PHOTO CREDIT: MARC GRANDMAISON
Brandon, Man. – One team is sitting comfortably heading into the final, while the other is in danger of ending their season early.
The Moncton Wildcats will look to keep their Memorial Cup dreams alive as they face the Windsor Spitfires in a must win situation tonight.
It’s been a tough road so far for the QMJHL champions. They lost a heart breaker in their first game; a 5-4 come from behind victory at the hands of the Calgary Hitmen. They were then shut out the night after by the host Brandon Wheat Kings.
The other major storyline heading into tonight’s pivotal battle is whether one of Moncton’s superstars will finally lace them up.
Nicolas Deschamps, an Anaheim Ducks draft pick who has been sidelined with a knee injury since the third round of the QMJHL playoffs, skated today and said he felt like it was improving.
“I felt really good. Better than yesterday but the it’s a game time decision,” he said. “We’ll talk about it with the coach and we just don’t know yet.”
He added that he worked on specific things in particular in an attempt to judge his mobility.
“I just practiced stops and starts and my strides were better,” he said. “Hopefully we’ll see tonight. We’ll make a decision later with the coach and training staff.”
Many people – including Deschamps himself – feel that he could play. However, he’s worried about jeopardizing his future. It would take at least six months of rehab if he were to injure the knee again.
“It’s hard because it’s my career and stuff that’s in danger,” he said “I just want to have a good discussion and if I’m ready to play I’ll be there on the ice.”
When asked if it was harder since it was an elimination game, Deschamps agreed.
“It’s hard but you know, you have to stay positive and help the team try to win,” he said. “We have no choice now. Like Windsor did last year, nothing’s done yet and we need to stay on our game.”
Windsor, on the other hand, has already punched their ticket to the Memorial Cup finals on Sunday.
Last year, they were down 0-2, but were able to rally off four straight wins to capture the championship.
Defenceman Marc Cundari knows how important it is to knock out a good Wildcats team when the opportunity is knocking.
“We’re not going to give any team a chance to breathe in this tournament,” he said. “Kelowna took it easy on us last year and we ended up throwing it back in their faces. There’s no letting up, no letting go of leads, nothing like that. It’s all business. We’re here to win and it’s going to be a tough one for them tonight.”
Asked if the Spitfires would target the injured knee if Deschamps decided to play, Cundari smiled and shook his head.
“We’re not a dirty, nasty team like that, but we’ll make it rough on him for sure,” he said. “If he decides that he’s going to get rough out there or go into the dirty areas he’s going to feel it. That’s just part of the game and I’m sure he knows that too.”
If Moncton loses, it will make the third year in a row that no team from the QMJHL has made it to the championship game.
Philipp Grubauer will start in goal for the Spitfires, while Nicola Riopel will look to bounce back in the Wildcat net.
Puck drop is 7pm (8pm EST) from the Westman Place.
Topics: Anaheim Ducks, Brandon, Manitoba, Marc Cundari, Memorial Cup 2010, Moncton Wildcats, Nicola Riopel, Nicolas Deschamps, Philipp Grubauer, Windsor Spitfires
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