QUEBEC CITY P.Q. — After giving up the first goal of the game to Saint John, the Moncton Wildcats came roaring back, scoring six unanswered goals and never looked back, winning the President Cup trophy with a 7-4 victory.
Kelsey Tessier (2-1), Scott Brannon (2-1), Gabriel Bourque (0-3) and Marek Hrivik (2-0) led the Wildcats offensively in an impressive outing. Michael Kirkpatrick scored twice for the Sea Dogs.
Stephen MacAulay thought he silenced the Moncton crowd scoring on a rebound off Nathan Beaulieu’s point shot beating Wildcats goaltender Nicola Riopel with only 1:00 gone.
Moncton scored the next two goals in the next 6:00 minutes taking a 2-1 lead.
Saint John goaltender would certainly have a chance to redeem himself on Moncton’s first goal. Wildcats center Randy Cameron beat Cousineau with a bad angle shot from the side board 13:24 of the first period.
The Wildcats took the lead when Brannon was the beneficiary of great pass from center Tessier beating Sea Dogs goaltender who was left alone in his net with 50 seconds remaining in the opening period.
The Wildcats came out strong to begin the second period. They scored two goals 42 seconds apart.
Hrivik made it 3-1 Moncton with his 4th of the post season. A turnover in neutral zone by Saint John defenseman Christian Morin led odds men rushed ending with Tessier’s goal 2:54 into the period. Hrivik’s goal had been scored at 2:12.
Tessier came right back six minutes later with his second of the second period just a second after Saint John center Mike Hoffman came back on the ice ending his penalty.
Saint John’s slide continued in the second when Hrivik also scored his second in the game, also his second of the period at 18:21. Moncton went to their locker room with a five goal lead after forty minutes leading 6-1.
Saint John needed to play desperate hockey in what was to become their last period of play in 2009-10.
Michael Kirkpatrick tried to revive his team with two goals in 20 seconds to begin the third period for Saint John, reducing Moncton’s lead to three goals.
Saint John head coach Gerard Gallant pulled his goaltender in favor of sixth forwards. Sea Dogs defenseman Yann Sauvé with 2:20 remaining in the game scored Saint John’s fourth goal bringing his team to two goals differential.
But Scott Brannon hit the last nail in the Saint John coffin with an empty net at 18:26 of the third period capturing their second President Cup as QMJHL champion in Wildcats history.
The first Wildcats President Cup had been won in 2006
With their victory the Moncton Wildcats are the last team to earn their place in the Memorial Cup Championship that will begin next Friday, May 14.
The QMJHL representative will play their first game of the tournament on Saturday afternoon 2:00 against the WHL Champion the Calgary Hitmen.
The trophy for the most valuable player for 2009-10 playoffs went to Moncton left winger Gabriel Bourque. Bourque scored eight goals in the President Cup final.
Shots by periods:
Saint John: 14 9 8 31
Moncton: 15 17 11 43
Goaltenders:
Saint John: Marco Cousineau (14-7-0) 43 shots 37 saves
Moncton: Nicola Riopel (16-4-0) 31 shots 27 saves
Power plays:
Saint John: 0-1
Moncton: 0-7
Three stars selections:
First: MON Nicola Riopel
Second: MON Randy Cameron
Third: MON Scott Brannon
Contact the author at: serge.poulin@prohockeynews.com
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