Latest news with #MacDougall
Ottawa Citizen
2 days ago
- Sport
- Ottawa Citizen
MacDougall thrilled to build on tradition of P.E.I. coaches in QMJHL
Article content Gardiner MacDougall said winning the Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League (QMJHL) coach-of-the-year award is a tremendous honour and privliege to follow in the footsteps of previous winners from P.E.I. Article content 'It's nice to follow and keep up the Island tradition of top coaches in this league,' MacDougall told The Guardian in a phone interview on June 5. '(Charlottetown Islanders general manager and head coach) Jimmy Hulton got it a couple of times and (former Saint John Sea Dogs head coach) Gerard (Turk) Gallant (of Summerside) got it a couple of times. Article content Article content MacDougall, from Bedeque, was named the award recipient during the QMJHL's Golden Pucks Awards in Quebec City on June 5. Article content In his first season with the Moncton Wildcats after 24 years as head coach of the UNB men's hockey program, MacDougall led the team to a franchise record of 53 wins and 108 points while scoring a league-best 294 goals and allowing a league-low 144. The Wildcats recently won the franchise's third QMJHL championship and its first in 15 years. At the Memorial Cup Canadian major-junior hockey championship tournament, the Wildcats were eliminated in the semifinals by the eventual-champion London Knights. Article content 'One guy gets the recognition but it's a full team effort, ' said MacDougall. 'The head coach gets the honour but I had the best staff as well. Article content 'I had a terrific assistant coaching staff, training staff, fitness staff and obviously I had a pretty good GM (MacDougall's son, Taylor MacDougall) and a tremendous owner (Robert Irving).' Article content Article content 'We said this year the strength of our team is the team and when you get team success, there is a lot of recognition for different players and in this case a coach.' Article content Article content MacDougall praised the contributions of the entire staff, noting everyone bought in from the opening practice. Article content 'We played better hockey the second half and had a tremendous playoff,' said MacDougall. 'It's always disappointing to come up a little short at the Memorial Cup but, overall, it was a pretty special year, especially for the players.' Article content Asked if there was anything in particular that stuck out from his first season with the Wildcats, MacDougall acknowledged there were a lot of 'wow' moments.
Ottawa Citizen
2 days ago
- Sport
- Ottawa Citizen
MacDougall named QMJHL coach of the year
Article content Gardiner MacDougall's championship pedigree proved a major factor when the Moncton Wildcats hired him as head coach last spring to guide the QMJHL team. Article content With the former University of New Brunswick leader behind the bench, the Wildcats embarked on a magical record-breaking run, one that produced the franchise's third QMJHL title and one that came within two games of winning the Memorial Cup. Article content Article content Article content For his excellence, MacDougall, a nine-time University Cup champion, won the Ron Lapointe Trophy as the QMJHL coach of the year Thursday during a ceremony in Quebec as part of the 2025 QMJHL Golden Pucks Awards. Article content Article content Under MacDougall's guidance, the Wildcats established a franchise record season with a 53-9-2-0 mark before winning four playoff series with a dominating 16-3 slate, also a franchise best. Article content The team's .844 winning percentage set a new standard in Moncton, a factor of the team's league-best offence (294 goals for), defence, (144 goals against), penalty-killing units (86.4) and of course, MacDougall's expertise and powerful motivating style. Joining MacDougall was Wildcats forward Caleb Desnoyers, who won the Michael Bossy Trophy as the league's best professional prospect. Desnoyers, who was named most valuable player in the QMJHL playoffs, is at the NHL Combine in Buffalo, in preparation for the NHL draft, where he is expected to be a high first-round pick. Article content Article content The 18-year-old forward produced 84 points to sit fifth in regular-season scoring and added 30 more in the post season before recording a goal and an assist at the Memorial Cup in Rimouski. Article content Desnoyers was also a finalist for the most valuable player award, which went to Jonathan Fauchon of the Blainville-Boisbriand Armada. Article content Former Wildcat Jacob Steinman won the Patrick Roy Trophy as goaltender of the year. He split the season with Moncton and the Halifax Mooseheads, joining the Nova Scotia based squad in a high-profile deal at the January trade deadline. Article content Steinman, who played two and a half seasons with Moncton, sported a 29-16-4-1 record with Moncton and Halifax and finished second in the QMJHL in goals against average (2.41) and save percentage (.923).
Ottawa Citizen
29-05-2025
- Sport
- Ottawa Citizen
Wildcats advance to Memorial Cup semifinal
The Moncton Wildcats have extended their stay in Rimouski, Que. Article content Article content The Wildcats, coached by Gardiner MacDougall of Bedeque, P.E.I., won a must-win game against the host Oceanic by a 6-2 score on May 28 to advance to the semifinal game of the 2025 Memorial Cup. Article content MacDougall and his son, Taylor MacDougall, who is Moncton's general manager, guided the Wildcats to their first Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League (QMJHL) championship in 15 years recently. Article content Article content Article content The Wildcats and Oceanic, who finished runner-up to Moncton in the QMJHL final, went into the game with identical 0-2 (won-lost) records in the Canadian major junior hockey championship tournament. The scenario was simple – the winning team advances to face the Ontario Hockey League-champion London Knights in the semifinal game on May 30 while the losing squad's season is over. Article content Article content Defenceman Luke Coughlin of East Royalty, P.E.I., is a member of the Oceanic. Article content The winner of the semifinal game will face the Medicine Hat Tigers, champions of the Western Hockey League (WHL), in the championship game on June 1. The Tigers earned a bye to the final with a 3-0 round-robin record. Article content
Ottawa Citizen
27-05-2025
- Sport
- Ottawa Citizen
Hockey takes backseat for MacDougalls after family member's death
Hockey suddenly became secondary for the MacDougall family at the Memorial Cup on May 26. Article content Article content About 20 minutes before the Moncton Wildcats were to play the Medicine Hat Tigers in a round-robin game at the Canadian major junior hockey championship tournament in Rimouski, Que., Moncton general manager Taylor MacDougall was informed by Rimouski RCMP his father-in-law, Pat Buckley, had died from a heart attack while golfing in Rimouski earlier in the day. Article content Article content MacDougall's father, Gardiner MacDougall, is the Wildcats' head coach and started the media conference following Moncton's 3-1 loss to Western Hockey League-champion Medicine Hat addressing the tragedy. Article content Article content 'Taylor told me about five minutes before we started the game,' said a sombre Gardiner, who is from Bedeque, P.E.I. 'It is certainly a devastating loss. Article content 'It's the hardest game I have ever had to coach. Pat Buckley was an unbelievable sportsman, a top-notch golfer, a former university hockey player; he was a second father to my son, Taylor. They bonded like no other.' Article content Medicine Hat head coach Willie Desjardins acknowledged the MacDougall family at the beginning of the Tigers' post-game media conference. Article content Article content 'First, I'd just like to pass along our condolences to the MacDougall family,' said Desjardins after being asked to start with his thoughts on the game. 'That's a terrible way to have to go into a game. Certainly, you cannot say words for that; how hard that would be. Article content Article content 'It just makes it really hard and it kind of takes away from the game for sure. I guess, for the game itself, which certainly is secondary…' Article content Records Article content The Wildcats, champions of the Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League (QMJHL), fell to 0-2 (won-lost) with the loss and face a must-win situation in their final round-robin game against the host Rimouski Oceanic (0-2) on May 28. The winner of that game will advance to the semifinals, while the losing team will be eliminated. Article content Medicine Hat and London, the Ontario Hockey League (OHL) champions, went into a first-place showdown on May 27 with identical 2-0 records. The winning team will advance directly to the final on June 1 while the losing squad plays the winner of the Moncton-Rimouski game in the semifinal game on May 30. Article content The Wildcats, who recently won the franchise's third QMJHL championship and first in 15 years, opened the Memorial Cup with a 3-2 overtime loss to London on May 17, while Medicine Hat edged Rimouski 5-4 on May 16.
Winnipeg Free Press
23-05-2025
- Sport
- Winnipeg Free Press
Moncton Wildcats coach Gardiner MacDougall seeks yet another trophy at Memorial Cup
One thing is crystal clear when you look at Gardiner MacDougall's coaching career: he's a winner. The former University of New Brunswick coach racked up more than 700 varsity wins and nine Canadian titles. He's also a Memorial Cup winner and a gold medallist on the international stage. In just the past 14 months, he's guided UNB to a national title with a perfect 43-0 record and helped Canada's under-18 team capture gold. And in his first season behind Moncton's bench, MacDougall led the Wildcats to a Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League championship. Now he's seeking another Memorial Cup triumph. 'There's been a lot of positive things,' he said. 'I just hope there's something left in the back pocket for this series coming up.' The Wildcats play their first game at the top Canadian junior hockey tournament Saturday against the Ontario Hockey League champion London Knights in Rimouski, Que. The tournament's round-robin began Friday with the host Oceanic facing the Western Hockey League champion Medicine Hat Tigers. MacDougall arrived in Moncton one year ago after 24 sparkling seasons with the UNB Reds, where he recorded the most regular-season wins in Canadian men's university hockey. When the 65-year-old from Bedeque, P.E.I., took over at UNB in 2000, he said it felt like the big leagues. 'And for 24 years it was. It was just a dream come true for me,' he said. 'And when I took the job in Moncton last spring, I said, 'This is my new NHL.' When you walk in the arena and our facilities in Moncton, it's a mini-NHL, it's spectacular.' The Moncton job also gave him a chance to team up with his son, Taylor MacDougall, who joined the Wildcats as general manager. Together, they hit the ground running in Moncton. A well-rounded team headlined by NHL draft prospect Caleb Desnoyers, the Wildcats paced the QMJHL with a 53-9-2 regular-season record in their first season under the MacDougalls. Then came a 16-3 run in the playoffs en route to the league title, Moncton's first since 2010, marking a special moment for the father and son duo. 'It's one of those exhilarating lifetime moments,' Gardiner MacDougall said. He describes his team's playing style as 'fast and faster.' 'We want to be fast with the puck, either passing it or skating it,' he said. 'When we don't have it, we want to be faster to get it back.' Off the ice, Taylor MacDougall said his father is a master of getting players to buy in. 'He's just so passionate,' said Taylor MacDougall, who played five seasons at UNB. 'He's got so much enthusiasm that I think it's contagious.' Dyllan Gill, a New Brunswick-born defenceman who joined the Wildcats midway through this season, was well aware of Gardiner MacDougall's legend in the province when he arrived in Moncton. Growing up, Gill attended UNB hockey camps in Fredericton. His father once told MacDougall he wanted his son to play for the Reds — a moment the coach still remembered years later. 'That was one of the first things that he brought up to me,' Gill said. 'He takes so much pride in remembering everything about little details from all these little kids and all these camps. 'That's what makes him such a special person.' MacDougall also has a reputation for his catchphrases. 'Just getting started' — or 'JGS' for short — is one common refrain. When MacDougall led the host Saint John Sea Dogs to the Memorial Cup as a pinch-hitter coach in 2022, he often thanked a figurative force called 'Lady Mo' — short for momentum. 'We all have special ladies in our lives, grandmothers, our mothers, our wives,' he said during that tournament's round-robin. 'But the key to success tonight was a lady called Lady Mo — Miss Lady Momentum. 'Sometimes she's hard to find. You don't know how long she's going to stay with you. We're lucky tonight that we found her and she stayed with us for a while.' The question now is whether she can find her way from Saint John to Rimouski. Winnipeg Jets Game Days On Winnipeg Jets game days, hockey writers Mike McIntyre and Ken Wiebe send news, notes and quotes from the morning skate, as well as injury updates and lineup decisions. Arrives a few hours prior to puck drop. 'Let's hope she can travel, and hopefully she finds the right bench here,' he said. MacDougall's success has some saying he should coach Canada at the world juniors after the program's back-to-back quarterfinal exits. There are also rumblings that NHL teams are taking notice. Those opportunities may loom, but for now, MacDougall's sights are set on just getting another win. 'Our goal is to be the best we can on the opening shift on Saturday night,' he said. This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 23, 2025.
