Quebec Major Junior Hockey League Playoffs Round 2: Preview, Predictions
By Ryan Ritchie
Quebec Major Junior Hockey League Playoffs Round 2: QMJHL Road to Memorial Cup – Previews & Predictions
Quebec Major Junior Hockey League Playoffs opening round came to a finish back on Monday with no series requiring a game seven.
We saw two sweeps, three series that went five games, with another three going six.
QMJHL second round match-ups begin tomorrow (Thursday, April 7th) with two games, while the other pair face-off Friday night.
Quebec Major Junior Hockey League Playoffs: Round 1 Recap
(1) Rouyn-Noranda defeats (16) Drummondville 4-0
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Rouyn-Noranda demolished the opposition with a 10-0, 6-0, 10-1 win in game’s one, two, and three, closed out by a 7-3 victory to finalize the sweep. The Huskies outscored the Voltigeurs 33-4.
(2) Shawinigan defeats (15) Sherbrooke 4-1
The Cataractes walked into game one overconfident and dropped the contest 3-2. A wake-up call for the Q’s second best team, Shawinigan won the next four games outscoring the Phoenix 20-11 in five matches.
(3) Saint John defeats (14) Acadie-Bathurst 4-1
After three convincing wins to open the playoffs, the Sea Dogs fell 6-3 to Acadie-Bathurst in game four. They bounced back in game five, winning the series with a 4-3 win in overtime last Friday. Saint John outscored the Titan 22-13 in round one.
(13) Blainville-Boisbriand defeats (3) Val-d’Or 4-2
Only two underdogs won their first round series with Blainville-Boisbriand being the lone surprise given the other was a ninth seed knocking off an eight. The higher seeded Val-d’or kept things tight throughout the series playing to four one-goal games. The Armada finally knocked off the Foreurs in triple overtime in game six en rote to a 3-2 victory.
(5) Gatineau defeats (12) Quebec 4-0
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After a pair of close one-goal games to open the series in which Gatineau emerged victorious, the Olympiques went off on the Ramparts in game three for a 9-3 win. They closed the series last Wednesday (March 30th) with a 4-2 victory over Quebec to finish off the sweep.
(6) Moncton defeats (11) Victoriaville 4-1
This five game series was arguably the most evenly matched/closest series of the opening round. Moncton won game one 5-4 in double overtime, added another OT win in game two in a 6-5 victory. After the Wildcats won a convincing game three, Victoriaville responded in game four with a 4-2 win. Facing elimination after two heartbreaking OT wins to open the series, the Tigres backs were against the wall in game five as Moncton won convincingly in a 5-1 final.
(7) Cape Breton defeats (10) Chicoutimi 4-2
It was a back-and-forth series in the first four games with Chicoutimi taking game one and four. Cape Breton won games two and three in four very close contests. The Screaming Eagles came on strong in game five with a convincing 4-0 victory. They finished off the series on Monday (April 4th) in a high-scoring 7-4 win.
(9) Charlottetown defeats (8) Rimouski 4-2
The Oceanic fell just short on several occasions in the opening round. They managed to win a pair of one-goal games (including an OT winner). Even though three of six games went to OT, the Islanders managed to outscore Rimouski 26-18, although that number is deceiving when you include Charlottetown’s 8-2 win in game three.
More puck prose: NHL Mock Draft 3.5: Rounds 1-7
Quebec Major Junior Hockey League Playoffs Round Two: Preview, Predictions
(1) Rouyn-Noranda vs. (13) Blainville-Boisbriand
Notable Players:
Timo Meier, RN (SJ) – 4gp 13pts
Francis Perron, RN (OTT) – 4gp 13pts
Jean-Christophe Beaudin, RN (COL) – 4gp 9pts
A.J. Greer, RN (COL) – 4gp 7pts
Jeremy Lauzon, RN (BOS) – 4gp 6pts
Martins Dzierkals, RN (TOR) – 4gp 5pts
Jan Dufek, Blainville (2016 Draft) – 6gp 5pts
Julien Nantel, RN (COL) – 4gp 4pts
Kristian Pospisil, Blainville (2016 Draft) – 5gp 3pts
Joel Teasdale, Blainville (2017 Draft) – 6gp 3pts
Goalies:
Chase Marchand, Rouyn-Noranda – (3-0-0) 0.38GAA .984 save percentage
Samuel Montembeault, Blainville (FLA) – (4-2-0) 2.19GAA .933 save percentage
Prediction:
Rouyn-Noranda wins series 4-1
(2) Shawinigan vs. (9) Charlottetown
Notable Players:
Samuel Blais, Charlottetown (STL) – 6gp 12pts
Dmytro Timashov, Shawinigan (TOR) – 5gp 9pts
Daniel Sprong, Charlottetown (PIT) – 6gp 9pts
Alexis D’Aoust, Shawinigan (2016 Draft) – 5gp 8pts
Alexis Vanier, Charlottetown (SJ) – 6gp 7pts
Anthony Beauvillier, Shawinigan (NYI) – 5gp 5pts
Dennis Yan, Shawinigan (TB) – 5gp 4pts
Gabriel Gagne, Shawinigan (OTT) – 5gp 4pts
Samuel Girard, Shawinigan (2016 Draft) – 5gp 4pts
Luc Duschenes, Charlottetown (2016 Draft) – 6gp 4pts
Brandon Gignac, Shawinigan (2016 Draft) – 5gp 3pts
Filip Chlapik, Charlottetown (OTT) – 5gp 2pts
Gabriel Sylvestre, Shawinigan (2016 Draft) – 5gp 0pts
Goalies:
Phillipe Cadorette, Shawinigan – (4-1-0) 1.96GAA .926 save percentage
Mason McDonald, Charlottetown (4-1-1) 2.72GAA .922 save percentage
Prediction:
Shawinigan wins series 4-3
(3) Saint John vs. (7) Cape Breton
Notable Players:
Evgeny Svechnikov, CB (DET) – 6gp 10pts
Olivier LeBlanc, CB (CLB) – 6gp 8pts
Mathieu Joseph, SJ (TB) – 5gp 7pts
Nathan Noel, SJ (2016 Draft) – 5gp 7pts
Spencer Smallman, SJ (CAR) – 5gp 6pts
Thomas Chabot, SJ (OTT) – 5gp 5pts
Pierre-Luc Dubois, CB (2016 Draft) – 6gp 5pts
Samuel Dove-McFalls, SJ (PHI) – 5gp 2pts
Clark Bishop, CB (CAR) – 1gp 1pt
Luke Green, SJ (2016 Draft) – 1gp 1pt
Bokondji Imama, SJ (TB) – 5gp 1pt
Jakub Zboril, SJ (BOS) – 5gp 1pt
Goalies:
Marc-Antoine Turcotte, Saint John – (4-1-0) 1.77GAA .933 save percentage
Alexandre Belanger, Cape Breton – (4-2-0) 2.71GAA .901 save percentage
Prediction:
Saint John wins series 4-2
(5) Gatineau vs. (6) Moncton
Notable Players:
Conor Garland, Moncton (ARZ) – 5gp 8pts
Vitali Abramov, Gatineau (2016 Draft) – 4gp 6pts
Austin Eastman, Gatineau (2016 Draft) – 4gp 4pts
Kelly Klima, Moncton (2016 Draft) – 5gp 4pts
Cameron Askew, Moncton (2016 Draft) – 5gp 4pts
Alex Dostie, Gatineau (2016 Draft) – 4gp 3pts
Alexandre Carrier, Gatineau (NSH) – 4gp 3pts
Manuel Wiederer, Moncton (2016 Draft) – 5gp 3pts
Vaclav Karabacek, Moncton (BUF) – 5gp 3pts
Cody Donaghey, Moncton (OTT) – 5gp 3pts
Yakov Trenin, Gatineau (NSH) – 4gp 2pts
Liam Murphy, Moncton (2016 Draft) – 5gp 1pt
Goalies:
Mathieu Bellemare, Gatineau – (3-0-0) 1.33GAA .907 save percentage
Keven Bouchard, Moncton – (4-1-0) 2.53GAA .919 save percentage
Prediction:
Moncton wins series 4-2
Next: OHL Playoffs Round Two Preview
QMJHL Conference Finals Prediction
(1) Rouyn-Noranda
(6) Moncton
(2) Shawinigan
(3) Saint John