QUEBEC CITY, P.Q. — We take a look at the QMJHL series between Victoriaville Tigres and Acadie-Bathurst and Prince Edward Island versus Shawinigan Cataractes.
Victoriaville Tigres vs. Acadie-Bathurst Titans.
First, the numbers between these two teams seem to favor Acadie-Bathurst which ended the regular season 6th in the overall standings and 2nd in the Maritime division compared to 11th overall for Victoriaville and 3rd in the Eastern Division. Bathurst ended with 91 points (44-21-2-1) compared 74 points (35-29-1-3) for Victoriaville.
Bathurst ended with a record of 7-2-1- 0 in their last 10 games winning their last one 7-1 in Moncton. Victoriaville ended with a .500 record 5-5-0-0 and losing the last game, 6-3, against Rimouski.
Earning the right to begin the series at home is crucial for Bathurst especially with the format of the series, 2-3-2 due to the distance between the two teams. If Victoriaville is able to steal one game in Bathurst and return home playing the next three in Victoriaville that could have an impact on the series.
As usual power play and penalty killing units could become an important factor in that series. The Bathurst power play was 25.5 (77/302), at home it runs at 27.4 (46/168). So insisting on discipline and not taking bad penalties will be imperative for Victoriaville head coach Yannick Jean.
For the visiting team, Victoriaville Tigres, Philippe Maillet (69 points, 31 goals), Yanni Gourde (68 points, 26 goals), Brandon Hynes (67 points, 33 goals), Phillip Dannault (67 points, 23 goals) are key elements for Tigres.
On defense, Samuel Groulx (36points, 8 goals), Pierre-Luc Pelletier (35 points, 6 goals) are the main cogs from the blue line. For sure other blueliners will have to bring their contributions but Groulx and Pelletier will see lots of ice time for Jean’s team.
In goal for Tigres, it will be interesting to see who will get the nod. Will it be Anthonio Mastropietro with a goaltending average of 3.07 and .894 save percentage or David Honzik who ended the year with 3.54 goaltending average and .884 in 36 games.
For Acadie-Bathurst, Gabriel Levesque ended the year with 107 points on 37 goals. Veteran Sebastien Trudeau (69 points, 33 goals), Jonathan Lessard (66 points, 37 goals), Zack O’Brien (65 points, 29 goals) led Bathurst offense most of the time.
On defense, Jeremie Blain (37 points, 2 goals), Olivier Hotte (33 points, 6 goals) played key roles for head coach Real Paiement.
In goal, Olivier Roy is the main guy between the pipes with 2.79 goaltending average and .911 save percentage.
Prediction: Acadie-Bathurst in six.
Prince Edward Island Rocket vs. Shawinigan Cataractes.
This series might be interesting to follow because for the first time both teams ended the regular season with positive records. The Rocket ended with 33-26-3-6 for 79 points while the Cataractes ended 42-23-2-1 for 87 points.
The Prince Edward Island players would certainly want to prove they can beat Shawinigan and inside a playoff series it could represent a great challenge. The team lost its last game, 7-2, against Saint John but was 7-2-1-0 in their last 10 games.
Shawinigan won their last game against Rouyn-Noranda 6-4 but was 5-5-0-0 in their final 10. The Cataractes scored 250 goals and allowed 202. Prince Edward Island scored 217 but allowed 220.
The Shawinigan power play was 25.7 overall (69/269), at home the Cataractes power play efficiency was 25.2 (38/151). Away from home, Shawinigan was 26.3 (31/118). Their penalty killing overall was 79.9 overall (49/244), at home 25.2 (38/151) and on the road 80.3 (25/127). If PEI wants to surprise the league they need to stay on the ice playing more often at even strength.
The PEI power play was 19.4 overall (51/263), at home it was 19.7 (25/127) and on the road 19.1 (26/136). The Rocket penalty killing was 81.4 overall (49/264). At home PEI penalty killing was 81.5 (24/130) and on the road 81.3 (25/134).
Players to watch on both sides include Prince Edward Island center Ben Duffy with 81 points on 37 goals and ended the season scoring leader. Right winger Andrej Nestrasil 70 points on 19 goals, Philippe Paradis with 53 points on 23 goals and Samuel Morneau 51 points on 30 goals are the three most productive players offensively.
On defense, Matthew Hobbs 40 points on 16 goals Adam Polasek 39 points on 7 goals, are the best offensive defenseman. Jean-Sebastien Fournier and Marc-Andre Levesque also brought good contributions with respectively 25 points on 6 goals and 22 points on 4 goals.
In goal, head coach Eric Lavigne will send Even Mosher between the pipes with a goaltending average of 2.79 and save percentage of .918.
For Shawinigan, the offensive leader is David Labrecque with 75 points on 27 goals. He is followed by Benjanin Casavant 73 points on 31 goals, Michael Bournival 64 points on 28 goals, and Yannick Veilleux with 48 points.
Defensively, the Cataractes are led by Ryan Kavanagh 70 points and Gabriel Lemieux 25 points in 63 games, 6 goals.
In goal, Gabriel Girard will most likely get the nod with a goaltending average of 2.80 and .910 save percentage.
Prediction Shawinigan in six
Contact the author at: serge.poulin@prohockeynews.com
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