Five Maritime teams in the Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League are set to begin their playoff series Friday night.
The Cape Breton Eagles finished fifth in the league’s Eastern Conference, earning a matchup with the fourth-seeded Baie-Comeau Drakkar. The Drakkar eliminated the Eagles in last year’s league semifinal, ending an unexpected playoff run before sellout crowds at Centre 200 in Sydney, N.S.
Now, the Cape Breton club is looking for revenge.
“We still have a vivid memory of what happened last year,” said defenceman Brayden Schmitt, one of the team’s three overage players.
“This was the team we all wanted to play. We wanted that redemption and the revenge for last year. They ended the careers of some of our teammates and best friends, so I think we’re amped up and excited for this series to get going.”
Head coach Louis Robitaille remembers the excitement of the sold-out crowds and fan rallies at the McCurdy Sydney Airport. His club wants to build on the momentum of last year’s post-season excitement, beginning with Game One of their first round series Friday night in Baie-Comeau.
“What a ride it was for us,” Robitaille said of the team’s 2024 playoff run.
“It was electric. It was a fun series; it was a physical series. It’s a tough building, such a great atmosphere here.”
In Moncton, many feel the Wildcats – who finished first in the QMJHL with 53 wins, 9 losses and two overtime losses – have a chance to win the Hub City’s first Memorial Cup.
While the Halifax Mooseheads, Saint John Sea Dogs and Acadie-Bathurst Titan have all won the coveted trophy, the closest Moncton has come was when they hosted the event in 2006.
Will MacLaren, a writer for The Hockey News and the QMJHL, was in the building when the Wildcats lost that year’s Memorial Cup final to the Quebec Remparts. He said a national title this year would be sweet redemption.
“(Team owner) Robert Irving wants a Memorial Cup,” MacLaren said. “He’s stated that since the summer of 1996. He probably has his best chance right now.”
For the Bathurst Titan, these playoffs are their Northern New Brunswick swan song as the team moves to St. John’s, N.L., next season.
The team had a sellout last weekend for their final regular season home game after 27 seasons in Bathurst.
The Titan face the Chicoutimi Sagueneens in this year’s opening round.
“That team has a rich history in Bathurst with two Presidents Cups, a Memorial Cup, a lot of great memories over the last 27 years,” MacLaren said.
MacLaren added the rebuilding Halifax Mooseheads and Charlottetown Islanders are underdogs in their first round series against the Drummondville Voltigeurs and Rimouski Oceanic, respectively.
As for the Eagles, going as deep as they did last year may prove difficult, but the team hopes to at least slay the Drakkar dragon.
“We know what to expect now with the fans and the noise,” Schmitt said. “We’re excited for that. We like it.”
The series shifts to Cape Breton for Games 3, 4 and 5.
