Canada is Golden at World U18

Team Canada won the gold medal at the World U18 Championships with an 8-0 blowout of Team Russia. Chicoutimi’s Nicholas Deschamps scored the game-winner 4:32 into the opening period, while Val-d’Or’s Maxime Sauve added an assist on the insurance marker from Corey Trivino 9:02 into the first.

St. John’s Fog Devil netminder Jake Allen made 29 saves and was named the tournament’s top goalie, tournament MVP, and was named to the All-Star team for his tournament leading 1.43 GAA, and 0.948 SV%.

The OHL’s Brampton Batallion’s Cody Hodgson of Team Canada was the top scorer with two goals and ten assists in seven games. Sauve was the highest scoring QMJHLer with six assists over seven games.

Semifinal Action Gets Underway

Semifinal action got underway Friday night as Jarred Struthers’ two goals led Rouyn-Noranda to a 5-3 win over Saint John.

On Saturday night Pierre Luc Giguere, Tyler Hawes, Yannick Riendeau, and Hugo Carpentier’s goal and assist each gave Rouyn-Noranda a 7-5 win to take a 2-0 series lead heading into Tuesday’s contest at Harbour Station for Game Three; Game Four takes place on Wednesday and Game Five if necessary on Friday.

The other Saturday contest saw Paul Byron net the game-winner with 5:07 left in the first overtime period to give Gatineau a 2-1 win over Halifax.

Sunday’s action saw Claude Giroux score 7:06 into the second overtime to give Gatineau a 4-3 win over Halifax to take a 2-0 series lead on the road before heading back to Gatineau for the next three games, if necessary. Game Three takes place on Wednesday night with games four and five on Thursday and Saturday.

CSR Challenge Takes Place

This past weekend, the league also hosted their CSR Challenge at the Martin Brodeur Arena in Saint-Leonard just outside Montreal. One hundred and twenty players, who are eligible for the upcoming QMJHL entry draft, which will take place this June in Cape Breton are participating. The players were divided into six teams (Telus, Reebok, Comfort Inn, Home Hardware, Subway, and Air Canada). The event gives the participants a chance to prove that they are able to play in the QMJHL next season.

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The Leaders

Gatineau right winger Claude Giroux leads all scorers with 11 goals and 20 assists over the 12 playoff games that he has played in. He is followed by Saint John left winger Scott Howes who has 13 goals and 11 assists in 12 games and Acadie-Bathurst center Mathieu Perreault (3G, 19A, 12 GP).

Among freshmen, Quebec right winger Mikhail Stefanovich has four goals and four assists in 11 games, with Acadie-Bathurst center Remi Blanchard (3G, 5A, 11 GP) skating into second, and Rouyn-Noranda right Pier-Luc Giguere rounding out the top three with three goals and four assists in ten games.

In the net, based on ten playoff games played, Rouyn-Noranda’s Maxim Gougeon is the top dog with his 10-0-0 record, 2.16 GAA, and 0.928 SV%. He is followed by Halifax’s Mark Yetman who has an 8-5 record, 2.22 GAA, and 0.924 SV%. Gatineau’s Ryan Mior rounds out the top three as he has ten wins to go against one loss, a goals against average of 2.49 and a 0.904 SV%.

On the rookie side, there were only two goalies who have played a minimum of ten games, and both of their teams have been knocked out of the playoffs.

Cape Breton’s Olivier Roy is the top rookie as he has won five games and lost six, has a goals against average of 2.55 and 0.914 SV%. Acadie-Bathurst’s Nicolas Champion finished second with his 6-6 record, 4.37 GAA, and 0.851 SV%.