QUÉBEC, Que. -- Never known to be short on confidence, Rimouski Océanic head coach Clément Jodoin stared right back at the media Wednesday night after his team's 4-2 win over the Québec Remparts and exclaimed: "We passed the test."
The test was one Jodoin had been teaching his class of teenaged hockey players for two days in advance of their showdown with the Remparts. Although they can't mathematically catch Québec for first in the Telus Eastern Division, Jodoin made sure his team was prepared at every turn for their big showdown.
"The last two days we've been doing a lot of videos," he said Wednesday. "We've been studying a lot of aspects of their game and it was kind of a brainwash so we didn't have any surprises all game."
The surprise was saved for the rest of the league. Winners of their last 16 consecutive games, the Memorial Cup host Océanic are proving many critics wrong, whether they want to admit it or not.
Many around the junior hockey world questioned whether Rimouski was the right choice for the Memorial Cup this year after they stumbled out of the gate. After that, the team added several new faces to the lineup before the trade deadline, then the critics wondered if the team had enough time to gain chemistry before the tournament.
The answer is a resounding yes.
"It's like we have four courses in two months and we have to grab everything in two months," Jodoin said. "But the thing is, sometimes when you're taking accelerated courses you don't grab everything.
"We still have to improve but we deliver."
For many players, this year's Memorial Cup will be a final chance for glory. Former Halifax Moosehead Logan MacMillan and a trio of former Rouyn-Noranda Huskies, goaltender Maxim Gougeon and defencemen Sébastien Piché and Marc-André Bourdon, still have the bitter taste of defeat from last year's playoffs.
Ironically, both teams lost to the same upstart Gatineau Olympiques in the playoffs. Halifax was swept in the third round while the heavily-favoured Huskies lost in five in the final.
When asked about their teams' series with Gatineau, the players had a quick answer for their defeat: "Claude Giroux and Paul Byron."
Giroux and Byron were on fire during last year's surprising championship run. Giroux amassed 51 points through 19 games while Byron tallied 21 goals in 19 contests.
While Piché and MacMillan concentrate on the present, they can't help but joke about the duo that almost singlehandedly eliminated their teams last year.
"We were saying we should have injured them or something and took a big, long suspension. It would have given us a better chance," said MacMillan. "Those guys played unbelievable and led their team. Not much else to really say. It was a shock."
"It would have been easier without Giroux but we didn't think about that," added Piché.
When the new season began, both the Huskies and Mooseheads were in a rebuilding mode which made their veteran players available. As the lone returning elite player in Halifax, MacMillan knew he would be heading somewhere. Failing to reach the Memorial Cup a year ago, MacMillan's top choice was Rimouski.
"I was just hoping it would be here, just because you're in (the Memorial Cup) for sure," he said.
MacMillan got his wish, in spite of knowing the language barrier would present some challenges.
"You go to a restaurant and you're thinking back to Grade 6 French class like, 'What's a fork' or something like that," he said. "But it's been good. The guys here, they speak English pretty good so they help me all the time."
Although also new to Rimouski, Piché's transition was made easier given he played for Jodoin before on the Lewiston MAINEiacs team from two years ago. Failing to win the Memorial Cup with Lewiston two seasons ago and not winning the league last season with Rouyn-Noranda has provided Piché with plenty of motivation in his final season.
"Last year I was expecting a lot from Rouyn," he said. "I was expecting to win the President's Cup and the Memorial Cup and I was really disappointed about the way we played in the final because we should have beat (Gatineau)."
"For us it's just like a second chance," Gougeon said, referring to his former Husky teammates. "We're trying to bring what we learned from last year. We're trying to bring it to this team and don't make the same mistakes again."
The team will finish the season without Bourdon, whose injury the team would not disclose. Jodoin did say, however, Bourdon is expected back in time for the playoffs.
While the team prefers not talking about their impressive winning-streak, they can't help but feel a sense of satisfaction in proving some critics wrong.
"It feels really good to be on a streak here, let everyone know we're for real," MacMillan said. "I know there were a lot of talks, people raising eyebrows, 'These guys are hosting the Memorial Cup?' So it feels good to be on the right track."
"I don't want to go to the Mem Cup through the back door," Piché added. "I want to be the hosts and we want to be No. 1."
In saying that, the team knows the following three months will provide them with plenty more tests. But given their recent surge, it appears their opponents will be in for perhaps their biggest test.
