Notebook: Cataractes' dream run ends

Vincent Ethier/CHL

SAINT JOHN - The Shawinigan Cataractes' Cinderella run came to an end on Monday at TD Station.

The Quebec Major Junior Hockey League champions fell short in their two chances to advance to Wednesday's final, falling 5-3 to the Saint John Sea Dogs in their final round-robin game and 4-3 in overtime to the Hamilton Bulldogs in Monday's semifinal.

"It's been a great year. Bottom line, we're champions," said head coach Daniel Renaud after Monday's loss. "That's the message to the players. Heads up, be proud of yourself, be proud of your team. It's been a helluva year and you'll be champions forever, no matter what. Out of 12 periods we've played, we've played 11 great periods here at the Memorial Cup. One bad period. Be proud of yourself."

The Cataractes fought through a regular season that was plagued with injuries, finishing seventh in the overall standings. They were healthy when it mattered most though, allowing them to upset the top-seeded Quebec Remparts in the third-round and the favoured Charlottetown Islanders in the President Cup final.

This Shawinigan team will always be remembered for their historic overtime success, going 7-0 in OT games during the QMJHL playoffs. Ironically, it was an overtime loss that ended their season on Monday.

"OT is one shot," said Renaud. "I think we played a good overtime. We got a couple of grade A scoring chances early in the overtime. To be honest, when I saw Mavrik Bourque on the zone entry, I thought that was the game-winner because he'd done that so many times. One shot, one tip. Bottom line, we're just so proud of all the players. It's been a great year for everybody.

CHL AWARDS

Logan Stankoven of the Kamloops Blazers was named the CHL Player of the Year on Tuesday night at the Saint John Marina.

Stankoven won the award over fellow nominees Wyatt Johnston of the Windsor Spitfires and William Dufour of the Saint John Sea Dogs.

Only two awards were won by QMJHL nominees: Jordan Dumais of the Halifax Mooseheads was named the Sportsman Player of the Year and Jim Hulton of the Charlottetown Islanders was named the Coach of the Year.

The full list of award winners can be found on the CHL website.

LADY MO

The Sea Dogs were sporting "Lady Mo" shirts during Tuesday's media availability at TD Station.

Lady Mo. #CityofChampions pic.twitter.com/RXosoFBCxz

— Saint John Sea Dogs (@SJSeaDogs) June 28, 2022

GARDINER VIDEO

The QMJHL website has a video feature on Sea Dogs head coach Gardiner MacDougall.

Gardiner MacDougall has only coached the @SJSeaDogs for the past month, but it's the 30-plus years of experience he has behind a bench that have built his winning reputation. #MemorialCup | @UNBMHockey

— QMJHL (@QMJHL) June 28, 2022

QMJHL HISTORY

The Sea Dogs will look to capture the QMJHL's 14th Memorial Cup championship (and third straight) on Wednesday.

La #LHJMQ en quête d’une 14e @CHLMemorialCup ce soir avec les @SJSeaDogs en grande finale

71-Quebec
72-Cornwall
80-Cornwall
81-Cornwall
96-Granby
97-Hull
00-Rimouski
06-Quebec
11-Saint John
12-Shawinigan
13-Halifax
18-A-Bathurst
19-Rouyn-Noranda@RDSca 18:00 (HE)

— Stephane Leroux (@StephRDSJunior) June 29, 2022

BARDOWN CONTENT

The @SJSeaDogs have a hilarious punishment for the player that loses the practice shootout 😂😂@CHLHockey #MemorialCup pic.twitter.com/9oAM5WFY79

— BarDown (@BarDown) June 29, 2022

CAMP INVITE

Sea Dogs forward Raivis Ansons has been invited to Pittsburgh Penguins prospect development camp, which will be held July 10-14 at the team's training facility. 

Ansons was one of 24 players to receive an invite. Gatineau's Isaac Belliveau and Moncton's Brooklyn Kalmikov also received invites.

Ansons, 20, will very likely play professional hockey in the Penguins system next season. A fifth-round pick of Pittsburgh in the 2020 NHL Draft, Ansons had 12 goals and 36 points in 37 games with Saint John. He led the team in playoff scoring with two goals and five points in five games.

At the Memorial Cup, Ansons has had a strong showing, registering a goal and four assists in three games.

OTHER THINGS

• Wednesday's Memorial Cup championship game is sold out. Fans can watch the game for free at the Area 506 Waterfront Container Village.
• There will be a fireworks show over the Saint John Harbour following Wednesday's championship game (scheduled for 10 p.m.).
• The Canadian Press, via Global News, previews the Memorial Cup final.
• Postmedia, via the Toronto Sun, previews the final.
• The Hamilton Spectator previews Wednesday's game.
• The Hamilton Spectator notes that "the last team to lose its first two games at the Memorial Cup and end of winning the championship was the 2009 Windsor Spitfires. Hamilton could match that on Wednesday."
• Scott Wheeler of The Athletic (paywall) has a piece on Sea Dogs forward William Dufour.
• Willy Palov of Saltwire writes about the Saint John and Shawinigan connection.
• Flames Nation writes about Jeremie Poirier and Yan Kuznetsov wanting to end their junior careers with a championship.
• The Sea Dogs and Bulldogs meeting in the final is pretty good, but the PEI Rocket and Kelowna Rockets meeting in a Memorial Cup back in the day would have been better.
• The City of Kamloops will spend $940,000 on arena upgrades ahead of the 2023 Memorial Cup. Kamloops This Week reports that a delegation from the city is in Saint John checking things out.