QMJHL 2013-2014 Thread

[MonctonRad]

Another ex-Wildcat has made it to the show…….

Brandon Gormley has been called up by the Phoenix Coyotes.

This makes 15 ex-Wildcats who have been active in the NHL this year. That's pretty impressive.

There are now two ex-Cat's anchoring the Phoenix defensive corps - Brandon Gormley and Keith Yandle.

Also, on the topic of ex-Cats in the NHL, Andrew MacDonald has been traded by the New York Islanders to the Philadelphia Flyers. This is a good trade for MacDonald. He is now on a team bound for the playoffs with a good chance for a long playoff run……

[q12]

MACKINNON BREAKS GRETZKY RECORD IN AVS WIN OVER RED WINGS

http://www.tsn.ca/nhl/story/?id=445495

^ More impressive

[MonctonRad]

The Moncton Wildcats stayed alive tonight in their first round match-up against the Blainville-Boisbriand Armada with a gutsy 3-2 regulation time win. Blainville now leads the series three games to two. Play will shift back to Blainville for the last two games of the series.

This series could go either way. Of the five games played so far, four have been one goal affairs. Game #3 was 4-1 for Blainville, but the score in that game was tied until they went ahead 2-1 with only about two minutes left in the third period. The Cats also are not intimidated by playing on the road…….

Go Cats GO!!!

Meanwhile, all other Maritime teams are now eliminated from the playoffs, except for the Halifax Mooseheads who won their series against the Charlottetown Islanders four games to none.

[Trevor3]

Hopefully Moncton can pull out a series victory and keep a second Maritime team in the playoffs. Plus I wouldn't mind getting down to Moncton for a game if we could ever get a day of decent weather... this winter is unreal.

Cape Breton's loss to Gatineau was disappointing, but not unexpected. They made some huge strides as an organization this year and finally have turned a corner back to respectability. With a young team like they had this year, I expect a little more of push next season and at least a series win. It's been a while since I had much in the way of legitimate optimism about the Eagles. For the franchise as a whole they need to get a playoff run going next season and get the city behind the team again.

[MonctonRad]

Originally Posted by Trevor3

Hopefully Moncton can pull out a series victory and keep a second Maritime team in the playoffs. Plus I wouldn't mind getting down to Moncton for a game if we could ever get a day of decent weather... this winter is unreal.

The last game might have been a turning point. The Wildcats played very well as a unit and deserved the win (although Blainville has a very good checking game, and is very skilled at puck possession). The Cats win in the last game should have given the team a lot more confidence.

Also, game five was a disaster for Blainville. They lost two of their top three scorers in the second period. Dannick Martel fell awkwardly into the boards while on a scoring rush and broke his collarbone. He's gone for the playoffs. Also, Ryan Tesink checked Adam Holwell of the Cats from behind into the boards and has been issued a five game suspension by the league.

With Tesink and Martel gone, the playing field should be a lot more level for the next two games…….

[Trevor3]

Originally Posted by MonctonRad

The last game might have been a turning point. The Wildcats played very well as a unit and deserved the win (although Blainville has a very good checking game, and is very skilled at puck possession). The Cats win in the last game should have given the team a lot more confidence.

Also, game five was a disaster for Blainville. They lost two of their top three scorers in the second period. Dannick Martel fell awkwardly into the boards while on a scoring rush and broke his collarbone. He's gone for the playoffs. Also, Ryan Tesink checked Adam Holwell of the Cats from behind into the boards and has been issued a five game suspension by the league.

With Tesink and Martel gone, the playing field should be a lot more level for the next two games…….

You cannot get much worse luck in a playoff hockey game, ouch.

[MonctonRad]

Well, the season is over for the Cats. They lost game 6 in Blainville by a score of 4-2.

All in all, a reasonably good season for a team widely expected to miss the playoffs this year. We had an over .500 season and put some fear into Blainville in the first round of the playoffs.

Our team should be significantly better next year. We will still have Barbashev (and hopefully Tkachev if he can get a permanent release from his team in Russia). Our leading scorer Chris Lalonde should be back as a 20 year old, as will our #1 goalie Alex Dubeau. The majority of the team is composed of 17 & 18 year olds and will only get better with more experience. Add in some judicious draft picks and free agent signings and things could be quite interesting next year!!

[MonctonRad]

Down to the final four. The Mooseheads are the only Maritime team left.

I predict a Mooseheads/Drakkar final series, and it will be very difficult to choose a winner here.

As a Maritimer, I of course am cheering on the Moose, but in many ways this will be Baie Comeau's only kick at the can for a very long time and since they have never won a championship, a small part of me is wishing them well too…….

In any event, I hope the best team wins and that we carry on the QMJHL streak of being CHL champions (three years running and counting).

[JHikka]

The Likelihood of a Drakkar/Moose repeat final is pretty high. I'm interested to see how much Mantha can do against Halifax, and how much the Drakkar as a whole can do against the Armada. These series should be much more competitive than the other series they've played so far, that's for sure.

[JHikka]

Well, I was kind of close when I said these series would be more competitive....both series went seven with Baie-Comeau squeaking by Blainville and Val-d'Or upsetting Halifax. The Foreurs and Drakkar stack up pretty well against one another but i'll have to go with Baie-Comeau to win the series.