Yesterday, for the first time in 43 years of existence, the Shawinigan Cataractes (formerly known as the Bruins and also the Dynamo) won the Memorial Cup. It was a special moment for a community that truly deserves it. I grew up here in Shawinigan and came back after finishing my schooling in Quebec and Montreal. I’ve seen the town go through some rough times. It’s had the distinction of being one of the poorest areas in all of Canada. Industries have closed shop.Yeah, it’s not always rosy here in Shawi.
But yesterday none of that mattered. When Zlobin scored near the end of the first overtime period I let out a roar of approval in my living room (the event was televised on Sportsnet). I can’t say that I’m a diehard Cats fan, but they’re my hometown team. Of course I was rooting for them.
They took the long and hard road to the championship. After losing a round-robin game to their QJMHL rivals, the St. John Seadogs on Wednesday, they had to win a tiebreaker against the Edmonton Oil Kings on Thursday, those same Seadogs in the semi-finals on Friday and then the London Knights on Sunday. Four games of high level play in five nights had to be draining, and I’m sure they’ll feel it later, but now there’s just celebration.
I wasn’t proud of them the whole tournament. They had a tight loss in the first game against the Oil Kings and they exemplified all that I dislike about hockey in Wednesday’s game against the Seadogs as they took undisciplined penalties and generally gooned it up. Had they won that game they would have gone straight to the finals instead of the Knights, so I imagine frustration played a factor in their behaviour, but still. I was glad to see a much more disciplined team show up for the last three games. A disciplined team that still manage to dominate their opposition to get to the finals. They had another slow start in the final game, but in the end…victory.
I wanted to post a picture to celebrate the victory, but it isn’t finished yet. I went to bed late last night after watching the trophy ceremony and I have a huge headache. Rest assured it’s coming though! For now, let me close this week’s blog with a hearty
GO CATS GO!