All Habs QMJHL Headlines: Monday, September 23rd, 2013
by Kathy K., Managing Editor, All Habs Hockey Magazine
►A Sunday of firsts: The Sherbrooke Phoenix picked up their first win by handing the Drummondville Voltigeurs their first loss on Sunday, a score of 5-2. Recently-drafted defenseman Jérémy Roy recorded both his first QMJHL point and, later on, his first QMJHL goal.
William Couture opened the scoring at 1:52 of the second period on the power play, tipping in a Roy shot from the point. After a disallowed goal, Cole Murphy doubled his team’s advantage shortly before the intermission. Drummondville stormed back with two quick goals in the third period by Georgs Golovkovs and Jérôme Verrier, but shortly thereafter, Sherbrooke’s Tim Weiser broke the tie, bringing his team back the lead. Then Roy’s well-timed shot punctuated the hopes of another comeback, and with one last goal by Jean-François Plante, the Voltigeurs’ fate was sealed.
►Desbiens suspended indefinitely: Simon Desbiens of the Sherbrooke Phoenix was suspended after an illegal check to the head on Friday, on Samuel Hodhod of the Blainville-Boisbriand Armada. Desbiens was assessed a roughing minor during the game.
Read more (French) with video: Desbiens suspendu indéfiniment
►Drouin wows the crowd: The Halifax Mooseheads’ star and this year’s third overall selection in the NHL Entry Draft has started working on his new following, as this shootout goal procured the Tampa Bay Lightning with a win in a matchup between the two Floridian teams, 5-4. The Mooseheads, who recently welcomed back Zachary Fucale, have the most NHL training camp participants out of the entire QMJHL with seven.
►Hudon on the verge of a milestone: After this weekend, only two points are needed before Charles Hudon reaches his 200th point in the ‘Q.’ The Montreal Canadiens’ prospect and Chicoutimi Saguenéens’ captain has the most career points among active players with 198 points in 180 games, followed by another familiar name, Olivier Archambault, who has 185 points in 232 games.
Read more: Interesting numbers, Weekend #2
►Still winning: Blainville-Boisbriand and Charlottetown are the last two unbeaten teams remaining in the league.
►Still searching: The Shawinigan Cataractes are 0-3-1 to start the season.
Telus Three Stars of the Week
★ Sébastien Auger, G, Saint John Sea Dogs: Auger’s weekend saw a lot of action, as the Sea Dogs’ shots against record saw 45 on Friday, 40 on Saturday, plus a nine-round shootout. While the latter was a loss to Charlottetown, Auger was named the first star for both games while retaining a 0.965 save percentage and a 1.44 goals-against average.
★★ Alexis Vanier, D, Baie-Comeau Drakkar: The draft-eligible Vanier became the third blueliner in Drakkar history to record a five-point game in a 7-4 win against the Quebec Remparts, a game where he also took five shots for a 40% shooting percentage. He also added another point against Chicoutimi on Sunday.
★★★ Cameron Darcy, C, Cape Breton Screaming Eagles: Darcy currently shares the QMJHL scoring lead with Vanier and Moncton’s Christopher Caissy, and six of his eight points came this weekend. Friday night, in a 5-4 loss to Charlottetown, Darcy recorded two goals and an assist, good for first star of the game. Sunday, he did the reverse, with a goal and two assists as the Eagles beat the Mooseheads, 5-2.
