QMJHL Week in Review

December 13, 2010 - Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League (QMJHL)
Lewiston MAINEiacs News Release


Lewiston, ME (QMJHL) - Hockey can be an unpredictable sport at times, and that was never more evident than last week at the Androscoggin Bank Colisee. The Lewiston MAINEiacs played a pair of home games, facing the Baie-Comeau Drakkar and the Saint John Sea Dogs. Baie-Comeau had just three wins all season, while Saint John had just three regulation losses all season. Lewiston went 1-1, but it probably wasn't done in the fashion that most would have expected.

On Tuesday night, Baie-Comeau jumped out to a 2-0 lead, before three straight goals put the MAINEiacs ahead by one. The Drakkar retook the lead at the end of the second period, but Lewiston came back yet again, tying the score early in the third. Then, with 7:10 remaing, Jean-Philippe Caron broke a 4-4 deadlock, lifting the visitors to the win. Stefan Fournier and Matt Bissonnette had a goal and an assist each, while Jess Tanguy and Pierre-Olivier Morin also tallied.

On Friday night, the MAINEiacs started with an amazing goal on transition. Nicholas Champion's huge save on Stanislav Galiev translated into a breakaway goal by Antoine Houde-Caron. 1:02 later, Olivier Dame-Malka gave Lewiston a 2-0 lead. Saint John made it 2-1 early in the second, but the MAINEiacs scored two more quick goals for a 4-1 lead after two. The two teams exchanged goals in the third, as the home team picked up a 5-2 win. Champion made 44 saves, earning first star honors.

Notable Performances Last Week

23-F-Etienne Brodeur (1 goal, 3 assists, 4 points)

26-F-Michael Chaput (1 goal, 2 assists, 3 points)

22-F-Stefan Fournier (1 goal, 2 assists, 3 points)

31-G-Nicholas Champion (1-0, 44 saves on 46 shots, 1 assist)

Injury Update

The MAINEiacs earned Friday's win, despite having three of their regular players out of the lineup - forwards Kirill Kabanov and Jess Tanguy, as well as defenseman Zach Evans-Renaud. Tanguy had his wisdom teeth taken out, and will be back in the lineup this week. Kabanov missed his fourth straight game with an upper body injury, and is hopeful for a return this week. Evans-Renaud is about to have surgery on his knee, and will likely miss the remainder of the season because of it. The 18-year old had two goals, ten assists, 12 points, and a plus-14 rating in 30 games.

Last Week in the Telus East Division

The Quebec Remparts (26-7-0-2, 54 pts) have won each of their last five games, with three of those victories coming last week. Quebec started the week at home, lighting up Val-d'Or 6-2 on Wedneday. The Remparts then hit the road, where they beat Halifax 3-1 on Saturday and Moncton 4-2 on Sunday. Quebec now leads the division by eight points.

The Victoriaville Tigres (17-15-1-2, 37 pts) were involved in three one-goal games last week, finishing with three out of six possible points. On Thursday night, the Tigres started the week with a 3-2 setback against Acadie-Bathurst. However, Victoriaville rebounded on Friday, edging the Olympiques 4-3 in Gatineau. Finally, on Saturday, rival Drummondville got the upper hand, winning 5-4 in a shootout, securing a sweep in the season series.

The Rimouski Oceanic (17-17-0-1, 35 pts) played a pair of home games against the Val-d'or Foreurs, and won them both, bringing their overall record to .500. Both games were decided by one goal, as the Oceanic took a 5-4 decision in a high-scoring tilt on Friday, before winning a 2-1 defensive battle on Saturday.

The Chicoutimi Sagueneens (13-15-2-3, 31 pts) only took the ice once last week, but took care of business, extending their winning streak to four games. Robin Gusse made 24 saves on 25 shots, as the Sagueneens held on for a 2-1 win on home ice over Acadie-Bathurst on Friday night.

The Baie-Comeau Drakkar (4-23-4-4, 16 pts) started the week well, winning 5-4 in Lewiston on Tuesday night. However, Baie-Comeau was unable to keep their momentum going, as they fell 3-1 in Shawinigan on Thursday, before getting blanked 3-0 by Acadie-Bathurst on Saturday at the Centre Henry Leonard.

Elsewhere in the QMJHL

The Shawinigan Cataractes continued their streaky season, winning all three of their games last weekend, after losing six of their previous seven. Shawinigan took on a couple of the bottom feeders on the ends of their schedule, knocking off Baie-Comeau 3-1 on Thursday, and edging Rouyn-Noranda 3-2 in a shootout on Saturday. However, Friday's win grabbed the attention of most, as the Cataractes beat the division-leading Junior 3-2 at Verdun Auditorium.

The Saint John Sea Dogs won three of their four games last week, with the lone defeat coming at the Androscoggin Bank Colisee. Prior to the loss, Saint John swept a home-and-home series with PEI, winning 3-2 in Charlottetown, and 4-1 in Saint John. To finish the week, the Sea Dogs returned home, beating Halifax, 5-3.

The Rouyn-Noranda Huskies ran into four difficult opponents last week, and came away with one point to show for it. Aside from a 3-2 shootout loss to Shawinigan, offense was the name of the game for Rouyn-Noranda's opposition. Montreal found the back of the net five times in a 5-1 win on Wednesday, Drummondville lit the lamp eight times in an 8-3 win on Friday, and Gatineau buried the biscuit six times in a 6-0 shutout win on Sunday.

The PEI Rocket and Cape Breton Screaming Eagles met for a two-game series at the Charlottetown Civic Centre, and both contests went to the home team. PEI put three goals on the board in both games, while shutting out the Screaming Eagles on Saturday, and allowing one goal on Sunday.

Two other games took place in the league last week, as Moncton defeated Halifax 3-1 on Thursday, and Montreal held off Drummondville 5-3 on Sunday.

QMJHL Three Stars of the Week

1- Ondrej Palat (Drummondville) - 3 goals, 5 assists, 8 points in 3 games

2- Gabriel Girard (Shawinigan) - 2-0 record, 1.50 GAA, .960 Sv% in 2 games

3- Jonathan Huberdeau (Saint John) - 4 goals, 4 assists, 8 points in 4 games

Three Hottest Teams of the Week

1- Quebec Remparts (3-0 record, outscored opposition 13-5)

2- Shawinigan Cataractes (3-0 record, outscored opposition 9-5)

3- Rimouski Oceanic (2-0 record, outscored opposition 7-5)

Honorable Mention- Saint John Sea Dogs (3-1), Montreal Junior (2-1), Drummondville Voltigeurs (2-1), Acadie-Bathurst Titan (2-1)

Three Coldest Teams of the Week

1- Rouyn-Noranda Huskies (0-3-1 record, outscored 22-6)

2- Val-d'Or Foreurs (0-3 record, outscored 13-7)

3- Halifax Mooseheads (0-3 record, outscored 11-5)



Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League Stories from December 13, 2010


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