Since January, when the Rimouski Oceanic started their ungodly run of 28 consecutive games without a loss, the popular theme when referencing the playoffs has been that “the championship will go through Rimouski.”
For the Lewiston Maineiacs, that road through the Oceanic will begin on Friday.
Thirty-seven more saves from Victoriaville netminder Josh Tordjman, who stopped 314 of 338 shots in seven playoff games, weren’t enough to derail the Quebec Remparts at the Colisee Pepsi on Tuesday. Mathieu Melanson and Karl Gagne scored goals early as the Remparts upended the Tigres 4-1, moving on to the second round. Netminder Jonathan Boutin needed to make just 15 saves in the win, his and the team’s third straight. The Remparts, the No. 5 seed, draw rival Chicoutimi, the No. 4 seed, in the league quarterfinals.
Lewiston will face the Oceanic, a team against which the Maineiacs have fared well over the last two seasons, but not quite so well in the last five meetings. Since moving to Lewiston, the Maineiacs are 8-7-1 against Rimouski, but the last five meetings have been decidedly in the Oceanic’s favor. Rimouski is 3-1-1 in its last five meetings with Lewiston, and the last two were markedly lopsided wins by a combined score of 14-5
No. 2 Halifax will face No. 8 Gatineau in another quarterfinal, while No. 3 Rouyn-Noranda will face No. 6 Moncton.
Bourque to Moncton
The news of Chris Bourque, son of former Boston Bruins’ star Ray Bourque, heading to Moncton to play in the QMJHL is hardly news. Last year, for most of the summer, Moncton fans spent hours spreading rumors that the then 17-year-old would forego his commitment to Boston University and start playing with former Boston College forward Adam Pineault and the Wildcats.
The rumors flew, but Bourque stayed a Terrier.
As a forward on BU’s first line, Bourque scored 10 goals and added 13 assists for 23 points in 35 games – solid numbers for a freshman.
But according to Bourque in an article published in the Boston Globe, the pressures of being a student and an athlete were too much.
Moncton’s PR department has been tight-lipped on the subject, but sources at Boston University have already confirmed Bourque’s departure.
Perhaps adding to the allure of playing in Moncton in 2005-06 is that the Wildcats are front-runners to host the 2006 Memorial Cup, the yearly Canadian Hockey League Championship. As the host team, Moncton is automatically one of the four teams in the tournament, and Bourque will have a chance to do something his father never did when he played in the QMJHL – win a Memorial Cup.
Lining up
With bodies coming back to the lineup after long absences, the Maineiacs are faced with a conundrum this weekend: They have to scratch a healthy player.
Lines at practice this week remained relatively the same as they were during the Shawinigan series, with Alexandre Picard playing with Eric Castonguay and Pierre-Luc Champagne. Alex Bourret again dressed in like colors with Stefan Chaput and Marc-Andre Daneau, and Ryan Murphy, Sheldon Wenzel and Mathieu Aubin shared colored jerseys.
The fourth combination, though, had four players, and none of them was defenseman Chad Denny. The decision to sit Maxime Mathieu, Colby Gilbert, Olivier Legault or Nick Cowan will likely be a last-minute decision, and it is also likely that these combinations will shift, at least with minor changes, as the week wears on.
As expected, coach Clem Jodoin called the problem “a better one to have than before.”
Around the CHL
The QMHJL has the fewest number of teams involved in the playoffs of the three CHL leagues, but the games and series have gone on just as long.
In the Western Hockey League, the Brandon Wheat Kings, Saskatoon Blades, Calgary Hitmen, Seattle Thunderbirds, Kelowna Rockets and Kootenay Ice are all through to the second round, while two series were set to wrap up late last night.
In the Ontario Hockey League, the Toronto St. Michael’s Majors, Peterborough Petes, Ottawa 67s, Sudbury Wolves, London Knights, Owen Sound Attack and Kitchener Rangers have all punched their tickets through to Round 2, with the last spot going to the winner of Game 7 between the Windsor Spitfires and the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds late Tuesday night.
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