QMJHL Week in Review

Published on February 28, 2011 under Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League (QMJHL)
Lewiston MAINEiacs News Release


Lewiston, ME (QMJHL) - A lot of experts say that it is better to face adversity during the regular season, rather than meeting it head on in the playoffs. Unfortunately for the Lewiston MAINEiacs, that adversity is coming now, as the team picked up just one out of six possible points last week.

The MAINEiacs got the week started on Thursday, when they ran into the top goaltender in the league in Chicoutimi's Christopher Gibson. Gibson turned aside all 36 shots he faced, as the Sagueneens blanked Lewiston 3-0 at Centre Georges Vezina. On Friday night, the MAINEiacs moved onto Drummondville, where they faced the Voltigeurs. The home team took a 3-0 lead, and although Lewiston scored twice, the Voltigeurs were able to pick up a 4-2 win. Finally, on Sunday, Lewiston and Drummondville played the back half of their home-and-home series at the Androscoggin Bank Colisee. The MAINEiacs jumped out to a 4-0 lead against their former divison rivals, only to see the Voltigeurs score five unanswered goals for a 5-4 comeback win in overtime.

The MAINEiacs' record is now 36-21-1-2 (75 points), which remains good for second place in the Telus East Division. The Quebec Remparts lead the division by 11 points with one game in hand, while Lewiston leads the Victoriaville Tigres by five points for second. The MAINEiacs are in eighth place in the overall standings, trailing Shawinigan by two points (Shawinigan has one game in hand), Gatineau by five points (games are even), and Acadie-Bathurst (Lewiston has one game in hand) by seven points for fifth through seventh. Victoriaville is currently the ninth place club.

Notable Performances Last Week

57-F-Antoine Houde-Caron (2 goals, 2 points)

73-F-Matt Bissonnette (1 goal, 1 assist, 2 points)

44-D-Olivier Dame-Malka (1 goal, 1 assist, 2 points)

4-D-Ian Saab (2 assists, 2 points)

Last Week in the Telus East Division

The Quebec Remparts (41-15-1-3, 86 pts) picked up three out of four possible points, after playing a pair of divisional home games last week. The Remparts fell 5-4 in a shootout against Victoriaville on Friday night, before responding by defeating Rimouski 5-2 on Saturday. Quebec's magic number to clinch the division is four points.

The Victoriaville Tigres (33-24-1-3, 70 pts) faced one of the toughest schedules in the league last weekend, but came away with a pair of victories in the process. Victoriaville started their impressive weekend when Samuel Groulx scored on the final shot of a 5-4 shootout win on the road against Quebec. One day later, the Tigres took on the Saint John Sea Dogs, ending the Sea Dogs' 22-game unbeaten streak in regulation with a 2-1 victory.

The Chicoutimi Sagueneens (27-23-5-6, 65 pts) also had a strong week, winning all three of their games with solid defensive performances. The Sagueneens blanked Lewiston 3-0 on Thursday, before sweeping a home-and-home series against Baie-Comeau on Saturday and Sunday. Chicoutimi's wins over Baie-Comeau were by scores of 4-1 and 4-2.

The Rimouski Oceanic (28-30-1-2, 59 pts) were in a similar position to Victoriaville, as they took on two of the three first place teams. On Friday night, the Oceanic erased a 2-0 lead for a 3-2 comeback win on the road against the Montreal Junior, which featured 41 saves by netminder Morgan Clark. Unfortunately, Rimouski was unable to carry that success into Saturday, when they fell 5-2 in Quebec.

The Baie-Comeau Drakkar (10-42-5-4, 29 pts) took on divisional rival Chicoutimi in a home-and-home series last weekend, coming up empty in both contests. The Drakkar suffered a 4-1 home loss in the series opener on Saturday, before dropping the rematch 4-2 on Sunday.

Elsewhere in the QMJHL

The Saint John Sea Dogs have finally been defeated in regulation. After going unbeaten in regulation in 22 straight games, the Sea Dogs fell 2-1 to Victoriaville on Saturday. Despite the setback, Saint John was victorious on three occasions last week, as they knocked off Halifax 4-1 at home, before edging Gatineau 4-3 and doubling up Shawinigan 6-3 on the road.

The Acadie-Bathurst Titan ventured out on the road to the Telus West Division last week for three games in four days. The Titan started slow with a 7-5 loss in Montreal, before bouncing back with a 3-2 win over Rouyn-Noranda and an 8-3 blasting of Val-d'Or.

The Moncton Wildcats faced a similar schedule to Acadie-Bathurst, facing Rouyn-Noranda, Val-d'Or, and Montreal on the road. The Wildcats picked up five out of six possible points, scoring 19 goals in the process. Moncton earned back-to-back wins at the start, beating Rouyn-Noranda 8-4 and Val-d'Or 6-4, before getting edged 6-5 in a shootout by Montreal.

The Gatineau Olympiques rebounded well after falling to Saint John, as they finished last week with a pair of victories. Gatineau picked up a big 2-1 win over division rival Shawinigan on Saturday, and followed that up with a 6-1 thumping of Rouyn-Noranda on Sunday.

The final two games in the QMJHL last week saw the Cape Breton Screaming Eagles fall 5-1 to PEI, before responding with a 3-0 shutout win over Halifax, with both games taking place at Centre 200.

QMJHL Three Stars of the Week

1- Gabriel Levesque (Acadie-Bathurst) - 1 goal, 10 assists, 11 points in 3 games

2- Allain Saulnier (Moncton) - 4 goals, 4 assists, 8 points in 3 games

3- Christopher Gibson (Chicoutimi) - 3-0-0 record, 1.00 GAA, .966 Sv%, 1 shutout in 3 games

Three Hottest Teams of the Week

1- Chicoutimi Sagueneens (3-0 record, outscored opposition 11-3)

2- Victoriaville Tigres (2-0 record, two wins against first place teams, outscored opposition 7-5)

3- Saint John Sea Dogs (3-1 record, three of four games on the road, outscored opposition 15-9)

Honorable Mention- Drummondville Voltigeurs (2-0), Moncton Wildcats (2-0-1)

Three Coldest Teams of the Week

1- Rouyn-Noranda Huskies (0-3 record, outscored 17-7)

2- Halifax Mooseheads (0-2 record, outscored 7-1)

3- Val-d'Or Foreurs (0-2 record, outscored 14-7)

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Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League Stories from February 28, 2011


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