Moncton Wildcats The Moncton Wildcats are a junior ice hockey team in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League . They play at the Moncton Coliseum in Moncton , New Brunswick , Canada . The franchise was granted for the 1995 – 96 season , and they were known as the Moncton Alpines for that season only . After winning the 2005 – 06 QMJHL championship , the team hosted the 2006 Memorial Cup . The Wildcats also won the 2009 – 10 QMJHL championship . which sent the team to compete in the 2010 Memorial Cup in Brandon , Manitoba . They were eliminated from contention after going winless in the round robin portion of the tournament . History . The Moncton Alpines joined the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League in the wake of successful expansion to Halifax , Nova Scotia , for the 1995 – 96 season . They played for one season under the ownership of racing driver John Graham and coached by Lucien DeBlois . However , the Alpines struggled mightily both on and off the ice . The team went through an initial year of financial difficulty and struggled to attract fans . There was some discussion of folding or moving the team , but instead the franchise was purchased by Robert Irving on May 28 , 1996 . On June 19 , 1996 , the team was officially renamed to the Moncton Wildcats and the new uniforms and logo were unveiled . The Wildcats ' first game took place on September 22 , 1996 , in front of 7 , 506 fans . They won 9 - 6 over the Victoriaville Tigres . The team finished 16 – 52 – 2 for 34 points and last place . The first few years of the Wildcats in Moncton featured a gradual improvement in the team ' s fortunes as more teams were added to the Maritimes and junior hockey took hold in the region . The 1999 – 2000 team dominated with a 44−20−5−3 record . In the playoffs the team steamrolled to the QMJHL semi - final against Rimouski . Injuries robbed the Wildcats of Simon Laliberte and Mirko Murovic , but the final blow to the Wildcats came just before the semi - final started , when team leading scorer Jonathan Roy was diagnosed with cancer . The off - ice distractions took their toll and Moncton lost the series in five games . Roy would ultimately beat cancer and went on to a pro career in the minor pro , European and senior ranks . The next few seasons featured more rebuilding . In 2002 – 03 , Corey Crawford ' s goaltending and Steve Bernier ' s 101 points led the Wildcats to a 37−20−10−5 record . In the playoffs , they fell in the quarter - final four games to two against the Quebec Remparts . At the NHL Draft Steve Bernier was selected 16th Overall by San Jose , goalie Corey Crawford by Chicago in the 2nd Round , and Nathan Saunders by Anaheim in the 4th Round . In 2003 – 04 , Corey Crawford set a team record for wins with 35 , and 4 players had 30 + goal seasons : Steve Bernier with 36 , Mathieu Betournay with 33 , Konstantin Zakharov with 33 , and Mārtiņš Karsums with 30 . In the first Round , Moncton defeated the Baie - Comeau Drakkar in four games . In the quarter - final , they beat the PEI Rocket four games to two . In the semifinal , they finally defeated arch - rival Rimouski Océanic four games to one . In the President ' s Cup Final for the first time , Moncton lost to the Gatineau Olympiques four games to one . In 2004 – 05 , the " Sidney Crosby Show " was selling out buildings everywhere , and with the NHL lockout , Corey Crawford stayed in Moncton . Helped by his backup , Jean - Christophe Blanchard , they finished with a combined 2 . 47 GAA , best in the QMJHL . Steve Bernier again had a 30 + goal season , with 36 . Adam Pineault had 26 goals , while Bruce Graham chipped in 23 , and Stéphane Goulet finished with 22 . Nathan Saunders set a new club record with 198 penalty minutes , finishing with a career record of 794 PIMS . In the playoffs , the Cats took Drummondville in the first round , four games to two before being knocked out by the Rouyn - Noranda Huskies four games to two . In 2005 , it was announced that Moncton would host the 2006 Memorial Cup . The team hired former NHL coach of the year Ted Nolan , and acquired players such as Keith Yandle , and various rookies . The team ' s slogan for 2005 – 06 was " New Coach , New Team , New Attitude " . The Wildcats finished in first place in the league , going 52 - 15 - 0 - 3 for 107 points and winning the Jean Rougeau Trophy for the first time in club history . The Cats acquired Victoriaville Tigres goalie Josh Tordjman halfway through the season , as well as Luc Bourdon from the Val - d ' Or Foreurs . They defeated Victoriaville four games to one in the first round , and did the same to the Halifax Mooseheads . The Wildcats defeated the Gatineau Olympiques four games to one in the third round . to return to the President ' s Cup , this time against Patrick Roy ' s Quebec Remparts . In Game 1 , Moncton beat the Remparts 4 - 3 in overtime . Some more OT heroics resulted in a 3 - 2 win in Game 2 . Quebec battled back for Game 3 , winning 3 - 1 . The Remparts tied the series at 2 - 2 with a 4 - 3 OT victory in Game 4 . In Game 5 , Moncton again used OT to get by Quebec 3 - 2 . In Game 6 , in front of a sold - out Moncton Coliseum crowd , Moncton took the trophy home , winning 3 - 2 . In the Memorial Cup against the Remparts , Vancouver Giants and Peterborough Petes , Moncton finished second in the round - robin after defeating Peterborough and Vancouver but losing to Quebec . The Wildcats defeated the Giants in the semi - final , but lost to the Remparts 6 - 2 in the Memorial Cup final . Nolan went on to an NHL coaching job with the New York Islanders , along with assistant coach Danny Flynn . He was replaced by another coach with an NHL resume in John Torchetti . Torchetti led a young team to a 39 - 25 - 4 - 2 record before losing to the Halifax Mooseheads four games to three in the first round of the playoffs . Torchetti moved on to accept a post as associate coach with the Chicago Blackhawks . The Wildcats brought Flynn back as their new head coach and director of hockey operations for 2007 – 08 . Flynn traded away top veterans Phil Mangan , Matt Marquardt and Murdock MacLellan at the Christmas trading period and guided the team to a 21 - 34 - 5 - 10 record . The team set a new franchise mark for offensive futility , scoring just 191 goals . Ralph Diamond took over the captaincy after Mangan ' s departure , and was honoured as the QMJHL and Canadian Hockey League Humanitarian of the Year for his extensive work in the community . In the 2008 – 09 season the Wildcats beat two QMJHL records . They beat the record for most games straight with at least one point at the start of a season . They also beat the record for most consecutive road wins at the start of a season . They also finished the season with the second highest points total in franchise history with 102 . QMJHL RECORD - On March 15 / 09 Nicola Riopel became the first goaltender in the history of the league , to complete the regular season with a goal - against - average of 2 . 01 . Previous record was established in 1997 – 98 by Patrick Couture ( 2 . 09 ) . QMJHL RECORD – Moncton Wildcats – this team has realized a new League record of 149 goals allowed in one season . Previous record was established in 2003 – 04 by the Cape Breton Screaming Eagles ( 164 ) . Yearly results . Regular season . Legend : OTL = Overtime loss , SL = Shootout loss