All Habs QMJHL Headlines: Monday, September 30th, 2013

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

►Offensive weekend: Since Friday, at least one team in the QMJHL has scored as many as eight goals or more. It began when the Rouyn-Noranda Huskies and Shawinigan Cataractes faced off and the former beat the latter by the score of 10-9. The only thing that was stopped in that game, apparently, was a Marcus Power penalty shot. Power would go on to record a five-point night. So too did Frédérick Gaudreau of the Cataractes. One of his goals was the 13,000th in #TheShawi history.

Saturday, in a much more lopsided contest, six of the 13 goals scored were by someone named Anthony. Mantha, who we all remember well from the latest edition of the NHL Entry Draft, scored four of these and added an assist as the Val-d’Or Foreurs toppled the Quebec Remparts 11-2. Callum Booth started the contest and let in three goals on 15 shots, while François Brassard came in in relief and was left to deal with the last eight red lights behind the Remparts’ net. Val-d’Or’s Shawn Ouellette-St-Amant and Julien Gauthier also recorded multi-goal games. Rouyn-Noranda and Val-d’Or now lead the league with 32 and 31 goals for respectively.

Finally, on Sunday afternoon, the Moncton Wildcats were in Boisbriand to face off against the Armada and came away licking their wounds after an 8-4 loss. With their 6-0 record, the Armada are currently the only undefeated team in the league left standing.

►You might like to have that one back: The Armada wouldn’t be alone up there had Charlottetown not let their 4-0 lead get the best of them on Sunday. At 13:02 of the second period, everything looked like it was in their favour. Midway through the third, however, Valentin Zykov and the Baie-Comeau Drakkar began erasing that fairly quickly. Goals were scored at 9:18, 17:20, 18:47 and yes, 19:59 of the third. Zykov, in addition to scoring two of those goals, would also go on to score the shootout winner. Small consolation: Charlottetown is still undefeated in regulation time…

►Hudon assists on Roy’s first: Nicolas Roy scored his first goal in the QMJHL in a 4-2 win over the Drummondville Voltigeurs. Canadiens’ prospect Charles Hudon picked up an assist on that goal, as well as another on Laurent Dauphin‘s game-winner in what was otherwise a physical battle with three fights, several roughing calls and other penalties, including a Matthew Boudens knee-on-knee hit on the Habs’ fifth-rounder that resulted in a game misconduct. Former Voltigeurs’ goaltender Domenic Graham picked up the win and Georgs Golovkovs of the Voltigeurs scored both his team’s goals in a losing cause.

Read more (French): L’indiscipline coûte cher aux Voltigeurs

►Fucale, Halifax earn weekend split: Despite the great news that Jonathan Drouin would soon be returning to their lineup, it was a bit of a quiet weekend for the Halifax Mooseheads, who earned a 2-1 shootout win over the Baie-Comeau Drakkar before losing by the same score to the Sherbrooke Phoenix in regulation. In the first game, Habs’ prospect goaltender Zachary Fucale stopped 33 of 34 shots in addition to all ten shootout attempts by the Drakkar, going on to earn the honour of being named the game’s first star. In the second game, he made 18 of 20 stops.

Halifax Mooseheads end home stint with 2-1 loss to Sherbrooke Phoenix

Telus Three Stars of the Week

★Anthony Mantha, LW, Val-d’Or Foreurs: Mantha was a big part of the volume of offense generated this weekend, picking up three assists Wednesday, another on Friday, and a hell of a lot more Saturday. Since his return from Detroit, he has 14 points in five games, eight of which are goals.

★★Christopher Clapperton, LW, Blainville-Boisbriand Armada: Clapperton picked up eight points in two games, including five in the 8-4 win over Moncton where he was named the first star of the game after recording a goal and four assists. He has also had some part in 14 of the Armada’s 27 goals thus far this season.

★★★Marcus Power, LW, Rouyn-Noranda Huskies: As previously stated, Power didn’t miss much this week. In addition to the best offensive game in his QMJHL career at the expense of the Cataractes (two goals, three assists) he had a goal and an assist on Wednesday and another assist Saturday night against Victoriaville.