There’s a sense of relief for hockey fans in Moncton after the Wildcats ended their 25-game losing streak in dramatic fashion Saturday night.
Up 4-2 with 1:14 left on the game clock, the losing skid seemed to be over. The visiting Sherbrooke Phoenix then scored two goals in 30 seconds and the Wildcats’ losing streak seemed more like a jinx.
“You can't write a script like that,” said Wildcats’ play-by-play announcer Marty Kingston. “I was on the radio and I didn't want to say, ‘It looks like a win." In the Quebec league, things happen so quickly.”
But coach Darren Rumble's calm demeanor paid off. The team scored with 14 seconds remaining to come out on top by a score of 5-4.
“In the dressing room they got the music going. The guys are happy,” said Rumble. "It's fun to win and we haven't experienced that a lot lately, so that was sort of the highlight of the night.”
“A tremendous way to stop the streak. The boys had been playing hard,” said Kingston.
The Shawinigan Dynamos hold the league record for futility when they lost 27 straight games in the 1975-76 season. That year the Dynomos won nine games all season.
Moncton tied the Baie-Comeau Drakkar for the second longest losing skid at 25 games. But when Julien Tessier scored, it wasn't just the players who felt relief.
Roy Carter has been an usher at the coliseum for 20 years. He doesn't remember the crowd being as loud this year as they were Saturday night.
“It was a great atmosphere,” said Carter. “The whole rink, just a wonderful atmosphere. Something you don't see too often.”
Coach Rumble says it was a moment for the young team to build off as they continue to grow, now with the weight of a near record breaking losing streak behind them.
With files from CTV Atlantic’s Jonathan MacInnis.
