Third Round Match-ups Set

The stage has been set for the semifinals of the QMJHL playoffs. On Friday, the Saint John Sea Dogs will travel to Rouyn-Noranda to take on the Huskies, while Halifax hosts Gatineau on Saturday night.

In last week’s match-ups, Mikhail Stefanovich and Marc-Olivier Vallerand led Quebec to an 8-4 victory with a goal and an assist each, Jordan Clendenning’s overtime winner saw Cape Breton edge Halifax 4-3, Tyler Hawes’ goal and two assists saw Rouyn-Noranda sweep Rimouski with a 6-1 win, and Scott Howes’ hat trick and one helper gave Saint John a 5-0 blanking of Acadie-Bathurst on Wednesday night.

On Friday, Ryan Hillier’s two goals saw Halifax wrap up their series with Cape Breton in five games with a 5-2 win, while Claude Giroux led Gatineau to a 5-2 victory over Quebec with three goals and one assist.

The series with Saint John and Acadie-Bathurst went six games with Mathieu Perreault’s goal and three assists leading the Titan to a 6-4 win on Saturday night. On Sunday, the Sea Dogs prevailed in six games on Payton Liske’s game-winner 2:16 into overtime for a 5-4 Saint John win.

Marchand is CHL Player of the Week

On Monday, April 8th Halifax Mooseheads forward Brad Marchand was named the best CHL player for the week ending April 7th. Over the course of that week, Marchand scored one goal, assisted on five others, and was a +4. He had the game tying goal and two assists in Halifax’s 4-2 win in Game 1ne of their second round playoff series on Friday, April 4th. Marchand added three assists in Game 2 on Saturday night, a 5-4 Mooseheads win.

Blanchette Resigns, Brisson Passes Away

The Val-d’Or Foreurs were hit with a double whammy last week. On Sunday, April 7th President Louis Blanchette resigned after serving with the team since August 2004 and was a big part of the team’s run to the President’s Cup final last season. He was replaced by Vice President of Marketing, Gilles Brisson, who passed away suddenly at his house on Tuesday night. He had been VP of Marketing since 2006.

Moncton Will Host 2009 QMJHL Annual Session

Last Monday, league Commissioner Giles Courteau announced that the 2009 Annual Session will take place in Moncton from June 3rd-6th, 2009. Over the course of the four days, league Governors, GMs, and head coaches will participate in meetings to discuss the state of the game. Athletic therapists, doctors, academic consultants and equipment manufacturers will also be in attendance to talk about and better their existing practices. The session culminates on Saturday, June 6th with the QMJHL entry draft.

Dumont Passes Away

On Thursday, Paul Dumont, founding member of the Quebec Remparts (1969-75), passed away. He was also a former member of the QMJHL Board of Governors. Dumont was an integral part of the QMJHL serving as the Executive Director from 1975-83 and President for the 1983-84 season. He also helped create the Quebec Ice Hockey Federation (now called Hockey Quebec). For his efforts, the Canadian Hockey Association (now Hockey Canada) appointed him a member of the Order Of Merit in 1984.

The Paul Dumont Trophy has been awarded since the 1989-90 season to the league’s Personality of the Year. Victoriaville’s Stephane Fiset was the first winner.
Dumont was inducted into the Quebec Hockey Hall of Fame in 1991 and became a member of the QMJHL Hall of Fame in 1997.

The Leaders

With ten playoff games under his belt, Giroux lead all scorers with nine goals and 18 assists in ten games. Acadie-Bathurst teammates Perrault (3G, 19A, 12 GP) and Thomas Svoboda (8G, 12A, 12 GP) are second and third respectively.

Stefanovich tops all rookie point getters with four goals and four assists in 11 games, while Acadie-Bathurst’s Remi Blanchard skates into second place as he has three goals and five assists over the 11 games that he has played in. Rounding out the top three is Shawinigan’s Nicholas Peterson (5G, 1A, 5GP).

Based on a minimum of ten games played, Halifax’s Mark Yetman leads all netminders with his 8-3 record, 2.22 GAA, and 0.925 SAV %. Cape Breton’s Olivier Roy is in second place winning five games and losing six, has a GAA of 2.55 and 0.914 SAV %. Finishing out the top three is Gatineau’s Ryan Mior (8-1, 2.77 GAA, 0.887 SAV %).
Roy is the rookie leader with Acadie-Bathurst’s Nicolas Champion finishing second with his 6-6 record, 4.37 GAA, and 0.851 SAV %.