It’s a big game at the Avenir Centre Friday night.
With the QMJHL final tied at two, the Moncton Wildcats and Chicoutimi Saguenéens are both looking to shift the momentum their way.
For the Wildcats, it could mean the difference between a disappointing end to the season or a second berth in the Memorial Cup in as many years.
Game 5 gets underway at 7 p.m.
The game can also be seen on TSN and RDS.
Four more wins.
That’s all the Moncton Wildcats need to repeat as QMJHL champions.
All that stands in their way are the Chicoutimi Sagueneéns, who finished second overall in the league behind the Wildcats.
“When you get to this point in the year, you want it to be one versus two,” Wildcats general manager Taylor MacDougall said.
So is there pressure on Moncton as they try to become the first back-to-back Q champs since the Saint John Sea Dogs in 2011 and 2012?
“It’s not something we worry about,” MacDougall said.
He said the roster he and his father, head coach Gardiner MacDougall, put together this year is full of players who look forward to playing in big games.
“A lot of the players that came to Moncton this year came with the intention of getting the opportunity to play in big games and feel pressure,” he said.
The Wildcats began the playoffs with a couple of sweeps, knocking out the Sea Dogs and the Val d’Or Foreurs in the first and second rounds.
The third-round matchup against the Blainville-Boisbriand Armada was a little tougher.
That series went seven games and included a quadruple-overtime game, a line brawl, and plenty of back-and-forth action.
“It’s awesome for the group to go through it and feel all the different emotions that we felt in that series,” MacDougall said. “The highs and lows and kind of learned to try and keep a steady cadence to your emotions through that.”
For one team, there is no tomorrow.
The Moncton Wildcats host the Blainville-Boisbriand Armada in Game 7 of the QMJHL semifinal Tuesday night.
The winner will face Chicoutimi for the championship.
The loser will be left with ‘what-ifs’ and a long summer.
The Armada should be riding high after scoring twice in the final minute Sunday to force tonight’s winner-take-all matchup.
The Wildcats are trying to become the first team to repeat as league champions since the Saint John Sea Dogs in 2010-11 and 2011-12.
Game time is 7 p.m. at the Avenir Centre.
The Moncton Wildcats return home Friday night for a big game in their semifinal series.
They’re tied at two games each with the Blainville-Boisbriand Armada after what’s been an entertaining back-and-forth series so far.
Three of the four games so far have been decided by one goal, including a quadruple-overtime victory for the Armada in Game 1.
Game time is 7 p.m. at the Avenir Centre.
BIG GAME TONIGHT!
— Moncton Wildcats (@monctonwildcats) May 1, 2026
Game day presented by Protrans Personnel Services
🎟 https://t.co/GA6tE7Id5i#RepeatTheRoar pic.twitter.com/ElhcsipaXV
A back-and-forth series continues after the Moncton Wildcats fell 3-2 in Game 4 of the QMJHL semifinal Tuesday night.
The loss squares the series with Blainville-Boisbriand at two games each.
Rian Chudzinski gave the Wildcats an early lead, but the Armada scored twice in the last 36 seconds of the first period to take a 2-1 lead.
The Armada added another at the midpoint of the third period.
Gabe Smith brought the Wildcats within one late, but the team was unable to solve Armada goaltender William Lacelle.
Lacelle was sharp, stopping 36 of 38 shots to earn the victory.
The series shifts back to the Avenir Centre for Game 5.
Puck drop is at 7 p.m. on Friday.
In the end, it was the fifth-longest playoff game in QMJHL history.
Unfortunately for the Moncton Wildcats, they were on the wrong end of the historic moment.
The Wildcats fell 3-2 in quadruple-overtime to the Blainville-Boisbriand Armada in Game 1 of their third-round matchup.
The game began at 7:05 p.m. Thursday and finally came to an end at 12:11 a.m. Friday.
The Wildcats appeared to have the game well in hand early in the third period thanks to goals from Gabe Smith and Alex Mercier.
But the Armada pushed back, cutting the lead to one off the stick of Olivier Lemieux at 5:34 of the third.
Then, with Moncton’s Teddy Mutryn in the box serving a double-minor for high-sticking, Xavier Villeneuve tied things up about halfway through the third.
Neither team was able to get that elusive third goal through the first three overtime periods.
But the Wildcats took a too-many-men penalty about 6½ minutes into the fourth OT, and Blainville-Boisbriand’s Maël Lavigne buried the game-winner at 7:48 of the period.
The two teams are back at it Saturday.
Start time for game 2 is 7 p.m. at the Avenir Centre.
The Moncton Wildcats finally know who they’re up against.
They’ve been idle since completing a sweep of the Val d’Or Foreurs on April 15 to advance to the QMJHL semifinals.
An opponent has now emerged after the Blainville-Boisbriand Armada emerged victorious from their series against the Newfoundland Regiment.
The Armada defeated Newfoundland in six games, wrapping things up with a 5-3 win Sunday night.
The third-round series gets underway Thursday, April 23 at 7 p.m. at the Avenir Centre.
Tickets are on sale now for Games 1 and 2.
The other semifinal begins Friday, April 24, as the Chicoutimi Saguenéens host the Rouyn-Noranda Huskies.
*- if necessary
The Moncton Wildcats are off to the QMJHL semifinals.
The Wildcats completed a sweep of the Val d’Or Foreurs Wednesday night with a 4-1 road win.
Four different Wildcats provided the scoring, with Caleb Desnoyers’ second-period goal standing as the game-winner.
Rudy Guimond had a stellar night in goal, stopping 34 of 35 shots in the victory.
The Wildcats will now wait for the winner between the Blainville-Boisbriand Armada and Newfoundland Regiment.
That series is tied at two games apiece, with Game 5 scheduled for Friday night in St. John’s.
The other semifinal matchup is set, with the Chicoutimi Saguenéens taking on the Rouyn-Noranda Huskies.
Both teams completed sweeps in their respective second-round series.
The schedule has not been released as of Thursday morning.
The Moncton Wildcats are one win away from the QMJHL semifinals thanks to an offensive outburst by Gabe Smith.
Smith lit the lamp four times, including the eventual game-winner, as the Wildcats outlasted the Foreurs 7-4 Wednesday night in Val d’Or.
Rian Chudzinski also had a big night with a goal and four assists.
Kuzma Voronin and Caleb Desnoyers had the other goals for Moncton.
Phillipe Veilleux led the way for the Foreurs with two goals and an assist, with Maxime Coursol and Nathan Brisson providing the rest of the offence.
The Wildcats will try to seal the deal Wednesday night in Val d’Or.
Game 4 gets underway at 8 p.m. Atlantic time.