Quick Hits: Roy makes AHL debut

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Former Saint John Sea Dogs forward Joshua Roy made his professional debut Wednesday night in Laval.

Suiting up for the third game of the American Hockey League's Eastern Conference final, Roy posted three shots in the Rocket's 6-3 loss to the Springfield Thunderbirds. Springfield now leads the best-of-seven series 2-1.

Joshua! #GoRocket pic.twitter.com/DREjw72Neq

— x - Rocket de Laval (@RocketLaval) June 8, 2022

Roy is coming off a sensational season with the Sherbrooke Phoenix, winning the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League scoring race with 51 goals and 119 points in 66 games. He added eight goals and 23 points in 11 playoff games. The Phoenix were eliminated in the President Cup semifinals by the Charlottetown Islanders.

The 19-year-old was a fifth-round pick of the Montreal Canadiens in last year's NHL Draft.

In the AHL's Western Conference final, former Sea Dogs captain Spencer Smallman and the Chicago Wolves have taken a 3-0 series lead over the Stockton Heat thanks to a 3-0 win Wednesday night.

Both series resume play on Friday.

Notebook: Stairs, Isles set for major Game 3

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CHARLOTTETOWN - For a few minutes, Dawson Stairs had scored one of the biggest goals in Charlottetown Islanders history.

The former Saint John Sea Dogs forward scored with 1:17 remaining in the third period to put the Islanders up 3-2 over the Shawinigan Cataractes in Game 2 of the President Cup final Sunday. The Cataractes would tie the game on a controversial power play and then win in it overtime, cancelling out a lot of the impact of Stairs' goal.

Dawson Stairs with a perfect tip on the Noah Laaouan blast! 👌#PresidentCup | #InMemoryOfGuy pic.twitter.com/xxhKnjGord

— QMJHL (@QMJHL) June 6, 2022

The Fredericton native was named the game's third star. Stairs now has two goals and seven assists in 12 playoff games this year.

The Islanders will need Stairs and all of the team's offensive players to be at their best in Wednesday's pivotal Game 3 in Shawinigan. Despite posting 38 shots in Game 2, Charlottetown's offense has struggled to create quality scoring chances against a well structured and committed Shawinigan group.

The Cataractes lead the best-of-seven President Cup final 2-0. The winner of the series advances to the 2022 Memorial Cup in Saint John.

NEW STORE

The new Area 506 Waterfront Container Village opens Wednesday in Saint John.

The Sea Dogs will be one of the vendors at the waterfront space, opening a new Sea Dogs Styles location.

The Container Village will also play a major role at the 2022 Memorial Cup, hosting the Bash on the Bay concert series.

Islanders in trouble

CHARLOTTETOWN - The series isn't over, but the Charlottetown Islanders find themselves in a major hole as the President Cup final shifts to Shawinigan.

The Islanders now trail the Shawinigan Cataractes 2-0 in the best-of-seven series following a hard fought and controversial 4-3 overtime loss in Game 2 on Sunday night at Eastlink Centre. The series now moves to Shawinigan for both Games 3 and 4. Both of those games will air on TSN and RDS.

Former Saint John Sea Dogs forward Dawson Stairs scored with 1:17 remaining in regulation to give the Islanders a 3-2 lead. But on the ensuing centre ice faceoff, Charlottetown's Xavier Simoneau was called for a faceoff violation after grabbing the puck in the air with his hand. The bizarre sequence led to some heated exchanges with the on-ice officials. The penalty was called by linesman Mat Hicks.

Here's the controversial call late in Game 2 of the #PresidentCup final between the @Cataractes_Shaw & @IslandersHKY. #QPlayoffs | #SeriesLHJMQ pic.twitter.com/ORouyUsvSK

— Denis Leblanc (@DenisL_1981) June 6, 2022

Shawinigan's blazing hot power play went to work and, with goaltender Charles-Antoine Lavallee on the bench, Pierrick Dube scored with six seconds remaining to send the match into overtime.

Pierrick Dube with SIX seconds left forces OT in Charlottetown!

Watch OT ➡️ https://t.co/E0Cl58T8ou #RoadtoMemorialCup | #PresidentCup pic.twitter.com/YbQBV2U2bs

— Canadian Hockey League (@CHLHockey) June 6, 2022

Just 2:50 into the extra frame, Xavier Bourgault scored to give Shawinigan a 4-3 win and a commanding lead in the series. Plastic bottles and other garbage were tossed onto the ice by Charlottetown fans.

Notebook: President Cup final begins

The 2022 President Cup final begins tonight in Charlottetown.

The Islanders and Shawinigan Cataractes will battle in Game 1 of the best-of-seven championship series at 7 p.m. The Islanders will be without Xavier Simoneau due to a suspension.

This is the first time the Islanders have played in a President Cup final. Neither team has even won a Quebec Major Junior Hockey League championship.

Only one former Sea Dog remains in the hunt for the President Cup: Islanders forward Dawson Stairs.

Game 2 takes place Sunday night at Eastlink Centre before the series shifts to Shawinigan for Games 3 and 4.

The Cataractes, who entered the playoffs as the No. 7 seed, will be hoping to continue the Game 1 upset trend seen across the country. The underdog Windsor Spitfires defeated the previously undefeated Hamilton Bulldogs 4-3 in overtime in the first game of the Ontario Hockey League final Friday night. In the Western Hockey League final, the underdog Seattle Thunderbirds beat the favoured Edmonton Oil Kings 2-1 in the opening game.

FRANCIS GOES UNSIGNED

Why didn't the Calgary Flames sign Sea Dogs forward Ryan Francis by Wednesday's deadline?

The Win Column examines this question.

It seems a bit bizarre that Francis wasn’t re-signed this year after the numbers he has put up in his time in the Q. While nobody is speaking publicly, the most likely answer is that the Flames did not believe that his game would transition effectively to the next level. After keeping him in the AHL for a couple of months this previous fall and only getting him into four games, it looked like the Flames were not convinced of his ability to translate his production to the professional ranks.

Francis had 25 goals and 65 points in 54 regular season games with the Sea Dogs this year. He had a goal and an assist in four playoff games.

Francis was a fifth-round pick of the Flames in the 2020 NHL Draft, the same year Calgary selected Yan Kuznetsov (second round) and Jeremie Poirier (third round).

Islanders, Cataractes to play in QMJHL final

CHL TV

The Shawinigan Cataractes are heading back to the President Cup final.

The Cataractes advanced to the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League's championship series with a come-from-behind 5-3 victory over the Quebec Remparts Wednesday night, winning the best-of-five semifinal series in five games.

Playing in front of 14,563 fans at Videotron Centre, the Cataractes erased a 3-1 deficit in the victory. Shawinigan tied the game at 3-3 early in the third period and then Pierrick Dube scored on a power play at 19:12 to make it 4-3. Dube added an empty netter to complete the hat trick and make it a 5-3 final.

Pierrick Dubé a le compas dans l'oeil!!

Revoyez son deuxième du match!!

⚡️ pic.twitter.com/Vyg44oWqca

— Cataractes de Shawinigan (@Cataractes_Shaw) June 2, 2022

The Cataractes' woes have been long documented. The franchise dates back to 1969 but has never won a President Cup championship. This will be their first trip to the final since 2016.

Shawinigan, who finished seventh overall in the regular season thanks to a season filled with injuries, will face the No. 2 seed Charlottetown Islanders in the President Cup final. Like the Cataractes, the Islanders have never won a league championship.

The Islanders will be without Xavier Simoneau in Game 1. Simoneau was suspended one-game for a boarding major he took in Game 4 of Charlottetown's semifinal series against Sherbrooke.

The Islanders have home ice advantage for the final. The best-of-seven (yes, seven) series begins Saturday in Charlottetown. 

Notebook: Electric crowds are back

Cataractes Twitter

There were some truly beautiful scenes in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League this weekend.

After having no playoffs in 2020 and then playoffs with limited fans in attendance in 2021, it was great to see a couple of buildings full and alive on Sunday.

In Shawinigan Sunday afternoon, 4,512 fans watched the Cataractes fall 3-2 to the Quebec Remparts.

⚡️ Tout est en place!#JusquAuBut #Ubuntu pic.twitter.com/PrfLLTkBRU

— Cataractes de Shawinigan (@Cataractes_Shaw) May 29, 2022

In Sherbrooke, 4,500 fans watched the Phoenix fall 3-2 to the Charlottetown Islanders.

C'est parti au Palais des sports de Sherbrooke. Match 3 entre le Phoenix et les Islanders: 1-1 dans cette 3e ronde trois de cinq. Robillard contre Lapenna devant le filet. pic.twitter.com/4mGUqs3rAv

— Jérôme Gaudreau (@JeromeGaudreau) May 29, 2022

Junior hockey at its best. Hopefully there are scenes like this in Saint John this June.

(LESS THAN) THREE WEEKS AWAY

We're getting closer.

The 2022 Memorial Cup is less than three weeks away. The Sea Dogs will play the first game of the tournament, hosting the Ontario Hockey League champion on Monday, June 20 at TD Station.

Memorial Cup events get rolling a couple days earlier on Saturday, June 18 with ball hockey, the Port City Party at the Container Village and fireworks.

The Memorial Cup website has the full event list and now includes more detailed info.