Pre-series notes - series J: Chicoutimi vs Rimouski

Published on April 20, 2005 under Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League (QMJHL) News Release

CHICOUTIMI
(4th overall in the 2004-05 standings – 89 points – 2nd in the Eastern Div.)
VS
RIMOUSKI
(1st overall in the 2004-05 standings – 98 points – Eastern Div. CHAMPIONS)


During the 2004-05 regular season...

- Rimouski held a record of 4-3-1-0 against Chicoutimi.

- Chicoutimi held a record of 2-1-1-0 at the Colisée de Rimouski.

- Rimouski held a record of 3-1-0-0 at Chicoutimi's Centre Georges-Vézina.

- GAME RESULTS :

2004/09/21 RIMOUSKI 2 @ CHICOUTIMI 9
2004/09/29 CHICOUTIMI 3 @ RIMOUSKI 2
2004/10/27 CHICOUTIMI 2 @ RIMOUSKI 2 OT
2004/11/17 CHICOUTIMI 6 @ RIMOUSKI 4
2005/01/09 CHICOUTIMI 5 @ RIMOUSKI 8
2005/01/28 RIMOUSKI 5 @ CHICOUTIMI 2
2005/02/08 RIMOUSKI 4 @ CHICOUTIMI 3
2005/03/03 RIMOUSKI 6 @ CHICOUTIMI 5 OT


In the 2005 series...

- Rimouski was awarded a bye for the 2nd round as the Eastern Division Champions.

- Rimouski won its quarter-final series against Lewiston 4 games to 0.

- Chicoutimi won its first round series against Baie-Comeau 4 games to 2.

- Chicoutimi won its quarter-final series against Québec 4 games to 2


THE RIMOUSKI OCÉANIC

- The Océanic has a 32-game winning streak, having yet to lose in 2005. Their last defeat goes all the way back to December 29: they were defeated 4-1 by the Québec Remparts. They then enjoyed a record 28-game streak at the end of the regular season.

- In the 2005 series, after being awarded a bye for the 2nd round as the Eastern Division Champions for the regular season, the Océanic swept the Lewiston MAINEiacs in 4 consecutive games during the quarter finals.

- The last Océanic sweep went back to last spring's 2nd round of the playoffs when Rimouski eliminated the Shawinigan Cataractes in four games.

- The highlights of "L'équipe de toute une région" ("a whole region's team"), as the team's slogan so nicely puts it, happened in the spring of 2000 when the Océanic successively won the Jean-Rougeau Trophy, the President Cup and the Memorial Cup. If the Océanic was then led by Doris Labonté, history could repeat itself with Doris as the head coach of a team that already holds the regular season championship, particularly since the series and Memorial Cup championships are realistic goals in 2005 for this Bas-St-Laurent team.

- During the last series against Lewiston, the Océanic enjoyed 42 power plays, scoring 12 times, for a 28.6% efficiency percentage. Their 129 penalty minutes brought upon 34 shorthanded situations, allowing 7 goals for a 79.4% efficiency percentage.

- Dany Roussin and Danny Stewart both scored 4 goals in the series against Lewiston, and Sidney Crosby, who was scoreless during game No. 3 won 6-5 by Rimouski, is now the top scorer for his team with 8 points (2 goals and 6 assists). Number 87 of the Océanic is looking for his 25th career playoff point, even though he only played 13 games in 2 seasons...

- Defenseman Patrick Coulombe, who scored the winning goal in the 3-0 victory in game No. 2 against Lewiston in Rimouski, got a total of 5 points in this series (1 goal and 4 assists), and maintained a +3 rating while never getting a penalty.

- Goaltender Cédrick Desjardins got the shutout against Lewiston with 38 stops, to the delight of the 5,062 spectators present at the Colisée de Rimouski on Saturday, April 9. This was his first career playoff shutout in the QMJHL, even though he only took part in his 3rd playoff game. In 4 games against the MAINEiacs, Desjardins's record is 4-0, with a 2.25 goals against average and, in addition, he holds the best save percentage for a goaltender during the series (.936), even though he faced over 35 shots per game.



THE CHICOUTIMI SAGUENÉENS

- Considered one of the great offensive teams of the QMJHL, the Chicoutimi Saguenéens stayed true to their reputation during the first two playoff rounds, scoring no less than 49 goals in 12 games for an average of 4.1 goals per game.

- They alternately eliminated the Baie-Comeau and Québec teams. Both times, it took them 6 games to move on to the next round.

- During this time, Chicoutimi's head coach Richard Martel increased his total career playoff wins to 53, giving him the 4th rank in history behind Guy Chouinard (78), Ghislain Delage (72), and Réal Paiement (66).

- The Sags only lost 4 times in 12 playoff games—three of those defeats where in overtime. Chicoutimi has still to now the feeling of winning in overtime...

- The Saguenay representatives have reached the semi-finals for the 12th time in their 32-season history. And during the last 7 semi-final series, they moved on to the finals on 5 different occasions, their last victorious semi-final series dating back to 1997 against the Halifax Mooseheads, as they were eliminated in 2004 by the Gatineau Olympiques in 6 games.

- Maxime Boisclair, with 33 power play goals during the regular season plus 10 winning goals, already has 15 points in 12 playoff games in 2005, and in addition to all that, he gave 21 body checks. Of those 15 points, 9 were gathered on foreign ice.

- Stanislav Lascek is the top playoff scorer with 19 points in 12 games, same as Steve Bernier (Moncton).

- On the offensive standpoint, head coach Richard Martel can count on 5 of the 7 leading scorers of the 2005 series: Lascek (1st – 19 points), Zagrapan, Boisclair, and Desharnais (tied in 3rd place with 15 points each), and Francis Verreault-Paul (7th – 13 points, including 7 goals). Also, Marek Zagrapan, part of the Francis Lemieux (8 points in 8 games) and Stanislav Lascek line, has already scored 9 goals in 12 playoff games.

- One of the best QMJHL defensemen, 20-year-old veteran Nicolas Marcotte, has shown he can be a true leader. So far, the Sags' captain has 11 points in 11 games with a +12 rating, gave 21 body checks and has 43 shots on goal. Moreover, this defenseman earned a spot on the 1st all-star team in 2004-05 for his excellent playing.

- Finally, goaltender Alexandre Vincent, who does a good job adapting his style to his 6' 4" frame, came up with a great playoff performance so far: a 2.37 goals against average, a .923 save percentage, and a 7-4-0 record. Also, Brandon Verge, replacing Vincent during the 4th game against Québec in the quarter finals, earned a victory in his only decision so far during his two playoff games. The win for Verge and the Saguenéens was without a doubt a turning point in the Québec-Chicoutimi series, the Remparts leading 2-1 before this key game... In his last presence in front of the net, Alexandre Vincent earned a shutout against the Remparts (8-0) with 31 stops.

Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League Stories from April 20, 2005

• CSR Challenge will be held this week-end - QMJHL
• All semi-final games available on TV, radio or web - QMJHL
• Pre-series notes - series K: Rouyn-Noranda vs Halifax - QMJHL
• Pre-series notes - series J: Chicoutimi vs Rimouski - QMJHL
• Chicoutimi-Rimouski series broadcast on Radiomedia network - QMJHL

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