MasterCard Memorial Cup Memories: Remparts redemption
Wednesday April 15, 2015
A special moment in QMJHL history, the 2006 MasterCard Memorial Cup in Moncton, NB, marked the first time that two QMJHL teams have squared off for Canadian junior hockey’s ultimate prize as the Quebec Remparts and the Moncton Wildcats clashed in a battle of the best – one that featured a lengthy backstory.
The two teams had been dominant forces in the QMJHL all season, with the Wildcats under new Head Coach Ted Nolan finishing with a league best 52-15-0-3 record while rookie coach Patrick Roy’s Quebec Remparts were a close second at 52-16-1-1.
Both teams had elite talent and strength from the blueline out with current day NHL rearguards Keith Yandle of Moncton, who led all QMJHL defencemen in scoring with 84 points (25-59–84) in 66 season games, matched by Quebec’s Marc-Edouard Vlasic whose number 44 was recently retired by the Remparts.
The Remparts and Wildcats were on a collision course to meet in the President’s Cup Finals and did so after Moncton eliminated Victoriaville, Halifax and Gatineau and Quebec got past Val-d’Or and Shawinigan before prevailing in a grueling seven game battle with the Acadie-Bathurst Titan.
The Remparts entered the QMJHL Finals encounter with arguably the most dominant player in the Canadian Hockey League in Russian winger Alexander Radulov who set a Remparts single-season franchise record with 152 points (61-91–152) to lead the nation.
A Nashville Predators first round pick, Radulov’s memorable season featured a 50-game point streak that stretched from October 26th to March 15th, a period in which he amassed 120 points. Radulov’s penchant for production would continue into the postseason as he had points in all 23 playoff games he appeared in, finishing second in QMJHL history with a total of 55 points (21-34–55).
Moncton jumped out to an early 2-0 lead on home ice in the QMJHL Finals as overtime winners from Tim Spencer (4:55 into OT in Game 1) and Martins Karsums (1:05 into OT in Game 2) sent the series back to Quebec City.
Down 2-0, the Remparts came out with urgency in front of the hometown crowd, defeating Moncton 3-1 in Game 3 before Brent Aubin lifted Quebec to a 4-3 victory 8:48 into overtime in Game 4.
With the series knotted two games apiece, Karsums scored his second overtime winner of the series 13 seconds into the extra frame to silence the Colisee and give Moncton a 3-2 victory heading back to home ice for Game 6.
QMJHL Playoff MVP Martins Karsums would net the game winner in Game 6, giving Ted Nolan and the Wildcats their first President’s Cup title with a 3-2 victory.
Devastated, the Remparts regrouped in preparation for another shot at the Wildcats in the 2006 MasterCard Memorial Cup.
Quebec suffered an opening game loss to the OHL Champion Peterborough Petes while the Wildcats defeteated the Vancouver Giants 3-2 to open their schedule. The Remparts also defeated Vancouver while Moncton improved to 2-0 with a win over Peterborough. Both teams had a day off to prepare for their upcoming preliminary round encounter and at 1-1, the Remparts knew a win over Moncton on Day 6 would give them a chance to get into the MasterCard Memorial Cup Finals.
With a full house of 7,155 at the Moncton Coliseum, the Remparts traded goals with the Wildcats into the third period as Quebec led 3-2 inside the final five minutes of play.
With 3:47 remaining, Remparts defenceman Andrew Andricopoulos banked a shot past Moncton goaltender Josh Tordjman in off a Wildcats defender to give Quebec some late insurance before Moncton’s Christian Gaudet drew them back to within one.
Andricopoulos’ bank shot would stand as the winner as Quebec held on for a 4-3 victory, drawing them one step closer in their quest for the Remparts’ first Memorial Cup crown in modern history since the days of Guy Lafleur in 1971.
While the Remparts win clinched them a berth in the MasterCard Memorial Cup Finals, the Wildcats would be tasked with facing Gilbert Brule, Milan Lucic and the Vancouver Giants in a semi-final matchup.
While Brule hit the scoresheet once, the Wildcats managed to limit him the rest of the way in a 3-1 victory as Keith Yandle and Matt Marquardt answered before Christian Gaudet hit the empty net.
Moncton and Quebec would meet one last time, and Patrick Roy’s Remparts would leave it all out on the ice in the Championship game.
A goal from Pierre Bergeron followed by a pair from Radulov and a fourth from Angelo Esposito gave Quebec a 4-0 lead midway through the second period, stunning the capacity crowd on hand in Moncton.
At the other end, goaltender Cedrick Desjardins was playing the game of his life with a Memorial Cup title in his sights after one got away from him along with Sidney Crosby and the Rimouski Oceanic in 2005.
The Wildcats would make things interesting early in the third with a pair of Keith Yandle goals, but the powerplay would seal the deal with Mathieu Melanson and Jordan LaVallee putting it out of reach for a 6-2 win.
In a story of perseverance, the Quebec Remparts won the 2006 MasterCard Memorial Cup Championship, becoming the CHL’s first team to win a national title without winning their league crown or acting as Championship hosts.
“Any time you win a Canadian championship, you have to be proud,” Patrick Roy said following the victory. “It’s the best team that wins and we’re fortunate to be here.”
Alexander Radulov received the Stafford Smythe Memorial Trophy as MVP of the 2006 MasterCard Memorial Cup, recording five goals, four assists and nine points in four games.
Remparts goaltender Cedrick Desjardins was awarded the Hap Emms Memorial Trophy, given to the tournament’s top goaltender.
“Patrick put a lot of pressure on me during the season,” said a smiling Desjardins following the Championship win. “That’s because he never likes to lose.”