“Hunger Game”

“Hunger Games”

The undercurrent and collective spirit of Game 4 of the QMJHL Finals was pretty apparent from a Wildcats fan base perspective.

“If they lose tonight that’s ok, because we want to see them win it on home ice in Game 5.”

Moments after a Game 4 set back Gardiner MacDougall used one word to capture the loss. “Hunger.”

The Moncton Wildcats weren’t as hungry and didn’t match their opponents tenacity and intensity.

You don’t have to be Dickie Dunn of Slap Shot fame “to capture the spirit of the thing” to realize the Moncton Wildcats are on the cusp of something special, but there’s one thing they need to do right away in Game 5 tonight in front of a sell out crowd, and that is take away the Rimouski Oceanic’s hope.

Hope is an incredibly powerful feeling and emotion and when a team gets it they can be pretty dangerous and unpredictable.

After the double overtime Game 2 loss it was pretty clear to see that a very tired Oceanic team who are decimated by injuries and running low or near empty seemed hopeful that a return back home would change their fortunes.

That didn’t come to flourish in Game 3, but there was still signs of hope.

The Oceanic are a proud resilient group and they’re certainly not going away anytime soon, and if things don’t get off to a positive start tonight for the Cats the pressure and expectations of the moment might come at the Wildcats like a “Hanson Brother’s” forecheck.

The Wildcats loyal and hockey crazed fan base wished for this opportunity and there’s no question the Cats are still in the driver’s seat, but they can’t hope they win, they need to take control of the wheel from the drop of the puck because they don’t want any part of a Game 6 in Rimouski.

You see that’s where hope can be a catalyst or a massive burden.

The Oceanic have a glimpse of hope, the Wildcats can’t afford to just be hopeful of a victory tonight.

Hope can propel any team to amazing heights, that’s why the Wildcats have to eradicate any hope from their opponents right away if they want to claim QMJHL supremacy.

There’s a big difference between being nervous, anxious, on edge and hungry.

MacDougall’s answer to that question the other night was very revealing and definitely sent a message to the group. His pressers and post game interviews have always been ultra positive throughout the season and into the playoffs. Nevertheless, there was a stronger dose of reality behind his words after Game 4.

MacDougall has talked about the group “learning lessons” and growing from those experiences constantly this season, and there’s no question the team learned a very important one in Game 4, to stay hungry, no matter what.

The Oceanic are still in a very deep hole in the series, but they still have a glimmer of hope and if they were to steal one tonight, that hope only grows.

Is it likely the Oceanic have enough fire power or enough in the tank for a “reverse sweep” of the Cats? One would think that they don’t and that it’s highly unlikely that the Cats could or would lose four straight to any team, but anything can happen in the playoffs and history tells that story.

Hunger and hope, “that’s the spirit of the thing tonight.”