Tigers, Wildcats preview: Cats get set to squabble in Memorial Cup

By James Tubb on May 26, 2025.

James Tubb

jtubb@medicinehatnews.com

RIMOUSKI, QUE.

Claws will be out as the two cats of the 2025 Memorial Cup get set to tussle tonight in Rimouski.

The Moncton Wildcats and Medicine Hat Tigers meet tonight at Sun Life Coliseum in the second game of the tournament for both clubs. The Tigers enter the game off two days rest after beating the host Rimouski Océanic 5-4 on Friday.

“It’s a little bit of time for us to relax and regroup, it was hectic coming in for the first game but now we should be settled in,” head coach Willie Desjardins said. “There should be no reason that we’re not ready to play. Moncton has got a really good team, we’ve watched them all, the games have been close, but they’re certainly a quality team. So we’ve scouted them, we’ve looked at them and now we just have to get ready.”

Moncton lost 3-2 in overtime on Saturday to the London Knights.

“They’re well coached, Willie does a great job with his group and they’re a dynamic team,” Moncton head coach Gardiner MacDougall said. “Dustin Frieden and Antoine Samuel do a tremendous job in our video, so they’ll have
a good plan.”

The Tigers scored three times in the third period Friday to beat the Océanic, seeing defenceman Bryce Pickford score a pair of goals to keep his goalscoring streak at nine games. Desjardins says there were a lot of positives to take from the win, he says they are also able to learn from Rimouski’s two losses.

“You play two good games, you don’t have anything and the tournament can change really quick, it just changes,” Desjardins said. “One time you’re sitting thinking you’re pretty good, the next you’re looking from the outside in. So we know that, we know every game is important and you take away from that and just be ready for tonight.”

Moncton went back and forth with London on Saturday, seeing the Knights score in overtime. MacDougall liked how his team held possession in the loss and he looks for them to continue winning battles tonight.

“Our face-offs were really good, that’s a big part of the game, battles and races, I called them FPRs,” MacDougall said. “It’s a foundation, you listen or you watch the media reports when the Florida Panthers play in the National Hockey League, which obviously is the goal of every player here, and they talk about trying to win battles, trying to win races. So tonight we want a game that is maybe more on the boards than in the middle of the ice.”

The Tigers are expecting the return of forward Cayden Lindstrom to the lineup after he missed their opening game against Rimouski. It will be his debut at the tournament, an opportunity he is looking forward to.

“I was hungry from the start of the tournament, I took warmups and then didn’t play,” Lindstrom said. “I just want to get out there and help my team win.”

Wildcats’ forward Caleb Desnoyers led their team in scoring in the QMJHL playoffs with nine goals and 30 points in 19 games. He was held off the scoresheet against London, hasn’t scored in seven games but had a chance in overtime. MacDougall says the two had a talk and he’s happy with his efforts.

“He has a love for the game, which he does is and he changes your team when he comes in the dressing room in the morning,” MacDougall said. “You look at the Dallas Stars, (Jason) Robertson hasn’t scored in eight games, that’s at the NHL level. So when you’re a great player, sometimes these things happen to you and it’s a great challenge for him and I’m sure he’s up for the challenge. Every day he’s going to give everything he’s got. So sometimes he helps you in other ways. Value is not what you get, value is what you give and I’m sure he’s going to give us lots of value tonight.”

Puck drop for the fourth game of the 105th Memorial Cup is at 5 p.m. MST.

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