There's a definite pattern that's easy to see.

The Moncton Wildcats get the lead and then simply shut down opponents over the final two periods. They used that recipe again in a 4-1 win over the Gatineau Olympiques in Quebec Major Junior Hockey League playoff action last night in front of 5,422 fans at the Moncton Coliseum.

The Wildcats grabbed a 1-0 lead in the best-of-seven league semifinal. Game 2 is tonight at 7 p.m. at the Moncton Coliseum.

Moncton has held opponents off the scoreboard in the third period in seven consecutive games. Furthermore, it has only given up two goals against in the second period of the past seven contests.

"We built this team around our defence and goaltending," said Wildcats right winger Josh Hepditch. "If we shut the other teams down, the offence is going to take care of itself. We take a lot of pride in being able to play with confidence when we have the lead going into the third period.

"We knew they were going to come out strong because that's the way they play. They're the fastest and most intense team we've played so far in the playoffs so we had to adjust to that in the first period. It took us a little bit to adjust, but once we did I think we played a really solid game."

Adam Pineault, Stephane Goulet, Jean-Philip Chabot and Christian Gaudet scored for Moncton, which held a 34-26 shots edge. Pineault added an assist and was the only player with multiple points.

Maxime Mallette supplied the offence for Gatineau.

On the power play, both clubs were 0-for-5.

"Gatineau wins their games by intensity, grit and hard work," said Hepditch, who had one assist. "We knew that coming in so we're just going to have to outwork them and be more intense.

"They're a team that doesn't quit and I'm sure they're going to come out even harder in Game 2. We're going to have to come out (tonight) and match their intensity, if not beat their intensity."

Moncton held a 17-7 shots edge in the first period and took a 1-0 lead into the intermission.

The Olympiques got off to a good start and led 5-0 in shots after five minutes. Wildcats goaltender Josh Tordjman made a couple of key saves during this juncture to hold them off the scoreboard.

The Wildcats had all three power plays awarded in the first period and used that to gain momentum. They carried the play with a 17-2 shots edge over the final 15 minutes and they dealt with some frustrations before finally getting on the scoreboard.

The Wildcats had a goal disallowed, they hit the crossbar and their leading scorer Philippe Dupuis was robbed on what looked like a sure goal. All that came in a span of two minutes.

The Wildcats opened the summary at 18:05. Brad Marchand provided a pass from near the backboards and Pineault let go a bullet 20-foot shot that beat Olympiques goaltender David Tremblay.

Moncton owned a 10-7 shots edge in the second period and extended its lead to 3-1 after 40 minutes.

The Wildcats killed off two penalties in the opening half of the frame and then jumped ahead 2-0 at 11:56. Goulet carried the puck across the front of the net, showed patience to wait until Tremblay went down and then fired a shot over the fallen goaltender.

The Olympiques pulled to within 2-1 at 15:06. Mallette scored on a play that began to develop when the Wildcats coughed up the puck behind their own net.

The Wildcats struck back less than a minute later to regain the momentum and a two-goal cushion. Chabot's unassisted effort brought back memories of the type of power forward goals that former Wildcats star Steve Bernier was known for during his QMJHL career.

Chabot carried the puck down the right wing, showed his strength to fend off an opponent and worked his way toward the side of the net. He scored on a close shot to make it 3-1 at 16:05.

"Of course, they had some life after making it 2-1," said Pineault, who leads the Wildcats with 10 goals in the playoffs. "But Chabot came right back to get the momentum back on our side and I thought that was one of the crucial points in the game."

Gatineau held a 12-7 shots edge in the third period, but Moncton scored the lone goal to make it 4-1 at 15:38.

Jerome Samson stole the puck from an opponent and provided a pass to set up a two-on-none break. Gaudet passed to Hepditch, Hepditch returned the pass and Gaudet scored on a close one-timer shot.

Moncton has won 10 consecutive home games, including seven in the playoffs. They'll look to continue that streak tonight before heading to Gatineau for the next three games of the series.

"We have some of the best fans in the league and they're our seventh player out there," said Pineault. "We draw a lot of motivation from them. We're going to do whatever we can to hopefully win the first two games at home before going up there for three straight games.

"Gatineau's a tough team to play against and these are two of the best goaltenders in the league in this series. We just have to play our game and keep executing."

Moncton head coach Ted Nolan offered this assessment.

"Every time you meet a different opponent it takes a little while to get the feel of it," he said. "It probably took us a period or so to adjust our game and once we did that I thought we played well. I thought both goaltenders were solid and made big saves.

"We're not surprised they beat Chicoutimi. They've got a good team and we're expecting a tough series. I'm sure they're going to make some adjustments for Game 2."

Gatineau head coach Benoit Groulx tried to put things in perspective.

"I thought we faced a very good team tonight," he said. "There's no doubt that skill-wise and physically they're very, very good. They put us in trouble many times because of the way they play.

"Can we blame our guys? I don't think so in certain situations. A good team can make you look bad sometimes and I think that was the case tonight. We had the rhythm at the beginning of the game, but then lost it when they had three power plays in a row.

"We're facing a very good team that we think is going to have a good chance to win the Memorial Cup. We're going to try to make some adjustments. Before the series, we talked about adversity. Now, I think we know that it's going to be tough. It's going to be good for us and I can't wait to see how we're going to react to it.

The proof is in the - but I will hold out critism until????

The Moncton Wildcats are going to the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League championship series for the second time in the franchise's 11-year history.

They did all their scoring on special teams, including two goals in less than two minutes midway through the third period, en route to a 3-1 win over the Gatineau Olympiques in a hard-fought playoff contest last night in front of 3,260 fans at the Robert Guertin Arena.

The Wildcats won the best-of-seven semifinal 4-1. Their only previous trip to the President Cup final resulted in a 4-1 loss to Gatineau in 2003-04.

The Quebec Remparts defeated the Acadie-Bathurst Titan 5-2 last night to take a 3-2 lead in the other semifinal. Game 6 is tomorrow at 4 p.m. at the K.C. Irving Regional Centre.

"This is extremely exciting," said Wildcats left winger Brad Marchand, standing outside the Wildcats noisy dressing room. "We have a lot of guys who have never been to the President Cup final before. We're all pleased with how we're doing and now we just have to keep it going.

"It's nice to get a few days off now to rest up before the final starts. We'll take some time to celebrate this moment and then get re-focused for the next challenge which is going to be a big one."

Marchand, Martins Karsums and Adam Pineault scored for Moncton. Marchand also chipped in with an assist.

Nick Fugere countered for Gatineau, which held a 32-24 shots edge.

On the power play, Moncton was 2-for-7 and Gatineau was 1-for-9. The Wildcats also had a shorthanded goal.

Gatineau held a 9-4 shots edge in the third period. But Moncton was opportunistic and scored on half its shots to break open a tight, nail-biter game that was deadlocked 1-1 after 40 minutes.

The Wildcats grabbed a 2-1 lead on the power play at 9:03 of the third period. Marchand centered a pass from the backboards and Karsums quickly let go a close shot that beat Olympiques goaltender David Tremblay to the top corner.

The Wildcats made it 3-1 with an outstanding individual effort at 10:55. Pineault carried the puck down the left wing, used sheer strength to power his way around a defender and fired a close wrist shot into the top corner for a shorthanded goal.

"We were very calm in the second intermission," said Marchand. "We've been in this situation before with a tie game after two periods and we knew we were capable of coming out with the win.

"We just focused on shutting them down in the third period and waiting for our scoring chances. We were missing two players to injury and another to suspension tonight, but we found a way to win. It shows the kind of depth and character we have on this team."

The Wildcats were missing their top two scorers, forwards Philippe Dupuis (shoulder) and Stephane Goulet (knee), to injuries that are listed day-to-day. They were also without forward Jean-Philip Chabot, who served a one-game suspension.

Moncton led 1-0 after the first period, which featured a 10-10 shots total.

There were six power plays in the frame, three for each club. The Wildcats opened the summary on the power play at 9:23 when Marchand fired a shot from near the right faceoff circle dot that beat Tremblay to the far stick side.

The Wildcats had the better of the play in the first period and generated more good scoring chances. That included Josh Hepditch being stopped by Tremblay on a shorthanded breakaway.

Gatineau dictated more of the play in the second period and held a 13-10 shots edge. It scored the lone goal to create a 1-1 tie after 40 minutes.

The Olympiques converted on the power play at 7:44. David Krejci fired a wrist shot from the blueline into a maze of players in front of the net and the puck deflected off Fugere past Catas goalie Josh Tordjman.

The Olympiques came out with a lot of intensity in the second period and generated lots of pressure in the offensive zone. The Wildcats were on their heals for much of the time just trying to clear their zone.

Moncton was the top defensive team in the QMJHL during the regular season. Moncton outscored Gatineau 19-11 in the series and the Olympiques did almost half their damage in their 5-4 win in Game 4.

"We're used to playing in tight games where we have to play well defensively," said Wildcats right winger Jerome Samson, who had two assists in the series clincher. "Gatineau is the best team we've played against so far in the playoffs and I think we did a good job of closing down the play."

Claude Giroux, David Krejci and Brett Morrison were the top three scorers for the Olympiques this season. They combined for just two goals and 12 points in the series and almost half that came in Krejci's five-point performance in Game 4.

"We worked hard all season on practising our defensive play and it's really paying off in the playoffs. We're confident when it's a tie game going into the third period because of the style we play.," said Samson.

Samson was the Wildcats leading scorer in this series with two goals and seven points.

"Gatineau is a good team and they came at us hard in this series," he said. "They tested us. Gatineau is a tough building for visitors to win in. We won two of our three games here so that says a lot about our team.

"We're going to take some time to celebrate this while we travel home. It's a good achievement to be going to the league final and we're proud of that. We'll enjoy this moment and then it's back to business to get ready for whoever we face next."

Moncton head coach Ted Nolan was proud of the way his club came out in the third period, scoring the only two goals to snap a 1-1 tie.

"The one thing we tried to work on all season is our physical conditioning," he said. "Tiredness is a state of mind and when you lose players to injuries and suspensions it's a state of mind in terms of how you're going to respond.

"We responded very well in the third period by coming out with a lot of energy. I just have to tip my hat to (athletic therapist) Graham Black once again for getting these guys into top condition because that's a big reason why we're having success in third periods."

The 2006 Memorial Cup takes place from May 19-28 at the Moncton Coliseum. The four-team tournament features Moncton, a second QMJHL representative and the champions of the Ontario Hockey League and Western Hockey League.

The 2007 Memorial Cup host Vancouver Giants advanced to the WHL final after sweeping the Everett Silvertips 4-0 in the semifinal.

The Moose Jaw Warriors led the Medicine Hat Tigers 3-1 entering Game 5 last night in the other semifinal.

The Peterborough Petes will face the 2005 Memorial Cup-champion London Knights in the OHL final.