QMJHL Week in Review

April 4, 2011 - Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League (QMJHL)
Lewiston MAINEiacs News Release


Lewiston, ME (QMJHL) - For the first time since they won the President's Cup in 2007, the Lewiston MAINEiacs have won a postseason series! On Friday night, the MAINEiacs closed out the Moncton Wildcats in game five of their first round series, winning by a final score of 6-1.

Lewiston opened the scoring midway through the first period, when Alex Zafiris netted his second goal of the series, putting back Christophe Lalonde's initial attempt. Devon MacAusland tied the score late in the opening stanza for the Wildcats, but that served as Moncton's lone celebration on the evening. Michael Chaput's third goal of the playoffs and Kirill Kabanov's second of the postseason gave the home team a 3-1 lead as the contest entered the third and final period. Matt Bissonnette's insurance tally at the 4:10 mark of the third may have served as the dagger, but in case it wasn't, Stefan Fournier and Bryce Milson added a pair of goals for good measure. Nicholas Champion earned the win with 30 saves, defeating Brandon Thibeau, who stopped 25.

As it has been noted many times during the 2010-11 season, depth has been one of the biggest strengths for the MAINEiacs. During their first round series, 18 of the 21 skaters that played recorded at least one point, led by Michael Chaput, who had three goals and three assists in the five games. Etienne Brodeur continued his strong play from the regular season, with two goals and three assists, including the overtime winning goal at Moncton Coliseum in game four. Brodeur also led the squad with a plus-4 rating. Olivier Dame-Malka was the top contributor from the blueline, picking up one goal and four assists. His goal was the winner in game two. Kirill Kabanov finished fourth on the team with two goals and two assists, and three of those points came at Moncton in game four. Four players were tied with three points, another four players had two points, and six players finished the series with one point. In goal, Nicholas Champion was stellar, stopping 132 of the 142 shots he faced, going 4-1 in the process.

Special teams were also key in the series, especially Lewiston's penalty kill. Despite being shorthanded 28 times during the five games, the MAINEiacs only allowed three power play goals to the Wildcats. On the other side of the ice, Lewiston's power play was 5-for-22, lighting the lamp in games three, four, and five.

With their first round victory, the MAINEiacs have advanced to round two, where they will meet up with the Montreal Junior. The first two games of the series will take place in Montreal on Friday and Saturday, before the teams travel to Lewiston for games three and four on Tuesday (12th) and Wednesday (13th).

Other Series in the QMJHL

Five of the seven other series in the QMJHL were concluded before the weekend began, as Saint John, Montreal, Quebec, Drummondville, and Victoriaville all recorded sweeps, defeating Cape Breton, Halifax, Val-d'Or, Chicoutimi, and Acadie-Bathurst in four games. The two other series were similar to Lewiston's as both were finished with a game five win by the higher seed.

#5 Gatineau Olympiques vs. #12 Rimouski Oceanic

The Gatineau Olympiques had one relatively smooth win against the Rimouski Oceanic, followed by three wins that had their fans at the edges of their seats. After a 6-0 win in game one, the Olympiques won games two and four in overtime, with a Rimouski regulation win sandwiched in the middle in game three. Game five was a back-and-forth contest that saw the Olympiques lead 1-0 and 2-1, only to see the Oceanic respond with a 3-2 lead early in the third period. Gatineau's Mitchell Porowski evened the score with 7:41 remaining in the third period, before Philippe Halley ended the series at the 5:43 mark of overtime, giving the Olympiques a third win in the extra frame.

#7 Shawinigan Cataractes vs. #10 PEI Rocket

The Shawinigan Cataractes and PEI Rocket split the first two games of their series at Centre Bionest in Shawinigan, before heading east to the Charlottetown Civic Centre for games three, four, and five. Despite being on the road for all three games, the Cataractes were able to get the upper hand, winning 3-0, 4-2, and 4-1. Shawinigan's fourth and final victory of the series came after trailing the Rocket 1-0 at the end of two periods of play. Maximilien LeSieur, Jean-Francois Plante, Michael Bournival, and Dave Labrecque all scored in a span of 8:25 in the third, helping Gabriel Girard (36 saves) and the Cataractes to victory.

With those wins, the series are now set for round two, as Saint John will face Victoriaville, Quebec will take on Shawinigan, and Drummondville will battle Gatineau, along with Lewiston's series against Montreal.



Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League Stories from April 4, 2011


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