‘Hardest game I ever had to coach’: Moncton Wildcats deal with tragedy at Memorial Cup

The Moncton Wildcats are dealing with the tragic loss of family member at the Memorial Cup.

The Moncton Wildcats are dealing with the loss of a member of their hockey family.

Moments after the team’s Monday night loss to the Medicine Hat Tigers, Wildcats head coach Gardiner MacDougall spoke to the media during a post-game press conference.

MacDougall said about 20 minutes before the game, Rimouski RCMP contacted his son Taylor, the team’s general manager, to notify him that his father-in-law Pat Buckley died of a heart attack while golfing in Rimouski.

“Taylor told me about five minutes before we started the game. So, it is certainly a devastating loss and it’s the hardest game I ever had to coach,” said MacDougall, who was clearly emotional.

MacDougall said Buckley was an unbelievable sportsman.

“A topnotch golfer. A former university hockey player. He was a second father to my son Taylor. They bonded like no other. Obviously, the hardest game I’ve ever had to coach,” said MacDougall.

During his post-game comments, Medicine Hat head coach Willie Desjardins offered his condolences to the MacDougall family.

“That’s a terrible way to have to go into a game. You can’t say words for that, how hard that would be. It just makes it really hard and kind of takes away from the game, for sure,” said Desjardins.

A spokesperson for the Wildcats said the Canadian Hockey League has given Gardiner and Taylor the day off from media on Tuesday.

MacDougall said the players, who are scheduled to speak to the media after their practice Tuesday afternoon, were not aware prior to the game.

Tough loss

Moncton was defeated 3-1 by the Medicine Hat Tigers on Monday.

Ryder Ritchie scored twice and added an assist for the Tigers (0-2).

Medicine Hat will play the London Knights (2-0) Tuesday night and the winner will advance to Sunday’s final.

Riverview, N.B.’s Dyllan Gill scored the lone goal for the Wildcats (0-2).

Down 2-1, the Wildcats pulled their goalie late in third period but were called for too many on the ice with 1:22 remaining.

Gavin McKenna scored an empty-net goal with seven seconds left in the game.

Medicine Hat outshot the Wildcats 41-22.

Moncton will play the host Rimouski Oceanic (0-2) on Wednesday evening with the loser being eliminated from the four-team tournament.

The winner will player the loser of the London/Medicine Hat game in Friday night’s semi-final.

The Wildcats defeated the Oceanic in six games in the Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League championship final.

During Monday’s press conference, MacDougall was asked how he will prepare for the next game.

“Right now, my body is numb, my mind is numb. We’ll deal with that tomorrow and we’ll have a good plan going forward,” he said.

Family over everything

During the second intermission of Monday’s game, TSN aired a pre-recorded segment with Gardiner and Taylor MacDougall that focused on their working relationship as coach and general manager.

“We use a thing, FOE, it’s family over everything with our team. Obviously the most important is their own families and then after that the Wildcat families,” said MacDougall.

-With files from the Canadian Press.

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