Pages

Wednesday, June 29, 2022

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.
GARDINER VIDEO
The QMJHL website has a video feature on Sea Dogs head coach Gardiner MacDougall.
QMJHL HISTORY
The Sea Dogs will look to capture the QMJHL's 14th Memorial Cup championship (and third straight) on Wednesday.
BARDOWN CONTENT
CAMP INVITE

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

No comments:

Post a Comment