QUEBEC CITY. P.Q. —The second round in the QMJHL promises to be an exciting one. The Moncton Wildcats will face the Rimouski Oceanic, the Quebec Remparts will go against the Cape Breton Screaming Eagles, the Shawinigan Cataractes will play against the Gatineau Olympiques and the Drummondville Voltigeurs will face Montreal Junior. 
Below is a preview of each playoff series. Montreal Junior vs. Drummondville Voltigeurs Trying to believe that the Montreal Junior have a chance of defeating the Drummondville Voltigeurs might be the QMJHL’s equivalent of the dream that American hockey fans had during the 1980 Miracle on Ice. Everyone who believes in miracles will talk about the importance of goaltending in the playoffs. Jake Allen (selected 34th overall, 2nd round, in 2008 by the St. Louis Blues), is the Montreal netminder with whom all hope rests upon. It might be too much to ask to rest Montreal’s hopes on Allen’s shoulders agaisnt a talented Drummondville team. The Junior will go to Drummondville without two important players, most notably their captain, Angelo Esposito, who had a knee injury and is out for the rest of the season, and teammate Luke Adam. Some other forwards will be heavily counted on for the Montreal offense: T.J. Brennan (4g-6a), Nick Layton (4g-6a), Toni Ritter (4g-2a) Jeremy Goucher (2g-3a) and rookie Guillaume Asselin (3g-1a). For Drummondville, the best thing for them to do is to make sure they won’t take their opponent lightly. They will have to play the same way they did in the first series against Lewiston and put the puck in the net every chance they get. Offensively Drummondville is led by Yannick Riendeau, who just sign his first professional contract with the Boston Bruins for the next three years (9g-10a), Danny Masse (7g-10a-17pts), Mike Hoffman (11g-3a) and Christopher DiDominico (2g-12a). These players will hope to continue to score goals with regularity. Another player who will try to show off his talent is offensive-defenseman Dmitry Kulikov (1g-11a). Marco Cousineau might be the goaltender who will be between the pipes for the Voltigeurs. Cousineau’s is 3-0 with a 2.00 goals against average and a .893 save percentage. Prediction: Drummondville will prevail and win in five. Rimouski Oceanics vs. Moncton Wildcats Another series that promises to be interesting to watch. First, Rimouski will come in Moncton with all their players ready to play. That means that they will play with their offensive leaders in Kevin Veilleux (3g-9a), Philippe Cornet (3g-6a), Olivier Fortier (3g-3a), who was drafted by Montreal 65th overall (third round) in 2007, and Patrice Cormier (2g-2a) who was selected by New Jersey 54th overall (second round) in 2008) who plays like a true power forward. Defensively, the Oceanics will be fortunate to count on Marc-Andre Bourdon (1g-5a) and Sebastien Piche (2g-3a) who just got some great news in being signed by the Detroit Red Wings as a free agent for the next three years. On the Moncton side, the Wildcats were the best defensive team in the 2008-09 season allowing only 149 goals thanks to everyone on the team, but particularly to goaltender Nicola Riopel who ended the regular season with a 2.01 G.A.A. and a .931 save percentage compiling a record of 43-15. In the playoffs, Riopel has allowed only 11 goals in five games. The Moncton netminder will certainly play a key role if the Wildcats hope to win in the series. Prediction: Even if the Wildcats represent one of the best defensive teams in the regular season and in the playoffs, Rimouski will win in six games. Cape Breton Screaming Eagles vs. Quebec Remparts Now that the first round is behind them, the Quebec Remparts will have a greater challenge ahead of them when facing the Cape Breton Screaming Eagles. If Patrick Roy’s Remparts are able to keep their focus, count on offensive production from all four lines, and stay on the ice by being disciplined most of the time, it will be interesting to see how Quebec reacts if they are pushed, shoved, or roughed up during the series. The fans in Quebec will certainly see a different kind of series than the preceding one. With nine players over six feet tall, the series runs the risk of being tougher than the preceding one. Cape Breton would certainly want to test their host right from the beginning by using physical toughness and see how the other team adjusts. CB will want to use toughness, but that doesn’t mean running after their opponent and taking stupid penalties and forcing the penalty killing unit to be constant. That’s what the Screaming Eagles will have to pay attention to because Quebec will certainly make their opponent pay the price. Another factor will be the presence of Oliver Roy, one of the top ranked prospects from the QMJHL as a goaltender (35-13, 2.80 gaa, .906 save percentage in the regular season). Roy, played much better in the second half of the regular season, and will have a great challenge to answer. The Screaming Eagles goaltender will have to face the pressure of playing like one of the best netminders considering his NHL Central Scouting Service ranking. The real question is which Oliver Roy will show up between Cape Breton’s pipes? Will it be the one that didn’t played up to expectations in the first half of the regular season or the one who was much better in the second half? Fans will start getting their answer this Friday night in Quebec. The format of the series will be different then the previous one. Instead of being a 2-2-1-1-1, it will be 2-3-2 series. Cape Breton’s offensive will be in the hands of forwards like Joey Haddad (4g-3a), Nick McNeil (4g-3a), Robert Slaney (3g-3a),Chris Culligan (3g-3a) and Nicolas Chouinard (2g-3a), who will have to continue to produce and play a key role for their team in order to have a chance to win the series. Haddad is a Pittsburgh Penguins prospect who signed a pro contract during training camp. Being able to stay out of the penalty box will be another key element for Mario Durocher’s team. Cape Breton’s power play efficiency was at 22 percent in the regular season (79 goals in 357 opportunities), and the penalty killing unit was at 79.9 percent (72 in 359). For Quebec, more than anything else, staying focus and disciplined will be very important since their head coach Patrick Roy alluded to the undisciplined penalties that his team has taken, especially in third period in the previous series. If Charles Lavigne, who cumulated a regular season record of (34-13, 2.37 gaa, .916 save percentage) is looking for a challenge, he might certainly get one if he is trying to prove that his regular season ranking (second overall behind Nicola Riopel) was no fluke. Quebec’s offensive will be in the hands of Jean-Simon Allard (2g-6a), Benjamin Breault (2g-6a), Dmitry Krugryshev (4g-3a) and Marc-Olivier Vallerand (4g-3a). To get through the Screaming Eagles defense, other players will have to produce as they did in the previous series. Quebec’s power plays efficiency was at 23.4 percent (89 of 380), and penalty killing was at 81.6 percent (73 of 396) during the regular season. Prediction: Certainly one of the best confrontations in the quarter-finals. Quebec will prevail in seven. Gatineau Olympiques vs. Shawinigan Cataractes Last, but certainly least, this one should be an interesting confrontation. Even if Shawinigan is considered the favorite by most QMJHL fans, Gatineau won’t be a walk in the park for Eric Veilleux’s troops. They will have to work extra hard because the series will open in Gatineau at Robert Guertin Arena, even if Shawinigan had 24 more points in the standings (105-81). Due to the fact that the league gives home ice advantage to the Division champions, the Olympques earn the right to begin the series in their building. Paul Byron (1g-8a), Jean-Philip Chabot (3g-4a),Tye McGinn (3g-4a) represent the best offensive on Gatineau. The question here is, will other players be able to help out offensively, expecialy when you consider the way Shawinigan has played since the playoffs began? It will be interesting to see what contribution the Olympiques will get from their offensive-defensemen like Maxime Mallette (4g-1a) and Alain Goulet (0g-5a). It will also be interesting to see who will begin the series between the pipes. Will it be Marc-Antoine Gelinas, who was a surprise starter by playing five games in previous series or Maxime Clermont who played only 2:36 minutes in previous series? The choice seems obvious. For Shawinigan, Gatineau will represent a great challenge, especially since the series begins on the road. Leading the charge offensively are Nicolas Petersen (3g-3a), Cedric Lalonde-McNicoll (2g-4a), recently was signed as a free agent by the Colorado Avalanche, and Pierre-Alexandre Vandall (1g-5a). It will be interesting to see if they continue to produce like they did in the first series. On defense, Charles-Olivier Roussel (2g-3a), Alex Grant (1g-1a), and Simon Lacroix (1g-1a) will provide offensive from the blueline. Timo Pielmeier will be the goaltender for Shawinigan. In four games he has a 1.63 gaa and a .936 save percentage. Prediction: Shawinigan will win in five Contact the author at: serge.poulin@prohockeynews.com
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