All Habs QMJHL Headlines: Monday, October 7th, 2013

by Kathy K., Managing Editor, All Habs Hockey Magazine

►Pink in the Rink: The QMJHL kicked off the month of October with some of its member clubs wearing pink this weekend to highlight Breast Cancer Awareness Month. Every week, a new team will take part in the initiative that raised over $140 000 last season. Funds generated by the sale of auctioned pink jerseys will be donated to the Quebec Breast Cancer Foundation (or, in the Maritimes, a local foundation supporting the fight against breast cancer).

This past weekend, the Drummondville Voltigeurs and Blainville-Boisbriand Armada were the first teams to take part. The rest of the schedule is below:

October 11 – Charlottetown Islanders, Rouyn-Noranda Huskies, Val-d’Or Foreurs
October 13 – Cape Breton Screaming Eagles
October 18 – Halifax Mooseheads, Shawinigan Cataractes, Sherbrooke Phoenix
October 18 and 20 – Moncton Wildcats
October 19 – Saint John Sea Dogs
October 20 – Acadie-Bathurst Titan, Gatineau Olympiques, Victoriaville Tigres
October 25 – Baie-Comeau Drakkar
October 26 – Chicoutimi Saguenéens
October 27 – Rimouski Océanic
October 30 – Quebec Remparts

The Drummondville Voltigeurs sported pink jerseys this weekend, in support of Breast Cancer Awareness Month. Photo: Kathy K., All Habs Hockey Magazine

►Armada survive scare, continue unbeaten streak: The Blainville-Boisbriand Armada limited the Drummondville Voltigeurs to 13 shots on the way to a 4-1 win and, with the Quebec Remparts leading 2-1 midway through the second period, overcame that deficit with less than four minutes to go in regulation and scored once more in overtime to continue their perfect record of 8-0 to start the year. Christopher Clapperton finished the game with a goal and two assists. Meanwhile, the Roy-less Quebec Remparts fell to 1-5-3-0.

Read more (French): Victoire dramatique de l’Armada

►Drouin gets the last word: Jonathan Drouin helped prolong his team’s winning streak to three games yesterday afternoon, as he scored the game-winning goal in a 3-2 win over Drummondville. Christophe Lalancette scored his first goal as a member of the Voltigeurs to open the scoring at 16:03 of the opening frame. Halifax’s Timo Meier tied the game at 1 in the second, which was followed up with Jérôme Verrier‘s fifth goal of the year just 30 seconds later. Meier would score again to restore the tie before Drouin, with the help of the man advantage, settled the score mid-way through the third. Drouin now has five points in the four games played since his return to the ‘Q.’

►McSween suspended indefinitely: Rimouski Océanic blueliner Guillaume McSween is the latest player to be suspended until further notice, this for a kneeing incident. A final decision is pending on the play. Tigres’ centre Jan Mandat did not return to the game after being hit, and missed Saturday’s contest against the Mooseheads. McSween was assessed a major and a game misconduct.

►Former ‘Q’ goaltender to run for mayor: Antoine Tardif, who split his career between the Acadie-Bathurst Titan, Quebec Remparts and 2009 President’s Cup Champion Drummondville Voltigeurs, has thrown his hat into the ring for the mayorship of his native Daveluyville. A student at McGill University who also spent some time with the Redmen (where he was a part of the CIS University Cup-winning team), the former netminder is currently completing his studies in Economics and Political Science and hopes to continue to study in notarial law, if elected this November.

Telus Three Stars of the Week

★Émile Poirier, LW, Gatineau Olympiques: Poirier had three goals (including two game-winners and a shorthanded marker) and three assists in three games, averaging four shots on goal per game. His GWG against the Remparts also handed the Olympiques the 1 400th win in the 41-year history of their franchise.

★★Randy Gazzola, D, Val-d’Or Foreurs: Gazzola leads all league defensemen in scoring and added 6 assists, a +6 rating as well as 7 shots in two games played this weekend to that total. Val-d’Or has scored the most goals in the league thus far with 44.

★★★Christopher Clapperton, LW, Blainville-Boisbriand Armada: Clapperton took over the QMJHL scoring lead this weekend with two great games against Drummondville and Quebec (three points each). With 14 points in his 4 last games alone, he also has a scoring streak of eight games–meaning he hasn’t yet gone a game without registering at least one point.

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Telus Three Stars of the Month (September)

★Anthony Mantha, LW, Val-d’Or Foreurs: The most productive forward in the league with eight goals, six assists in September. Two of his goals were shorthanded, there was that five-point game against Quebec, and he averaged over seven shots a game. Needless to say, he was a big reason Val-d’Or is so high up in the goals-for column.

★★Sébastien Auger, G, Saint John Sea Dogs: Auger made a whopping 156 saves in just 4 games. In the month of September, 1.72 was his goals-against average. To that, he added a save-percentage of .957. Saint John went 2-1-1 with him in goal this month.

★★★Christopher Clapperton, LW, Blainville-Boisbriand Armada: Six of his eight games played this season were multi-point games. Like Mantha, he recorded 14 points in September. He currently boasts a 2.5 point per game average. His best game so far saw him score a goal and add four assists, and came at the expense of the Moncton Wildcats.