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Small chance could see Q playoffs land in Halifax – Metro US

Small chance could see Q playoffs land in Halifax

The QMJHL playoffs could be coming to Halifax after all.

Although it would take a perfect storm to make it happen, the Moncton Wildcats will likely need a place to play a couple of playoff games because Moncton Coliseum is booked from March 18 to 20 and March 27 to 29.

Wildcats spokesman Bill Schurman said the QMJHL won’t allow the team to play at J. Louis Levesque Arena or the Tim Hortons 4-Plex, Moncton’s secondary arenas.

That would leave the team looking for an out-of-town rink, and the Metro Centre would be among the primary options — especially since the Wildcats’ first-round opponent appears likely to be the Cape Breton Screaming Eagles.

“Halifax is a great market, we’ve always drawn well there, and if it comes to be, the opponent would probably be Cape Breton,” Schurman said.

“I can sense if we were there, we’d probably get a good crowd. We’re a long way away from the panic button, but we know we might have to do something.”

Contrary to Schurman’s claim, QMJHL spokesman Karl Jahnke said “nothing definite has been decided” on whether or not the Wildcats can play at a secondary rink in Moncton.

The Metro Centre could be available on as many as four of the six days the Coliseum is booked.

But a World Trade and Convention Centre spokesperson said the Wildcats have not made any official inquiries about booking the facility.