QMJHL Playoff Preview – Part 1

QUEBEC CITY . P.Q. — With the regular season over for all of the QMJHL teams, it’s time for what most hockey fans call “the true season”, the most exciting time of the year. You can see fans on the tip of their seats hoping their favorite team wins and gets through their opponent in the first round of playoffs.
 
It will be interesting to follow the QMJHL playoff to know witch team will be the second representative from the Q, especially when you consider the fact that Rimouski Oceanic already has a place as the host team of the next Memorial Cup tournament.
 
Will it be Shawinigan, Drummondville, or another team in the Maritimes, but only time will tell. The two teams eliminated are Val D’Or Foreurs and the Halifax Mosseheads. One thing is to be sure for anyone who will follow the QMJHL action in the coming weeks, it will be exciting to go in the arena and watch live.
 
Now, let’s have a look on first round playoff match-ups in each division. Each series will be a best-of-seven.
 
Telus Western Division
 
The Gatineau Olympiques will face Acadie Bathurst Titans instead of Val d’Or due to Bathurst had more points in standings. The other series will see Montreal Junior facing the Rouyn-Noranda Huskies.
 
Gatineau Olympiques:   Regular season record GP 38-25-2-3
 
With 45 more goals scored during the regular season than Bathurst (232-187), Gatineau has a certain advantage over their opponent in the scoring department. Now everyone knows that regular season and playoff season are two different things and anything can happen. The Olympiques are recognized to pay attention to their defensive, an aspect of the game that becomes very important in the playoffs. It will be interesting to see how Maxime Clerrmont will react in net as possible starting goalkeeper in this series.
 
Some players to watch on Gatineau are: Forwards Paul Byron (33g-66a-99pts), Alexandre Quesnel (37g-45a-82pts) and Jean-Philip Chabot (33g-43a-76pts). On Defense: Maxime Mallette (11g-31-42pts), Hugo Laporte (10g-26a-36pts) and Alain Goulet (16g-19a-35pts) are just some of the players Bathurst will have to keep an eyes on from Gatineau’s defensive unit.
 
Acadie Bathurst Titans:   Regular season record: 20-35-7-6. As one of the two teams who earned the last playoff spot to enter the series, it will be tough task to face the Olympiques. As the underdog in the series, the Titans won’t a lot of pressure. They will go to Robert Guertin arena hoping to steal on victory in one of the first two games of the series.
 
Players to watch: Spencer Jezegou (29g-41a-70pts), Eric Faille (19g-36a-55pts), and Vincent Couture (25g-16a-41pts) will be counted on to produce offensively for the Titans. Defensively, Bathurst will have to ask to Remi Blanchard (12g-25a-37pts), Maxime Renaud (66gp-5g-26a-31pts).
 
Prediction: Gatineau in six.
 
Montreal Junior:   Regular season record 34-30-2-2.Montreal finished in second place in the Western Division and earned home ice advantage against their first round opponent, the Rouyn-Noranda Huskies. Facing the Huskies without two of their three best forwards will represent a great challenge for Montreal. Luke Adam (22g-27a-49pts) and Angelo Esposito (24g-18a-42pts) won’t be available due to injuries.
 
Players to watch:   Nick Layton (29g-50a-79pts) who finished as the teams scoring leader, will have to find a way to score goals for his team if they want to get out of the series. Some other offensive forwards for Montreal are Matt Fillier (18g-20a-38pts) and rookie Guillaume Asselin (18g-19a-37pts) will be important on offense for Montreal. On defense, T. J. Brennan (5g-29a-34pts) and Dmitri Kostromitin (7g-21a-29pts) will play important roles on defense. Goaltender Jake Allen, property of the St. Louis Blues, will play a key role if Montreal hopes to get into the second round.
 
Rouyn-Noranda Huskies: Regular season record 30-30-5-3
 
The Huskies face their opponent minus two of their three best offensive forwards, could represent a boost of confidence if you have to begin your series on the road, but it won’t be an easy task since the Huskies will have to be able to beat Allen who is one of the three best goalkeepers in the QMJHL.
 
Players to watch: Sergey Ostapchuk (29g-34a-63pts), Benoit Gervais (17g-45-62pts) and Pier-Luc Giguere (24g-35a-59pts) will be counted on to produce offensively for the Huskies. On defense, players like Nicolas Deslaurier (11g-19a-30pts) will be and important player on the defensive corps if the Huskies hope to pull off the upset.
 
Prediction: Montreal in six. Goaltending will make big difference in favor of Montreal.
 
Telus Central Division
 
The Drummondville Voltigeur will face the Lewiston MAINEiacs while the Shawinigan Cataractes face off against the Victoriaville Tigres. It will be very interesting to follow these series in the Central Division. You have the two best teams in the QMJHL in the overall standing in Drummondville and Shawinigan. For players in Lewiston, it will be their chance to say goodbye to their fans since the team will be relocating next season.
 
Drummondville Voltigeurs: Regular season record 54-10-0-4
 
This series might look an easy one for Guy Boucher’s troops, but usually when it looks like easy, that isn’t. When you look both teams, you might tempted to say it will be a walk in the park, but as they say,   “au contraire.” Drummondville will have to pay attention to the little things right if they want to get out of this series. On the other hand, for Lewiston to be able to beat the Voltigeurs, it will probably be the biggest upset of the first round if they manage of to pull it off.
 
Players to watch: Yannick Riendeau (68a-126pts), Danny Masse (44g-66-110pts), Mike Hoffman (52g-42a-94pts). On defense, Dmitry Kulikov (12g-50a-62pts), Marc-Antoine Desnoyer (9g-33a-42pts), and Patrick Prokop (50gp-7g-20a-27pts) represent the offense from the blueline. Special attention should be taken to Kulikov who plays like a quarterback on power play. He has a really hard snapshot from the blueline.
 
Lewiston MaiNEiacs: Lots of work are ahead of them if they want to cause an upset. If the team is looking for motivation when you face a team like Drummondville? Maybe it will be the chance to redeem themselves in front of the fans eyes, and end the Lewiston Franchise history on a positive note since the team will be relocating next year.
 
Players to watch: Maxime Gratchev (30g-31a-61pts), Dannick Paquette (25g-25a-50pts), Alexandre Beaton (14g-33a-47pts). A miracle might be expected from MAINEiacs netminders whether it will be Peter Dalmas or Adrein Lemay.
 
Prediction: Drummondville in five.
 
Shawinigan Cataractes: Regular season record 51-14-3-0
 
Possibly one of the toughest series in the first round. If you are looking for a hard battle, you might be have come to the right place. It will be a very interesting series.
 
Players to watch: Cedrick Lalonde-McNicoll (38g-66a-104pts), Nicolas Petersen (37g-53a-90pts), Matthiew Pistilli (45g-41a-86pts). On defense, Alex Grant (13g-37a-50pts) and Simon Lacroix (12g-38a-50pts) will provide offense from defense units.
 
Victoriaville Tigres: Regular season record 32-32-2-2
 
Yanick Jean’s team went through a tough time during the 2008-09 season, but they come out of regular season with a five hundred record and earned the right to meet Shawinigan in the first round. It will be interesting to see how they will react facing a team that ended the regular season with 66 more points in the standings.
 
Players to watch: Maxime Tanguay (26g-40a-66pts), Andrej Nestrasil (22g-35a-57pts) and Alexandre Labonte (23g-25a-48pts). On defense: Joel Chouinard (12g-23a-35pts) and Maxime Robichaud (3g-28a-31pts).
 
Prediction: Shawinigan will come out on top in a very hard fought battle in six games. Contact the author at serge.poulin@prohockeynews.com