Wildcats Squander Two Goal Leads, But Come Out On Top In Exhibition Play

The Acadie Bathurst Titan were able to erase 2-0 and 3-1 deficits, but in the end it was the Moncton Wildcats who finished on top. The Wildcats used a empty net goal by Karl Blain with exactly one minute remaining on the clock to seal the win for the home team.

The Wildcats held the advantage in the first period, outshooting the Titan 14-11. It was Julien Tremblay who got the Cats on the board first to make it 1-0 at 5:34. Matthew Bissonnette and Jordan Lane got the assists. It was a powerplay goal. The Cats then went up 2-0 at 18:09. Andrew Roski gets his first goal of this exhibition season. Karl Blain was awarded the assist. Before the period was up though, Bathurst cut the lead to one when Mathieu Jean-Bouliane got the puck past Louis Domingue. The score was 2-1 after 20 minutes.

Bathurst held the edge in play in the second period, outshooting the Wildcats 15-7. But it was Moncton getting on the board at 5:56 on the powerplay. Patrick Downe was able to beat Titan netminder Frederic Piche, with Andrew Roski and Brandon Gormley assisting on the goal. The Titan would come back and score two goals in under two minutes. Jordan Bernier got his first goal at 8:42 and then Vincent Arseneau tied up the game at 10:07. Arseneau's goal was on the powerplay.

Bathurst took its first lead of the night when Jonathan Lessard scored a powerplay goal 5:12 into the final frame. Their lead wouldn't last long though. Guy Carteciano drew the Cats even at 9:13. Michael Sicilia and Jordan Lane drew the assists. Moncton then went back on top for good at 12:44 on an unassisted goal by Julien Tremblay. It was Tremblay's second goal of the night. Moncton then sealed the win with an empty netter in the final moments of play. The Titan outshot the Cats 16-9 in the final 20 minutes.

And it just wouldn't be an exhibition games without a little bit of fisticuffs. The anticipated bout of Jordan Lane and Marshall Worden wasn't much of a tilt. Lane had a hard time keeping his balance, which hampered him from really being able to get any quality shots in. The other tilt between Andrew Roski and Jeremy Martin had a little more fireworks. Both players got some decent shots in.

Each team split goaltending duties. Louis Domingue started, while Wendell Vye came in for the second half of the game. While Bathurst started Frederic Piche and replaced him half way through the game with Guillaume Nadeau.

Final shots on goal :
Bathurst - 11 + 15 + 16 = 42
Moncton - 14 + 7 + 9 = 30

Three Stars:
1 - Moncton - Julien Tremblay
2 - Bathurst - Jordan Bernier
3 - Moncton - Andrew Roski

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Moncton returns to exhibition action tomorrow ( Monday ) night when they travel to Bathurst to take on the Titan.

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My general thoughts on the game and on players . .

It was a scrambly game, but that's to be expected in these rookies first game. I thought the line of Bissonnette, Roski and Tremblay were really good. I thought they played really well together. This line got half of the goals. I'd really like to see Roski stick. He's got some skill and he's also the type that can be a bit of an agitator.

I thought Gormley had a good game. I don't think he really looks out of place. He has a decent shot when he can get it off.

Dimitruk also played well I thought. I think you could see him in the top 4 D by the end of the season.

Lane . . I was really anxious to see this kid play. I was kind of disappointed. He's a very slow skater. Kind of looked awkward. When it came to the fight, his balance didn't really help him. I'd love to have someone of his size on the team, but from what I've seen, he doesn't really bring anything to the table.

I think O'Brien may have a shot at breaking the lineup. I seem to notice him a lot out there.