QMJHL Week in Review

February 21, 2011 - Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League (QMJHL)
Lewiston MAINEiacs News Release


Lewiston, ME (QMJHL) - After a minor bump in the road against the Quebec Remparts and Montreal Junior, the Lewiston MAINEiacs are right back on track, as they continue their push toward the best possible seed for the upcoming 2011 QMJHL Playoffs. One of the crucial areas for the team that appears to be back on track as well is the power play, which clicked for two goals in each of Lewiston's two games last week, after scoring just twice in the unit's previous 49 opportunities with the man advantage.

The MAINEiacs took the ice twice last week, starting with a home game on Thursday against the Montreal Junior. After falling behind 1-0 early, Lewiston scored the next three goals, taking a 3-1 lead midway through the second period. Unfortunately, Montreal had a similar answer, netting three of their own for a 4-3 advantage after two. Neither team was able to score in the third, as the Junior left town with the two points.

Sunday's story was significantly better for the MAINEiacs, who visited the Rimouski Oceanic. A seesaw first period saw plenty of offense, as well as a 3-2 lead for Rimouski. However, in the second period, Etienne Brodeur put the team on his league-leading back, burying a pair of power play goals to put his side ahead 4-3. Nicholas Champion and company made the lead stand up, as Lewiston earned the 4-3 victory.

Brodeur found the back of the net four times last week, including three times on Sunday, giving him a total of 47 goals on the season. The 47 goals put Brodeur into a tie with Mathieu Aubin for the most goals scored in a single season in franchise history. With the win between the pipes, Nicholas Champion now has 25 on the season, placing him two wins behind Jonathan Bernier's single season record of 27.

With the 1-1 week, the MAINEiacs now have a 36-20-0-2 record (74 points), which keeps them in second place in the Telus East Division. Quebec's lead at the top is nine points, while Victoriaville is in third place, trailing Lewiston by eight points. In the overall standings, the MAINEiacs are in eighth place, trailing Gatineau by two points, Shawinigan by three points, and Acadie-Bathurst by four points.

Notable Performances Last Week

23-F-Etienne Brodeur (4 goals, 4 points)

44-D-Olivier Dame-Malka (1 goal, 4 assists, 5 points)

26-F-Michael Chaput (2 assists, 2 points)

73-F-Matt Bissonnette (2 assists, 2 points)

55-D-Sam Carrier (2 assists, 2 points)

31-G-Nicholas Champion (1-0-0 record, 27 saves on 30 shots)

Last Week in the Telus East Division

The Quebec Remparts (40-15-1-2, 83 pts) got a crash course on just how strong the Telus West Division is right now. Quebec took on three of the top four teams in that division last week, and couldn't pick up a single point to show for it. The Remparts opened the week with a 4-1 loss Drummondville at home on Tuesday, before dropping a pair of road contests in Gatineau (2-1) on Thursday and Montreal (5-2) on Friday.

The Victoriaville Tigres (36-20-0-2, 74 pts) had a bizarre start to last week, as they split two games with identical scores of 7-1. Victoriaville won by that score in Moncton on Thursday, before ending up on the wrong side of it in Acadie-Bathurst on Friday. Saturday afternoon's game in Rimouski was significantly closer for the Tigres, who escaped with a 4-3 shootout win over the Oceanic.

The Chicoutimi Sagueneens (24-23-5-6, 59 pts) earned three out of four possible points last week, and have now picked up at least one point in ten of their last twelve games. The Sagueneens fell 3-2 in overtime to PEI on Friday, but rebounded quickly to knock off Gatineau 4-3 on Saturday.

The Rimouski Oceanic (27-29-1-2, 57 pts) were involved in three one-goal games last week, winning once, losing in regulation once, and falling once in a shootout. The games went in descending order, starting with a 3-2 shootout win over PEI on Wednesday. The shootout loss came on Saturday, when the Oceanic dropped a key divisional game with Victoriaville, 4-3. Finally, Rimouski suffered their regulation loss on Sunday, when the Lewiston MAINEiacs earned a 4-3 road win.

The Baie-Comeau Drakkar (10-40-5-4, 29 pts) achieved an almost identical opposite result to Chicoutimi, splitting their two games in reverse order. The Drakkar got the best of PEI, picking up a 7-4 win on Saturday. However, Gatineau got the upper hand on Sunday, setting Baie-Comeau back 2-1.

Elsewhere in the QMJHL

The top teams in the QMJHL are continuing to play some of their best hockey down the stretch, and it all starts with the league-leading Saint John Sea Dogs. Saint John added two more wins to their total last week, edging the Val-d'Or Foreurs 3-2 on Friday, before putting a 7-3 hurting on the Shawinigan Cataractes on Saturday. The Sea Dogs have now won 13 straight games, and are unbeaten in regulation in 20 games in a row.

The Montreal Junior did one better than Saint John, winning three times last week. The Junior started with a 4-3 win in Lewiston on Thursday, then continued their success by dropping Quebec 5-2 on Friday, before eventually finishing off their 3-in-3 stretch with a 7-1 thumping of Rouyn-Noranda. With Friday's win, Montreal completed a 4-0 season series sweep of the Remparts.

The Acadie-Bathurst Titan picked the right time to heat up, as their three victories catapulted the Titan into fifth place in the overall standings. The Titan squeaked out a 4-3 shootout win over Val-d'Or on Friday, before a much more lopsided 7-1 win over Victoriaville on Friday. That fifth place position was on the line on Sunday, when Acadie-Bathurst played host to Shawinigan, and the home team earned the spot with a 3-0 blanking.

Prior to their losses on Saturday and Sunday, the Shawinigan Cataractes were able to earn two victories on their trip through the Maritimes Division. Shawinigan put five goals on the scoreboard on both Wednesday and Friday, bouncing Cape Breton 5-2 and Moncton 5-3.

Four other games took place in the QMJHL last week. Halifax won a 1-0 defensive battle with Cape Breton, Drummondville routed Rouyn-Noranda 6-0, Val-d'Or snuck past Halifax 2-1, and Moncton took out Val-d'Or 5-2.

QMJHL Three Stars of the Week

1- Sean Couturier (Drummondville) - 5 goals, 5 points in 2 games

2- Olivier Roy (Acadie-Bathurst) - 3-0-0 record, 1.30 GAA, .957 Sv%, 1 shutout in 3 games

3- Louis Leblanc (Montreal) - 3 goals, 3 assists, 6 points in 3 games

Three Hottest Teams of the Week

1- Montreal Junior (3-0 record, outscored opposition 16-6)

2- Acadie-Bathurst Titan (3-0 record, outscored opposition 14-4)

3- Drummondville Voltigeurs (2-0 record, outscored opposition 10-1)

Honorable Mention- Saint John Sea Dogs (2-0)

Three Coldest Teams of the Week

1- Rouyn-Noranda Huskies (0-2 record, outscored 13-1)

2- Quebec Remparts (0-3 record, outscored 11-4)

3- Cape Breton Screaming Eagles (0-2 record, outscored 6-2)



Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League Stories from February 21, 2011


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