Turning up Rivalry Cup heat
Published Monday October 19th, 2009
Community Fans taking ownership of spirited competition with rivals from Moncton
SAINT JOHN - Wild Willie walks with a swagger, high-fiving those donning red, white, gold and blue. The mascot of the Moncton Wildcats stares down anyone wearing Saint John Sea Dogs garb, daring fans of the home team to be critical or confrontational.
It's antagonism in enemy territory on a Saturday night at Harbour Station. And although it's an hour before the face-off, Wild Willie's enthusiasm underscores the passion produced by the Rivalry Cup.
"It's a big deal to the diehard fans,'' says Sea Dogs season-ticket holder Trevor Brown. "We like to look at the standings and we like to know we're ahead of them in any aspect of the game.''
Wild Willie eventually storms out of the building after losing an intermission contest to Fleaburn, the mascot of the Sea Dogs. That decision, along with Saint John's 3-2 overtime win in front of 4,720 spectators, gives the Sea Dogs 5.5 points to Moncton's 2, in the overall Rivalry Cup standings. Because the Dogs filled more than 70 per cent of capacity at Harbour Station, they received an additional half point.
Saint John also won its only previous contest against Moncton, a 4-3 shootout win on Sept. 27. The Rivalry Cup represents redemption for many Port City puck fans who watched the Wildcats walk over the Sea Dogs when the latter franchise was young.
"We have to get back at them now that we're a better team,'' Brown says. "It gets heated up in the stands sometimes, depending on the score. But it's all in good fun.
"There's something different about Moncton when they come into this building. If it's any other team (that beats Saint John), it doesn't hurt as bad. When it's Moncton, we like to really give it to them.''
That doesn't stop waves of Wildcats fans from entering the rink on 99 Station Street. Roger Mallet proudly wears a jersey with 'Yandle' stitched on the back. It's to honour Keith Yandle, who honed his skills with the Wildcats before graduating to the NHL's Phoenix Coyotes. Yandle helped Moncton win a Quebec Major Junior Hockey League championship in 2006, when the Sea Dogs were an expansion franchise.
"It's two New Brunswick teams, so that makes it a bigger rivalry,'' Mallet says. "Bathurst is kind of far away.
"Moncton and Saint John both think they're the best city, so they duke it out in hockey.''
Krista Allen, another Wildcats fan, likes the revised point system of the Rivalry Cup. Points are awarded for wins and overtime/shootout losses, along with attendance and various one-off showdowns.
"People thrive on challenges,'' Allen says. "If you challenge somebody, especially fans, they're definitely going to participate.''
Canadian business icons set the tone for Saturday's clash. J.K. Irving, the father of Wildcats owner Robert K. Irving, took part in a ceremonial puck drop with Wallace McCain, the father of Sea Dogs majority owner Scott McCain.
"I think it stimulates a lot of interest,'' Saint John fan Dave Babineau says of the Rivalry Cup. "When you have a rivalry with teams so close together, it definitely creates a lot interest.
"It feels good to watch our team beat Moncton and it feels good to finally have a team that can compete with Moncton.
"When Moncton comes to town, it's a good night.''
More The City
Search Articles
More CE Network Sites & Partners:
Comments (3)
All comments are subject to the site Terms of Use. For a full commenting tutorial click here.
Our editorial team relies on filtering technology and our visitor community to identify inappropriate comments. In the event that a site user has submitted offensive content that has evaded our filter, please select the option to Flag As Inappropriate presented within the comment. Thank you for helping to keep this site clean.