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First Round Series Preview

March 23, 2011 - Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League (QMJHL)
Lewiston MAINEiacs News Release


The Lewiston MAINEiacs and Moncton Wildcats are less than 72 hours away from opening their best-of-seven series on Friday night at the Androscoggin Bank Colisee. So, without further delay, it's time to see how the two clubs stack up on paper.

Lewiston MAINEiacs

Record: 40-24-1-3

Points: 85

Goals For: 265

Goals Against: 223

Power Play: 50-for-287 (17.4%), 13th

Penalty Kill: 283-for-352 (80.4%), 6th

Moncton Wildcats

Record: 33-25-3-7

Points: 76

Goals For: 232

Goals Against: 256

Power Play: 83-for-317 (26.2%), 2nd

Penalty Kill: 219-for-281 (77.9%), 13th

GOALTENDING

LEWISTON: Champion, Makarov

MONCTON: Gleeson, Kennedy, Thibeau

The MAINEiacs and Wildcats both skated down the stretch this season, hoping that one of their netminders would grab the number one job heading into the playoffs. After a difficult weekend at home against Gatineau that saw both goalies get pulled, Lewiston got a pair of solid performances by Nicholas Champion and Andrey Makarov in Baie-Comeau and Chicoutimi. For Moncton, Steve Gleeson replaced Brandon Thibeau on March 16th in Halifax, turning a 3-1 deficit into a 4-3 overtime win. However, Gleeson lost his last two starts of the campaign, getting pulled in the season finale against Acadie-Bathurst. Of the four goaltenders on the two teams' active rosters, Champion had the best numbers this season, posting the most wins (27), best goals against average (2.83), and best save percentage (.897), while tying Makarov for the most shutouts (2). Lewiston's anticipated game one starter has faced a lot of criticism for having difficulties in the playoffs during his career, but this could be the year that the 20-year old silences those critics. Prior to joining the Wildcats, Gleeson (an 18-year old) played in nine games with the Memorial Cup Champion Windsor Spitfires during the 2008-09 season, but has yet to appear in a postseason game. Makarov and Thibeau (both 17-year olds) are both rookies.

DEFENSE

LEWISTON: Carrier, Dame-Malka, Evans-Renaud, Finn, D. Fournier, Parisien, Saab, Shannon

MONCTON: Downe, Gormley, Jodoin, Johnson, Melindy, Milan, Pridham, Rusk

From an individual standpoint, Moncton's Brandon Gormley is the best defenseman in this series. Gormley was drafted first overall by the Wildcats at the 2008 QMJHL Entry Draft, and was then taken 13th overall by the Phoenix Coyotes at the 2010 NHL Entry Draft. The 18-year old was limited to 47 games this year due to injury, but still managed to put up 13 goals, 35 assists, and 48 points. While Gormley is the best individual, one could argue that Lewiston's Sam duo of Finn and Carrier make for the best defensive pairing in the series. Finn's toughness, as well as his intelligence in his own zone make things frustrating for the opposition, while Carrier's 50 points indicate that he is capable of having success everywhere on the ice. The MAINEiacs' top pairing combined for a plus-81 rating this season (+41 for Finn, +40 for Carrier). Lewiston's Olivier Dame-Malka is the top scoring defenseman in the series, after registering 16 goals, 39 assists, and 55 points during the regular season. After Gormley, the Wildcats were led on the blueline by Daniel Milan's 14 goals, 24 assists, and 38 points.

OFFENSE

LEWISTON: Beauvillier, Bissonnette, Brodeur, Chaput, Critchlow, S. Fournier, Hawes, Henley, Houde-Caron, Kabanov, Lalonde, Milson, Morin, Tanguy, Zafiris

MONCTON: Daoust, Flynn, Howe, Hrivik, LeBlanc, MacAusland, MacMillan, Malone, Penny, Pettersson, Ale. Saulnier, All. Saulnier, Stephens, Trask, West

On the offensive side, Alex Saulnier of the Wildcats may have finished the regular season with the most points out of anyone in the series (85), but Etienne Brodeur's season was one to remember, as he led the league with 53 goals in 68 games. Michael Chaput and Jess Tanguy also eclipsed the 20-goal mark for Lewiston, who had 13 total players with double digits in goals. Marek Hrivik, Allain Saulnier, and Daniel Pettersson joined Alex Saulnier as 20-goal scorers for Moncton, while four other players finished with double digits in goals.

SPECIAL TEAMS

Strengths will face strengths, and weaknesses will face weaknesses when it comes to special teams play in this series. The MAINEiacs will put their 13th ranked power play up against the Wildcats' 13th ranked penalty kill, while Moncton's second ranked power play will face Lewiston's sixth ranked penalty kill. Etienne Brodeur was the MAINEiacs' top special teams producer, as he lit the lamp ten times on the power play and a league-leading nine times when his team was down a man. Allain Saulnier led the Wildcats with 16 power play goals, while four of their players tallied one shorthanded goal each.

TOUGHNESS

The MAINEiacs and Wildcats finished in the middle of the league in terms of fighting majors, with Lewiston dropping the gloves 56 times, and Moncton dropping the gloves 51 times. Sam Finn was the MAINEiacs' most dominant fighter, winning most of his seven fights with relative ease. However, Ian Saab was involved with the most tussles on the team, as he took on a member of the opposition ten times. For the Wildcats, Tyler Howe, Cedric LeBlanc, and Scott Trask all fought nine times.

INJURIES

Both teams are dealing with injuries as they enter the playoffs, but luckily, the two squads are both filled with depth. The MAINEiacs have been without defenseman Zach Evans-Renaud since December, when he had season-ending surgery. Forward Cole Hawes battled an assortment of injuries throughout the year for Lewiston, and will also be out of the lineup for the entire postseason. Blueliner Sam Finn missed the final eleven games of the year with an upper body injury, but should be primed for a return in game one of the series. The Wildcats will be without two of their top centers, as Alex Saulnier and Ted Stephens were both victims of hits from behind. Saulnier has been out four games since taking his hit from PEI's Philippe Paradis, while Stephens has missed five games since being hit by Christophe Losier of Acadie-Bathurst. Injuries are nothing new for Stephens this season, as he has been limited to just 24 games in Moncton's lineup.

COACHING

Danny Flynn just completed his fourth season behind the bench as the head coach of the Wildcats, while Jean-Francois Houle completed his first full season (second overall) behind the bench with the MAINEiacs. Although Flynn has been around the league for a few more seasons, Houle is beginning to follow a similar path in terms of his team's record on the ice. Flynn led the Wildcats to a 46-point turnaround from his first year to his second year, while Houle's MAINEiacs experienced a 45-point turnaround from last year to this year. Both teams have assistant coaches that have played professionally (joining Houle, who played 72 games in the AHL), as Lewiston's Darren Rumble played 745 games in the NHL, AHL, and IHL, while Moncton's Fabian Joseph played 224 games in the AHL and 161 games in the IHL.

EXPERIENCE

The Wildcats have 12 players (Downe, Gormley, Howe, Hrivik, Jodoin, MacAusland, MacMillan, Pettersson, All. Saulnier, Ale. Saulnier, Stephens, Trask) on their roster that played on last year's President's Cup championship club, helping to account for their playoff experience. The MAINEiacs have 20 players with playoff experience, with six of those players (Carrier, Champion, Critchlow, Dame-Malka, Finn, Houde-Caron) having won at least one playoff series in their career.



Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League Stories from March 23, 2011


The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.

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