All Habs News: Sunday April 10, 2011

Happy Birthday!! All Habs community: tell us! NHL: Sean Avery, Dion Phaneuf

►Hoping Tuesday will be kinder: Both the Montreal Juniors and Shawinigan Cataractes had dismal outings in their second quarterfinal games on Saturday, each losing by four goals against their rivals.  Philippe Lefebvre had one assist in a losing cause against the MAINEiacs, 6-2, as Olivier Dame-Malka scored four goals and added a helper for Lewiston.  The game saw a total of 33 infractions, two of which belonged to Louis Leblanc.  Meanwhile, Michaël Bournival assisted on the lone Cataractes’ goal in a 5-1 loss to the Quebec Remparts, finishing -3 in the process.  Remparts netminder Louis Domingue stopped 38 of the 39 shots he faced.   Both Game 3s will take place Tuesday night, in Lewiston and Shawinigan respectively.

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►Spotted at the Centre Marcel-Dionne: A pair of familiar faces were present at Game 2 of the series opposing the Drummondville Voltigeurs to the Gatineau Olympiques Saturday night.  According to Jonathan Habashi of Journal Express, Montreal Canadiens’ GM Pierre Gauthier was in town with scout Serge Boisvert to keep an eye on potential draft targets such as second-rated North American prospect Sean Couturier.  Others include centre Jean-Gabriel Pageau of the Olympiques, rated in the 6th round at the midseason rankings, as well as Couturier’s star Czech winger, Ondrej Palat, who finished tied with him at the end of the season with 96 points.

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►Bulldogs clinch North: A few short weeks ago, there was concern that the Hamilton Bulldogs were in jeopardy of missing the playoffs. As of last night, they are the champs of the AHL’s North Division for the second consecutive year. Hamilton beat the Manitoba Moose 3-1 in Winnipeg in their final regular season game to take the title.

The Bulldogs got goals from Dustin Boyd, Frederic St Denis, and Paul Zanette. It was the first goal as a pro for Zanette who signed a late-season tryout contract and has been in the lineup since March 29.

Hamilton opens the playoffs at Copps Coliseum on Thursday April 14 against the Oklahoma City Barons, Peoria Rivermen or Texas Stars.