Monday, September 15, 2008

Nicola Riopel Named Defensive Player of the Week

Moncton Wildcats goaltender Nicola Riopel has been named the Telus Defensive player of the week, for the period of September 11-14.

Samson Mahbod was named the Telus Offensive player of the week. Ted Stephens of the Wildcats was also considered.

Sunday, September 14, 2008

Wildcats 2-0 After Opening Weekend in the QMJHL

The Wildcats find themselves 2-0 after the opening weekend in the QMJHL. The Cats defeated the PEI Rocket 8-2 on Friday night and then beat the Saint John SeaDogs 3-1 on Saturday night.

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Wildcats Defeat Rocket in Home Opener

The Wildcats started the season off with a bang. The Wildcats defeated the PEI Rocket 8-2 in their opening game of the 2008/2009 QMJHL season.

The Cats got it going at 10:06 when Scott Brannon got his first goal of the season. Scott Brannon struck again 1:46 later, scoring an unassisted goal to put the home team up 2-0. The Wildcats went up 3-0 at 13:25 when Ted Stephens got his first goal of three on the night. Stephens scored again at 17:15 to put the Wildcats up 4-0. The Wildcats outshot the Rocket 14-7 in the first period.

The Rocket got two quick goals from Ben Duffy to start the second period, to cut the Cats lead to 4-2. But the Wildcats came back at 7:49, Sasha Fomin got his first goal in the Q, to put the Wildcats lead up to 5-2. Devon MacAusland got a goal at 10:10, his first, to put the Wildcats up 6-2. It was at that point that Rocket starting goalie, Bobby Nadeau, was pulled in favour of Evan Mosher. It didn't seem to stop the bleeding. The Wildcats got a goal at 12:32 from Matt Brown to go up 7-2. Ted Stephens scored 10 seconds later to put the home team up 8-2. It was Stephens third goal of the game and is first ever hattrick in the Q. Moncton heavily outshot PEI in the middle frame, 20-8.

The third period was scoreless. PEI held the edge in shots, outshooting the Wildcats 11-8.

Final shots on goal :
Moncton - 14 + 20 + 8 = 42
PEI - 7 + 8 + 11 = 26

Three Stars
1. Ted Stephens - Moncton
2. Matt Eagles - Moncton
3. Ben Duffy - PEI

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Wildcats Post Win Over Saint John

The Wildcats were coming off a 8-2 win the previous night, while Saint John was coming off a 3-2 come-from-behind overtime win against Bathurst. Saint John was missing a lot of their key players, but it came down to a goaltenders duel between Nicola Riopel and Robert Mayer. It was Moncton coming out on top, with a 3-1 win.

The Wildcats opened the scoring at 1:58, when Ted Stephens got his 4th goal of this early season to make it 1-0 for the Wildcats. Saint John tied up the game before the period would end. Francois Gauthier tied the game at 16:30. The shots were even at 12 in the opening period.

Scott Brannon scored the lone goal of the second period at 19:56, to put the Wildcats up 2-1 going into the final period. Moncton outshot Saint John 22-12 in the middle frame.

Scott Brannon sealed the game with only seven seconds left on the clock, when he beat SeaDogs goalie Robert Mayer on a late powerplay. Saint John held a a slight edge in shots in the third, 9-6.

Final shots on goal :
Moncton - 12 + 22 + 6 = 40
Saint John - 12 + 12 + 9 = 33

Three Stars
1. Robert Mayer - Saint John
2. Nicola Riopel - Moncton
3. Brandon Gormley - Moncton

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Moncton returns to action next Saturday night, when the travel to Charlottetown to take on the PEI Rocket.

Wednesday, September 10, 2008

Wildcats Final Roster

44 Mark Barberio D 6.01 196 lbs 1990-03-23 Montreal, Quebec
4 Jeff Bell D 6.04 225 lbs 1991-01-04 Moncton, New Brunswick
8 Jesse Biduke RW 6.00 203 lbs 1988-02-01 Whitby, Ontario
73 Matthew Bissonnette C 6.03 172 lbs 1992-01-16 Beaconsfield, Quebec
37 Louis Boileau-Domingue G 6.01 178 lbs 1992-01-16 Mont-St-Hilaire, Quebec
2 Matt Boyle D 5.11 192 lbs 1989-02-27 Charlottetown, P.E.I.
27 Scott Brannon RW 5.11 192 lbs 1989-02-28 New Glasgow, Nova Scotia
71 Matt Brown LW 5.11 190 lbs 1991-02-24 Pictou, Nova Scotia
17 Randy Cameron C 5.11 188 lbs 1989-01-28 Cornwall, P.E.I.
22 Paul Dimitruk D 6.01 170 lbs 1990-05-30 Andover, MA
36 Matt Eagles C 5.08 175 lbs 1988-01-18 Frederiction, New Brunswick
28 Alexander Fomin RW 5.08 179 lbs 1990-11-12 Gomel, Minsk
3 Brandon Gormley D 6.01 175 lbs 1992-02-18 Murray River, P.E.I.
52 Simon Jodoin LW 6.00 170 lbs 1990-11-20 St-Hyacinthe, Quebec
25 Jordan Lane RW 6.07 235 lbs 1989-07-12 Whitehorse, Yukon
10 Pierre-Marc Lessard LW 6.01 190 lbs 1989-06-15 St.Gilles, Quebec
91 Devon MacAusland C 5.07 150 lbs 1991-05-23 Moncton, New Brunswick
13 Daniel Pettersson C 6.00 145 lbs 1990-08-02 Toronto, Ontario
29 Nicola Riopel G 6.00 167 lbs 1989-02-20 St-Pie-de-Bagot, Quebec
9 Andrew Roski LW 5.10 194 lbs 1991-05-22 Halifax, Nova Scotia
58 David Savard D 6.01 199 lbs 1990-10-22 St-Hyacinthe, Quebec
24 Zach Sill C 6.00 200 lbs 1988-05-24 Truro, Nova Scotia
14 Ted Stephens C 6.00 173 lbs 1990-05-18 Whitehorse, Yukon
19 Julien Tremblay RW 5.10 160 lbs 1991-12-29 St-Eustache, Quebec

Saturday, September 6, 2008

Wildcats Beat Mooseheads

The Wildcats traveled to Dartmouth on Friday night to take on the Halifax Mooseheads at the Dartmouth Sportsplex. The Wildcats were the ones walking away with the win.

Halifax opened the scoring in the first period at 9:54 when Charles Bety scored a powerplay goal. The Wildcats tied up the game at 12:34 on the powerplay. Julien Tremblay put the puck past Moose starting goalie Mark Yetman, for his third goal in preseason action. Moncton outshot Halifax 14-11 in the first.

Moncton got the only goal of the second period. Matt Eagles got on the board at 7:48. Matt Boyle with the assist. Moncton once again outshot Halifax, this time by a 9-8 margin.

There was no scoring in the third period. Halifax held the edge in shots, outshooting the Wildcats 7-5.

Final shots on goal :
Moncton - 14 + 9 + 5 = 28
Halifax - 11 + 8 + 7 = 26

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Moncton returns to exhibition action on Saturday night when they host the Halifax Mooseheads at the 4plex. Game time is 7pm.

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The Wildcats have sent down defenceman Patrick Downe to the Midget AAA Fredericton Canadiens.

Wednesday, September 3, 2008

Wildcats Fall to SeaDogs

The Moncton Wildcats have dropped their exhibition record to 2-1 after falling 3-0 to the Saint John SeaDogs.

The SeaDogs made it 1-0 at 12:22 of the first period when Nathan Beaulieu beat Wildcats netminder Nicola Riopel on a long shot from the point. Saint John outshot Moncton 12-10 in the opening frame.

Both teams were held scoreless in the second period. Moncton held the edge in shots, outshooting the SeaDogs 10-7.

The SeaDogs upped their lead to 2-0 when Matthew Stoddard scored at 2:29. Mike Thomas sealed the win for Saint John with his empty net goal at 18:46. Moncton outshot Saint John 14-10 in the final stanza.

Final shots on goal :
Moncton - 10 + 10 + 14 = 34
Saint John - 12 + 7 + 10 = 29

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Moncton returns to action on Friday night when the travel to Halifax to take on the Mooseheads.

Wildcats Trim Roster

The Moncton Wildcats cut a dozen players on Tuesday, trimming their roster down to 30 players.

The cuts are as follows..

Goaltender - Robert Kidd
Defenceman - Samuel Cadet
Defenceman - Jonathan Taite Paul
Defenceman - Mitchell Fraser
Forward - Guy Carteciano
Forward - Michael Sicilia
Forward - Zach O'Brien
Forward - Olivier Daoust
Forward - Pascal Lariviere
Forward - Billy Martin
Forward - Cole MacMillan
Forward - Karl Blain

Also, Moncton Wildcats traded 19 year old Matthew Brenton to the Montreal Juniors in exchange for a seventh round pick in the 2009 QMJHL draft.

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The Wildcats host the Saint John SeaDogs in exhibition play tonight at the 4plex. Game time is 7pm.

Tuesday, September 2, 2008

Wildcats Post 4-3 Shootout Exhibition Win In Bathurst

For the second night in a row, the Moncton Wildcats have beaten the Acadie Bathurst Titan.

Julien Tremblay and Matthew Bissonnette both scored for Moncton in the shootout to lift the Wildcats to a 4-3 win at the KC Irving Regional Center in Bathurst on Monday night.

The Cats opened the scoring in the first period on the powerplay when Paul Dimitruk got his first goal of the exhibition season at 11:02. A little more than two minutes later, the Wildcats struck again. Karl Blain made it 2-0 when he scored a shorthanded goal on Titan netminder Matthew Szostak at 13:48. However the Titan would cut that lead in half before the period ended. At 15:41, Vincent Couture scored an unassisted goal on Wildcats starting goalie Wendell Vye. Bathurst held the edge in shots in the first, outshooting Moncton 12-7.

Moncton scored the only goal in the middle stanza. Andrew Roski got his third goal of this preseason at 16:12 to put the visiting team up 3-1. The Wildcats outshot the Titan 14-9 in the second period.

A double minor penalty to Andrew Roski almost midway through the third allowed Bathurst to get back into the game. Jonathan Lessard got the Titan within one at 9:38. Jeremie Malouin completed the comeback for Bathurst at 10:07 when he got the puck past Wildcats goaltender Louis Domingue. Bathurst outshot Moncton 15-6 in the final frame.

And that set the stage for a shootout, as there is no overtime period in exhibition play. Julien Tremblay and Matthew Bissonnette were both able to get the puck past Titan netminder David Cassabon. While Titan shooters Gabriel Cote and Mathieu Jean-Bouliane were both stopped by Cats keeper Louis Domingue. 

Final shots on goal :
Bathurst - 12 + 9 + 15 = 36
Moncton - 7 + 14 + 6 = 27

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Moncton returns to exhibition action on Wednesday night when they host the Saint John SeaDogs at 7pm.

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The Wildcats hope to trim their roster down to the 30 player range today.

Monday, September 1, 2008

Wildcats Make First Cuts

The Wildcats have cut seven players over the weekend. The cuts are as follows..

Goaltender - Rob Liberatore
Defenceman - Jared Ferguson
Defenceman - Theodore Hannah
Defenceman - Colton Cameron
Defenceman - Pier-Luc Brousseau
Forward - Colin Gates
Forward - Rob McCann