Saturday, March 29, 2025

Wildcats survive wild Friday night in QMJHL

The Moncton Wildcats survived a scare on Friday night.

The CHL's No. 1 ranked team needed overtime to defeat the Quebec Remparts in Game 1 of their first round playoff series. Julius Sumpf netted the winner just 1:38 into the extra frame.
Moncton led 2-1 heading into the third where Quebec scored twice in less than two minutes halfway through the frame to take a 3-2 lead. Gabe Smith tied it back up at 16:10 to send the game into overtime.

Shots were 43-25 in favour of Moncton. The Wildcats went with the experienced Mathis Rousseau in net even after riding Rudy Guimond much of the last couple months.

The series is a major mismatch on paper. Moncton finished with 55 more points than rebuilding Quebec.

The Wildcats have now won 16 straight games. Game 2 is Saturday night in Moncton.

A few other news and notes from an eventful Friday night...
  • The Halifax Mooseheads erased a two-goal third period deficit to upset the Drummondville Voltigeurs 3-2 in Game 1. Jacob Steinman made 33 saves. Voltigeurs goaltender Riley Mercer had stopped all 14 shots he faced but left the game with an injury following a collision in the third.
  • Former Sea Dogs forward Vince Elie scored twice in the third period – including the game-winner – to lift the Shawinigan Cataractes past the Val-d'Or Foreurs 3-2.
  • Other scores from Friday's Game 1s: Rimouski beat Charlottetown 6-2; Chicoutimi edged Bathurst 3-2; Baie-Comeau held off Cape Breton 3-1; and Rouyn-Noranda beat Gatineau 5-1. A lot of entertaining and close games on the first full night of playoff action.
  • There was only one Game 2 on Friday. Blainville-Boisbriand defeated Sherbrooke 3-2 to tie that series at 1-1.
  • It's been a wild first round in the Maritime Hockey League playoffs. After the Pictou County Weeks Crushers upset the Summerside Western Capitals in five games, the Truro Bearcats upset the Amherst Ramblers in six games. Charles-Antoine Lavallee had six goals and seven assists in the series. Truro and Pictou County will meet in the Eastlink South Division Final.
  • In the Eastlink North Division playoffs, the Campbellton Tigers eliminated the West Kent Steamers in six games with a 3-2 overtime win on Friday. Campbellton will face the top-seeded Edmundston Blizzard in the division final.
  • A wonderful season came to an end for Lynden Breen, Josh Nadeau and the Maine Black Bears on Friday, falling 5-1 to the Penn State Nittany Lions in NCAA tournament regional semifinal play on Friday. The Black Bears opened the scoring early but couldn't stop the Nittany Lions once they got going. Despite being the top seed in this regional, Maine had to essentially play a road game with this match taking place in Allentown, PA.
  • A couple other NCAA tournament notes. Guillaume Richard – a fourth-round pick of Saint John in 2020 – and the Providence Friars were defeated by the reigning champion Denver Pioneers 5-1 on Friday. Richard was a -4 in the game. The Ohio State Buckeyes, meanwhile, fell 8-3 to the Boston University Terriers on Thursday. The Buckeyes feature Jake Rozzi, the older brother of Sea Dogs forward Dylan Rozzi. Rozzi had an assist in the loss.
  • The regional finals are now set: Boston College will face Denver; Western Michigan will take on UMass; Cornell will take on Boston University; and Penn State will face UConn. The winners advance to the Frozen Four in St. Louis.
  • Friday's games in Manchester, NH featured several delays due to ice conditions. The building, which currently has no hockey tenant, is speculated to be a potential expansion spot for the QMJHL.
Posted by at
Labels: , , , , , , ,

No comments:

Post a Comment

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)