Posted: Thu May 18, 2006 2:46 pm
The Moncton Coliseum has been a graveyard for visitors all season.
The Moncton Wildcats hope to keep it that way during the 2006 Memorial Cup, which begins here tomorrow. Others in the four-team tournament are the Quebec Remparts of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League, the Peterborough Petes of the Ontario Hockey League and the Vancouver Giants of the Western Hockey League.
"I think any time you have the crowd behind you it always helps," said Moncton defenceman Nathan Welton. "It's like your seventh player on the ice. It's extra emotion in the building and you can feed off that.
"If you're down a goal, it can give you a little extra motivation to come back because you know everyone's behind you. It just gets you that much more pumped up. We did pretty well at home in the regular season and playoffs. I think our fans played a big part in that."
It's Quebec versus Peterborough in the opener of the 10-day tournament tomorrow at 8 p.m. Moncton and Vancouver will clash on Saturday at 8 p.m.
Moncton was 39-6-0-1 at home during the regular season and playoffs combined. That includes a perfect 11-0 home record in the playoffs.
The Wildcats have won 14 consecutive games in their own barn dating back to March 5. Furthermore, they've emerged victorious in 28 of their past 31 home contests going back to early December.
"Being on home ice for the Memorial Cup, I think we've just got to keep it simple and play the same style that got us to this point," said Welton. "We can't be going out there trying to get fancy and put on a big show.
"We're comfortable playing at home. You know the rink. You know the ice surface. You're in your own surroundings in the dressing room. You're staying in your normal house and you know the city. You can keep your normal routines. Any advantage you have always helps."
Moncton established a franchise attendance record for the regular season by drawing 203,010 fans, an average of 5,800 per game. It set another franchise record by attracting 59,064 fans for the playoffs.
Moncton and Vancouver are making their first appearance in the Memorial Cup. Quebec (1971) and Peterborough (1979) have both captured the national championship trophy once.
"It's going to be fun playing against teams that we've never faced before," said Welton. "It's a lot of preparation. You have to make sure you're really ready for each game when you're facing teams that you never saw before."
All four teams were in the final Canadian Hockey League rankings - Moncton (No. 1), Quebec (No. 2), Vancouver (No. 6) and Peterborough (No. 10).
Moncton captured its first QMJHL championship by defeating Quebec 4-2 in the best-of-seven President Cup final.
Wildcats left winger Martins Karsums was the first European to win the Guy Lafleur Trophy as Most Valuable Player in the QMJHL playoffs. The Latvian scored seven game winning goals, including three in the championship series.
Moncton and Quebec practised yesterday at the Tim Hortons 4-Ice Centre. Peterborough and Vancouver arrived last night at the Greater Moncton International Airport.
There's a downtown pep rally tomorrow at noon at Moncton City Hall. The public is invited to come and soak up the atmosphere in the final countdown to the tournament's opening faceoff.
"It feels like the season went by fast," said Karsums. "It doesn't seem like training camp was that long ago. It's always fun to play against teams you've never played before.
"It's a chance to see how we compare against the best teams from the other two leagues. It's always fun to play at home. The crowd is behind us and I think that helps us for sure."
The Wildcats sent a delegation to the past two Memorial Cups on a fact-finding mission. Now, Canada's highest profile amateur hockey event is finally in New Brunswick for the first time.
"In one way, it's been a long journey since the start of the season," said Wildcats center Chris Morehouse, whose club finished first overall in the QMJHL at 52-15-0-3.
"In another way, the season kind of flew by. I mean it's been a really fun and exciting season. It seems like yesterday that I was competing in training camp for a spot on this team."
The Wildcats talked all season about the importance of winning the QMJHL championship even though they were already guaranteed a berth in the Memorial Cup as host team.
"We definitely wanted to make sure we went through the front door, not the back door," said Morehouse. "We wanted to be champion of our league and earn our way into the tournament to prove we belong.
"The job is just half over. We've still got a lot of work to do. It's exciting what we've accomplished so far, but now we've got to put it aside and get focused on an even bigger challenge. It's all great teams in this tournament so in order for us to compete we've got to play our best."
Moncton will have Stephane Goulet back in the lineup for the Memorial Cup. The left winger finished second in team scoring with 93 points, including 51 goals, in 67 games.
He missed the last two games of the semifinal and the entire championship series with a knee injury.
"I'm at 100 per cent now," he said. "I'm more anxious than ever to play hockey. It's been three weeks since I've played a game and I miss it. It was very difficult to have to watch the league final.
"I'm proud of the character the guys showed and the way they played. Everyone brought their game up a notch for the league final so I have to tip my hat to the guys. We're not a team that relies on one or two guys. Everyone has their role."
Goulet isn't quite sure what to expect from Peterborough and Vancouver.
"It's going to be a great challenge to play against them," he said. "It's going to be interesting to see how the best teams from the other leagues play.
"At the same time, we have to focus on our own game and the things we can control."
