Wildcats take Game 1 of QMJHL final

Daniel St Louis/Moncton Wildcats

MONCTON - A dominant first period carried the Moncton Wildcats to a 5-2 victory over the Chicoutimi Sagueneens in Game 1 of the Gilles-Courteau Trophy final on Friday.

The Wildcats scored three times and outshot the Sagueneens 16-5 in the opening frame. That included Caleb Desnoyers scoring just 20 seconds in.

Desnoyers scored and assisted on Moncton's other two first period goals. Gabe Smith scored twice for Moncton while Niko Tournas and Preston Lounsbury also connected. Goaltender Rudy Guimond made 26 saves in the win.

Wildcats defenseman Max Vilen is the lone former Saint John Sea Dog playing in the series. He took a puck to the ear late in the second period but would be okay. He finished the game a +3 with two shots.

The Sags improved in the final two minutes and certainly made the game tighter. It looked as though they may have tied it early in the third period but the goal was immediately waived off – and was again after a review – for goaltender interference.

Mavrick Lachance and Christophe Berthelot scored for Chicoutimi. Goaltender Lucas Beckman made 31 saves in the loss.

Moncton now leads the best-of-seven championship series 1-0. Game 2 of the series takes place Saturday night at Avenir Centre.

Wildcats looking to go back-to-back

Michael Hawkins/Saint John Sea Dogs

MONCTON - The Moncton Wildcats are looking to do something no QMJHL team has done since the glory days of the Saint John Sea Dogs: win back-to-back championships.

The Wildcats advanced to a second straight league final following a Game 7 win over the Blainville-Boisbriand Armada on Tuesday. Oddly enough, the Armada were the last team to play in back-to-back finals when they lost in both 2017 and 2018.

The Sea Dogs were the last team to win two straight QMJHL championships, winning in 2011 and 2012. Prior to that, no team had won back-to-back titles since the 2003 and 2004 Hull/Gatineau Olympiques.

Raising the Gilles-Courteau Trophy this season would give the Wildcats four QMJHL championships in their history – one better than the Sea Dogs.

The Wildcats, who have been around since the 1996-97 season (or 1995-96, depending on your perspective), have caught up to or surpassed the younger Sea Dogs franchise, who have been around since 2005-06, in a number of "key categories" over the past couple seasons.

	Moncton	Saint John
100-point seasons	6	4
Reg. season championships	3	4
QMJHL final appearances	5	4
QMJHL championships	3	3
Memorial Cup appearances	3	4
Memorial Cup final appearances	1	2
Memorial Cup championships	0	2

It's worth pointing out that the Wildcats had 101 points when the 2019-20 season was stopped due to COVID-19. The team was poised for a long playoff run that year.

Moncton has had three 100-point seasons since Saint John last won a playoff series in 2017.

Both this season and last, the Wildcats recorded over 100 points, finished first in the regular season standings and advanced to the league final. It's to be determined if they'll win the QMJHL title and earn a spot at the Memorial Cup – a tournament the franchise has struggled at.

Game 1 of the Gilles-Courteau Trophy final between the Wildcats and Chicoutimi Sagueneens takes place Friday night at Avenir Centre.

Notebook: Murnieks scores with Latvian national team

Ansis Ancovs/Latvian Ice Hockey Federation

It's been an eventful year for Olivers Murnieks at the international level.

The Saint John Sea Dogs forward played for Latvia at this year's World Junior Championship and the recent U18 World Championship. Now he's joined the Latvian men's team ahead of the IIHF World Championship – and scored in his debut.

#SJSeaDogs forward Olivers Murnieks made his debut with the Latvian national team today ahead of the #MensWorlds and had a goal in a 3-2 win over Norway!#GoDogsGo pic.twitter.com/emhwY2rwll

— Saint John Sea Dogs (@SJSeaDogs) May 6, 2026

Latvia won the friendly 3-2 in overtime against Norway. 

Latvia's first game of the men's worlds is May 16 against Switzerland. 

Murnieks posted a goal and five assists in seven games at the U18 worlds, a tournament that may have given his NHL Draft stock a boost, writes Daily Faceoff. 

FINAL BEGINS FRIDAY

The Gilles-Courteau Trophy final begins Friday night at Avenir Centre.

The Moncton Wildcats will try to become the first team since the 2011 and 2012 Saint John Sea Dogs to win back-to-back QMJHL championships. It won't be easy though as they'll be facing a Chicoutimi Sagueneens team that finished just one point behind them in the regular season standings.

Wildcats defenseman Max Vilen is the lone former Sea Dog playing in the series. Vilen, who is on Moncton's second defensive pairing, has two goals and six assists in 15 playoff games.

Game 1 is Friday followed by Game 2 on Saturday. The series shifts to Chicoutimi for Games 3 and 4 on Tuesday and Wednesday, respectively. All games will air on TSN.

QMJHL Central Scouting releases final 2026 rankings

Vincent Éthier/QMJHL

Thomas Boisvert is QMJHL Central Scouting's top ranked player entering the 2026 QMJHL Entry Draft.

CSR released its final rankings on Wednesday, producing two lists: one of Quebec and Atlantic players and another of Americans. We'll likely see a good amount of American players taken as more and more CHL players fill US college rosters.

Oddly enough, Boisvert spent this past season playing prep school hockey in the United States, recording over two points per game at Mount St. Charles Academy. He is a Trois-Rivieres native.

Notably, Boisvert wasn't selected until the 14th-round of this week's USHL Futures Draft, a sign that he is committed to playing in the QMJHL.

Forward Zaac Charbonneau, who was Boisvert's teammate this past season, was ranked third. He was tendered by the USHL's Muskegon Lumberjacks back in December.

Here's what QMJHL Central Scouting's top-five looked like.

1. F - Thomas Boisvert (Mount St. Charles)

2. F - Julien Bergeron (Châteauguay)

3. F - Zaac Charbonneau (Mount St. Charles)

4. F - Pierre-Alexandre Lemieux (Collège Esther-Blondin)

5. D - Vincent Boutet (Séminaire St-François)

The full ranking on Quebec and Atlantic players can be found here. The American list is here.

Six Americans were given an “A” rating as a potential first- or second-round pick: Logan Cotter, Robert Dekleine, Samuel Lee, John Queally, CJ Sawyer and Blake Wilichoski.

The Saint John Sea Dogs currently own the fifth and 15th overall picks in the first-round.

The 2026 QMJHL Entry Draft will take place at Halifax's Scotiabank Centre. The first-round will take place Friday, June 5 while the remaining 11 rounds will be held the following day.

Wildcats win Game 7 to advance to QMJHL final

Daniel St Louis/Moncton Wildcats

MONCTON - For a second straight year, the Moncton Wildcats are headed to the Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League final.

Captain Caleb Desnoyers scored and added two assists to lift the Wildcats to a 6-2 victory over the Blainville-Boisbriand Armada in Game 7 of the Gilles-Courteau Trophy semifinals on Tuesday night.

The Wildcats, the top seed entering the post-season, advance to the league final where they'll face the Chicoutimi Sagueneens, the No. 2 seed. The series is expected to start on Friday night at Avenir Centre.

It was far from a perfect performance by the the Wildcats – but it was enough to get the job done. Blainville-Boisbriand opened the scoring but never led again. The visitors were able to carry the play at times but it just wasn't enough to down the 'Cats.

Tommy Bleyl scored a pair of goals while Gavin Cornforth, Alex Mercier and Gabe Smith added singles. Rudy Guimond made 26 saves in the win.

Former Saint John Sea Dogs defenseman Max Vilen was held of the scoresheet but did play some key minutes on Moncton's second defensive pairing.

Ludovik Grenier and Xavier Villeneuve scored for Blainville-Boisbriand. Zach Pelletier, who made a second straight start in place of the injured William Lacelle, made 27 stops in the loss.

The loss ends the seasons for former Sea Dogs forwards Jacob Beaulieu Elliot Dubé. Beaulieu was held off the scoresheet while Dubé had one shot.

The series will certainly be remembered for some time. The four overtime game. The benches emptying after Game 2. The Armada's last second heroics in Game 6 to force a winner-take-all game back in Moncton. The Wildcats likely would have preferred a smoother semifinal series – but what a series it was.

Things certainly don't get any easier for the Wildcats. The Sagueneens finished just one point behind them in the regular season standings and the two split the season series – both winning on the road. Like Moncton, Chicoutimi was undefeated in the playoffs until the semifinals where they needed six games to eliminate the Rouyn-Noranda Huskies.

Moncton will be playing in the Gilles-Courteau Trophy final for a second straight season. For Chicoutimi, this will be their first trip to the league final since 1997.

This was the anticipated championship matchup and has the makings of a classic league final. Now we'll see if it can live up to the hype.

Beausejour senior league coming to LBR

The Beausejour Senior Hockey League is coming to Saint John.

In a social media post on Sunday, it was announced that the "Saint John Flames" will be reborn and become a member of the popular senior circuit beginning this fall.

From the Saint John Flames Facebook page:

THE FLAMES ARE BACK 🔥 

Saint John hockey just got its identity back. We’re proud to announce the return of the Saint John Flames as the newest Sr. A team in the Beausejour Senior Hockey League. This isn’t just another team, this is history, culture, and community coming back to life in this city.

For generations, the Flames meant something here. Packed rinks, hard-nosed hockey, and a standard that never slipped. Now it’s our turn to bring that back and build something the city can rally behind again.

The team will play their home games at the Lord Beaverbrook Rink. A website has already been launched with an online merch store.

The BSHL has been steadily growing in popularity in recent years. This past season, the league ended its season with six teams: Amherst, Bouctouche, Dalhousie, Elsipogtog, Fredericton and Miramichi. The regular season began in mid-October and the playoffs ended in late March.

The league is loaded with former QMJHL players – including quite a few Saint John Sea Dogs alumni. Former Sea Dogs forward Ryan Tesink (Fredericton) and Dawson Stairs (Dalhousie) finished second and third, respectively, in league scoring.

The Flames will no doubt look to follow the same steps the Fredericton Express took this past season. Not only was the team very good on the ice, but the Express sold out most of their home games and had a real buzz around them. 

What does this mean for the Sea Dogs? While the Flames will likely build out their schedule to not overlap with Sea Dogs home games, this does give the Dogs some competition for the the attention and money of the city's hockey fans – and it's coming from just down the road at the LBR.

For Sea Dogs fans, this is likely a great thing. Fans get more hockey to watch (and, let's be brutally honest: hockey with fighting), former Sea Dogs will be in action frequently and it puts further pressure on the Dogs to put together a great product on and off the ice.