The Moncton Wildcats are finally ready to hit home ice after a four-game road swing to start the season.
Saturday, Oct. 4 at the Avenir Centre, the defending Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League champions host the rival Saint John Sea Dogs as they open the home part of their schedule.
Wildcats general manager Taylor MacDougall said points in three of the team’s first four games is something they’re happy with, especially when they’ve been missing some key players.
“We’ve gone through a few absences with guys at NHL camps,” MacDougall said.
But those absences have also given the team’s younger and newer players a chance to show their stuff.
“It’s been an exciting couple of weeks, but we’re excited to get back home this weekend,” he said. “Any time we get to play in front of our fans, we get excited about it.”
Part of the opener will include raising a banner to mark last year’s league championship.
MacDougall said even though it’s a new season with new goals, having one last opportunity to look back and remember last year’s success is special.
“We’re really excited about it and it’ll offer, hopefully, some motivation going into a new year,” he said.
The Wildcats will be spending a lot of time around Moncton for a while, with five of their next seven on home ice.
But MacDougall said the early road trip with stops in St. John’s, and Sydney, N.S., gave the team a chance to bond early in the season.
“There’s a great opportunity for the group to get on the road and get around each other,” he said. “But to go to Newfoundland, then turn around and go to Cape Breton the next weekend, you spend some energy on that type of schedule, that’s for sure.”
MacDougall said fans should expect to see an entertaining team Saturday and throughout the season.
Game time is 7 p.m. at the Avenir Centre, followed by a Sunday matinee against the Halifax Mooseheads at 3 p.m.
