set at U18 worlds

Blainville-Boisbriand Armada

The Moncton Wildcats took a 2-1 series lead in the Gilles-Courteau Trophy semifinals on Monday.

The Wildcats scored three goals in five minutes during the second period in a 6-2 win over the Blainville-Boisbriand Armada at Centre d'excellence Sports Rousseau. The Armada led 1-0 and 2-1 but could not contain the 'Cats.

The lopsided score comes after two very tight games in Moncton. The Wildcats won 3-2 in a four overtime game last Thursday and 5-4 on Saturday.

Teddy Mutryn had a goal and two assists while Tommy Bleyl had three helpers. St. Andrews native Gabe Smith scored his 12th goal of the playoffs.

Former Saint John Sea Dogs defenseman Max Vilen was a +1 in the win.

For the Armada, Jacob Beaulieu had two shots and took a roughing penalty in the first period. Elliot Dubé also took a roughing penalty later in the opening frame.

Despite Saturday's post-game rough stuff, nothing out-of-the-ordinary happened in this game. 

The other semifinals series, which features the Chicoutimi Sagueneens and Rouyn-Noranda Huskies, is tied 1-1. That series resumes on Tuesday in Rouyn-Noranda.

A few other things...

• At the IIHF U18 World Championship on Monday, Canada defeated Finland 7-0 on the final day of preliminary round play. Alexis Joseph and Cameron Chartrand did not play for Canada. The Canadians finished second in Group A and will play Sweden in Tuesday's quarterfinals.
• Olivers Murnieks had an assist and two shots in 20:20 of ice time in Latvia's 5-2 loss to Slovakia. Latvia, who finished fourth in Group A, will play the United States in the quarterfinals.
• On Sunday, Murnieks had a goal and two assists in Latvia's 8-1 victory over Norway. He also recorded three shots and was a +2 in 19:36 of ice time.
• Sea Dogs prospect Jamie Glance had a goal and three assists in the United States' 11-2 victory over Germany. Glance played 18:44 and also registered five shots. The Americans finished first in Group B.
• Mathieu Joseph and the Los Angeles Kings had their season come to an end on Sunday, falling 5-1 to the Colorado Avalanche and losing the first round playoff series in four games. Joseph appeared in two of the four contests and was held pointless. He was also held pointless in 12 regular season games with the Kings.
• The only other former Sea Dog still alive in the Stanley Cup Playoffs is Joe Veleno of the Montreal Canadiens – but Veleno has yet to dress for a playoff game. The Habs and Tampa Bay Lightning are tied 2-2 in a very tight series.
• The Truro Bearcats are Maritime Junior Hockey League champions. The Bearcats defeated the Edmundston Blizzard 5-3 on home ice on Monday to take the championship series in five games. The Bearcats will represent the MHL at next month's Centennial Cup in Summerside.

Notebook: Joseph nominated for another award

JaimeLee Gouthro/Cape Breton Eagles

MONCTON - Saint John Sea Dogs forward Alexis Joseph was named a finalist for the QMJHL's Sidney Crosby Trophy, which is awarded annually to the league's rookie of the year.

Moncton Wildcats defenseman Tommy Bleyl won the award. Victoriaville Tigres forward Egor Shilov was also nominated.

From the league's press release:

Joseph finished sixth in rookie scoring with 60 points (24 goals, 36 assists) in 54 games. Notably, he was the only 16-year-old player in the top six. In addition to 18 power-play points, he led all rookies with four shorthanded goals. The Sea Dogs’ second-leading scorer, Joseph will not be eligible for the NHL Draft until 2027.

Joseph was also nominated for the Michel-Bergeron Trophy, which is awarded annually to the offensive rookie of the year, and the Paul-Dumont Trophy, which is awarded to the personality of the year.

Bleyl, meanwhile, was also named the QMJHL's defenseman of the year.

LONGEST SEA DOGS GAME

How does the longest game in Sea Dogs history compare to Thursday's four overtime contest between the Moncton Wildcats and Blainville-Boisbriand Armada?

The Sea Dogs have never had a game go beyond double overtime – but they came very close twice during the 2011 President Cup final against the Gatineau Olympiques. Game 4 of that series is the longest in Sea Digs history, lasting 99:16 with Ryan Tesink scoring at 19:16 of the second overtime. The second longest is Game 6, which lasted 95:45 and ended at 15:45 of the second overtime with Alexandre Beauregard scoring the Cup clinching goal.

Saint John has only gone to double overtime four times in team history.

Thursday's game between the Wildcats and Armada was the fifth longest in league history.

Wildcats, Sagueneens even semifinal series; post-game incident in Moncton

Embed from Getty Images

MONCTON - The Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League semifinals are living up to the hype.

The Moncton Wildcats scored two goals in 51 seconds late in the third period to defeat the Blainville-Boisbriand Armada 5-4 on Saturday at Avenir Centre, evening the series that at 1-1.

Also on Saturday night, the Chicoutimi Sagueneens made a statement, defeating the Rouyn-Noranda Huskies 5-2 and outshooting them 35-15 to even that series at 1-1.

Neither Moncton nor Chicoutimi had lost a game in these playoffs until they both dropped their series openers.

Much of the attention on Saturday was on Moncton's third period. Justin Carbonneau scored at 4:45 of the third to give the Armada a 4-3 lead only for Caleb Desnoyers and Evan Dépatie to score at 16:04 and 16:55, respectively, to give the Wildcats a 5-4 advantage – their first lead since they opened the scoring in the first.

Former Saint John Sea Dogs defenseman Max Vilen scored his second goal of the playoffs in the middle frame to tie the game at 3-3. He had four shots and was a +2 in the victory.

💣 https://t.co/QWR6Bn3hJ5 pic.twitter.com/2eVZ6weLS5

— Moncton Wildcats (@monctonwildcats) April 25, 2026

On the Armada side, former Sea Dogs forwards Elliot Dubé and Jacob Beaulieu were held of the scoresheet. Beaulieu was, however, given an unsportsmanlike misconduct penalty for his actions during a wild post-game scuffle between the two teams, which dragged on for several minutes.

Crickard hired by WHL's Broncos

Jeff Parsons/Newfoundland Regiment

Travis Crickard is heading west.

The WHL's Swift Current Broncos named Crickard their new general manager and head coach on Friday. The Broncos had the second worst record in the WHL this past season, finishing 15-44-4-5.

From the Broncos:

“We are extremely pleased to welcome Travis to the Swift Current Broncos,” said Broncos Chairman of the Board Trent McCleary. “Travis brings a wealth of coaching and general manager experience at the CHL level, along with a deep understanding of the standards and expectations within Hockey Canada programs. He understands the importance of building something our fans and city can be proud of and is fully invested in this organization and the people who support it every day. We are confident that his leadership, vision, and dedication will have a lasting impact on our players both on and off the ice, and we’re excited to see where he can help take the Broncos moving forward.” 

“My family and I are truly honoured and grateful for the trust the Broncos Board of Directors have shown in me to serve this storied program and the city of Swift Current,” said Crickard. “We admire the community connection the team has and want to build a team and program the people of Swift Current will be proud to support. The Board of Directors and current staff members have done marvellous work to build a values-driven foundation to help guide the organization. I look forward to helping bring those values to life and make a positive difference in the personal and hockey growth of our players.”

Crickard and the Sea Dogs parted ways on Feb. 26. He had been the team's head coach since the 2022-23 season and was an assistant coach during the 2021-22 campaign, working under Gordie Dwyer and Gardiner MacDougall. The 39-year-old left the Sea Dogs with an 80-158 record as head coach.

Crickard was also Saint John's general manager from Oct. 2024 to Dec. 2025.

This won't be Crickard's first stint in the WHL. He was an assistant coach and goaltending coach with the Kelowna Rockets from 2014 to 2019.

The Broncos, who play in one of the CHL's smallest markets, have not had much success since winning the WHL championship in 2018. Since then, they've reached the 40-win mark once and have only won one playoff series. It will be interesting to see what Crickard can do with the organization, especially in the new recruiting landscape.

Armada win a marathon Game 1

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MONCTON - Maël Lavigne scored at 7:48 of the fourth overtime to give the Blainville-Boisbriand Armada a 3-2 win in the fifth longest game in Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League history on Thursday.

The goal came soon after the Moncton Wildcats were called for too many men on the ice, which was just the fourth penalty of the game and first since midway through the third period.

Historic night in Moncton! 🥵

Maël Lavigne scores in 4th overtime, and Armada de Blainville-Boisbriand wins it 3-2 to end the 5th longest game - 127:48 - of the QMJHL history! Wow! 🤯#QPlayoffs | #proxipic.twitter.com/FtfugKIW9O

— QMJHL (@QMJHL) April 24, 2026

The Armada now lead the best-of-seven semifinal playoff series 1-0. The series has a funky schedule – but it works out now given how long this game went. Game 2 isn't until Saturday night.

Blainville-Boisbriand, the underdogs in this series, were certainly worthy of the win even though they trailed much of regulation. The Wildcats led 2-0 early in the third despite the play leaning towards the Armada.

The Armada outshot the Wildcats 68-40. Shots were 23-8 in favour of the Armada in the final two periods of regulation combined. This was just the second time in these playoffs that Moncton was outshot.

The Armada, who entered the game with the league's worst power play in these playoffs with a rating of 10.3%, went 2/3 on the man advantage.

Former Sea Dogs forward Elliot Dubé had plenty of ice time and finished the game with four shots. Jacob Beaulieu, meanwhile, didn't play much after being on the ice for Moncton's first goal.

On the Wildcats side, Max Vilen had one shot and finished the game a -1. He was on the ice for all three Armada goals.

The QMJHL's other semifinal series between the Chicoutimi Sagueneens and Rouyn-Noranda Huskies begins on Friday.

U18 worlds underway; QMJHL semifinals on deck

IIHF

MONCTON - The U18 Men's World Championship got underway on Wednesday and the semifinals of the Gilles-Courteau Trophy playoffs begin in less than 24 hours.

Here are a few Wednesday evening notes...

• Alexis Joseph and Team Canada opened the U18 Men's World Championship with a 2-1 loss to host Slovakia. It's the first time the Slovaks have defeated Canada at the event. Joseph, playing on Canada's second line, was held pointless and did not record a shot on goal in 16:08 of ice time. Cameron Chartrand did not play. Fredericton's Tynan Lawrence, the younger brother of former Sea Dogs forward Josh Lawrence, was named Canada's player of the game after recording one assist and two shots.
• Sea Dogs prospect Jamie Glance and Team USA also opened the tournament with a loss, falling 3-2 in overtime to Czechia. Glance, playing on USA's second line, recorded four shots in 17:31 of ice time.
• On Thursday, Canada will take on Olivers Murnieks and Latvia at 9 a.m. Atlantic. The Americans have Thursday off and are back in action on Friday against Denmark.
• Also on Thursday, the QMJHL semifinals get going with the Blainville-Boisbriand Armada taking on the Moncton Wildcats at Avenir Centre. There will be three former Sea Dogs in the series: Jacob Beaulieu and Elliot Dubé on the Armada and Max Vilen on the Wildcats. Puck drop is at 7 p.m.
• The other semifinal series starts Friday with the Rouyn-Noranda Huskies visiting the Chicoutimi Sagueneens.
• Couple interesting stories in the WHL's final four: the expansion Penticton Vees have made it to the conference finals where they'll face the top-seeded Everett Silvertips. On the other side of the bracket, the Medicine Hat Tigers are back in the conference finals without Gavin McKenna. The Tigers will take on the Prince Albert Raiders.
• The OHL's conference finals have the Brantford Bulldogs taking on the Barrie Colts and the Kitchener Rangers facing the Windsor Spitfires.
• The AHL's Calder Cup Playoffs got underway on Tuesday with the Hershey Bears shutting out Matthew Highmore and the Bridgeport Islanders 2-0. Game 2 of the best-of-three series is Thursday in Hershey.
• It hasn't been a great start to the Stanley Cup Playoffs for Sea Dogs alumni. Thomas Chabot and the Ottawa Senators trail the Carolina Hurricanes 2-0 while Mathieu Joseph and the Los Angeles Kings are behind 2-0 to the Colorado Avalanche. Joe Veleno – who has not appeared in any games of the series yet – and the Montreal Canadiens are tied 1-1 with the Tampa Bay Lightning.