The Next Round Is Set

And then there was one.

With the Moncton Wildcats losing to the Blainville-Boisbriand Armada tonight, the Halifax Mooseheads are the lone Maritime team remaining in the 2014 Quebec Major Junior Hockey League playoffs.

The Wildcats lost their first round series to the Armada 4-2, dropping Game 6 on Sunday by score of 4-2. The Armada won the game without the services of former Sea Dogs forward Ryan Tesink who was suspended five games by the QMJHL for a hit from behind in Game 5.

With Moncton being eliminated, the second round matchups have now been determined. They are as follows:

Baie-Comeau (1) vs Rouyn-Noranda (10)

Halifax (2) vs Gatineau (8)

Val-d’Or (3) vs Drummondville (6)

Rimouski (4) vs Blainville-Boisbriand (5)

So there’s that.

Two months until QMJHL Entry Draft day.

QMJHL Suspends Tesink Five Games

Ryan Tesink’s Quebec Major Junior Hockey League career could be over.

The 20-year old forward was suspended five games by the QMJHL today for a hit from behind on Adam Holwell of the Moncton Wildcats on Thursday. The Armada lost the game 3-2 but lead the series 3-2 heading into Game 6 on home ice tomorrow.

The above video of the hit has over 6,000 views on YouTube and a Yahoo Sports article has almost 40 comments on the situation.

Tesink is tied for the Armada playoff scoring lead with four goals and three assists for seven points in the five games. It’s a big loss for Blainville-Boisbriand as Danick Martel, who had five goals in this series, suffered a broken collar bone on Thursday, according to the Times & Trancript.

Tesink and Martel have combined to score nine of the Armada’s 18 goals in this series. This could be trouble, especially with the Wildcats already winning a game on enemy ice. 

A Playoff Update

The Moncton Wildcats are still alive in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League playoffs.

The Wildcats staved off elimination with a 3-2 victory in Game 5 last night over the Blainville-Boisbriand Armada. The Armada lead the series 3-2 heading into Game 6 in BLB on Sunday.

Former Sea Dog and current Armada forward Ryan Tesink had an eventful game, fighting Garrett Johnston in the first period and then getting thrown out in the second for a check from behind on Adam Holwell.

The Wildcats and Halifax Mooseheads are the only Maritime based QMJHL teams remaining in post-season play. The Mooseheads completed a sweep last night over the Charlottetown Islanders at Eastlink Centre. The Acadie-Bathurst Titan were swept also swept away by the Val-d’Or Foreurs and the Cape Breton Screaming Eagles lost in four straight to the Gatineau Olympiques. All three of these series were delayed a day due to the blizzard.

A few other playoff related notes:

• With the Titan eliminated, Scott Oke’s QMJHL career has come to an end. Oke, who played parts of three seasons with the Dogs, had 64 goals and 159 points in 252 career regular season games. He added nine goals and 12 assists in 49 playoff games.
• The Wildcats had to start last night’s game at 6 pm because of some trade show at the Moncton Coliseum this weekend. It just wouldn’t be the playoffs without something weird like this happening in Moncton.
• According to the Screaming Eagles’ Twitter, the start of their second period was delayed due to a technical issue with the video review system. Odd.
• Rimouski and Baie-Comeau have already moved on with sweeps over Chicoutimi and Shawinigan, respectively. Drummondville leads Victoriaville 3-1 and Rouyn-Noranda leads Quebec 3-1 heading into Game 5s tonight.
• Five of the eight first round matches have ended in sweeps. Oh, the excitement.
• Just over two months until draft day! Yeah!

Photo: Marc Henwood/Station Nation

VIDEO: Hotstove Talks Eichel

Hockey Night in Canada’s Hotstove examined the Jack Eichel rumours tonight. The talk starts around the one-minute mark.

Nothing we all didn’t already know or assumed, really. Nice to see the HNIC crew is aware of Saint John’s situation regarding 2017, though.

Sea Dogs Attendance Down Again

The final numbers are in, and Saint John’s attendance dropped by over 500 fans per game for the second straight season.

The Sea Dogs averaged 3,423 fans per game during the 2013-14 season, the lowest average in team history. Despite the dip, the Dogs were ranked fifth overall in Quebec Major Junior Hockey League attendance behind Quebec, Halifax, Moncton, and Rimouski.

Strangely enough, it’s the second straight season that the Sea Dogs’ attendance dropped by exactly 569 fans per game, meaning the club averaged 1,138 less fans per game this year than it did in 2011-12. Given the state of the on-ice product it’s not a huge surprise but, still, it is a fairly big drop in a two-year span.

Here’s a look at Saint John’s year-by-year attendance numbers and where they ranked in the league.

Season	Total	Average
2005-06	156,694	4,477 (4th)
2006-07	134,354	3,839 (6th)
2007-08	139,214	3,978 (5th)
2008-09	133,613	3,930 (5th)
2009-10	140,779	4,141 (4th)
2010-11	152,237	4,478 (4th)
2011-12	155,060	4,561 (3rd)
2012-13	135,732	3,992 (4th)
2013-14	116,380	3,423 (5th)

The largest crowd at Harbour Station this season was 5,824. The smallest was 2,467.

Hopefully, with the team expected to improve next season, the attendance improves as well. Personally, I think the in-house game day experience could use an overhaul. Is it still one of the best in the league? Yup, it is. But even the best experiences need to change and evolve over time. I bet most season ticket holders could tell you word-for-word what the game day host will say at certain points at each home game. The time has come to shake things up.

Titan Nation has a great chart showing which teams saw attendance increases and decreases in the QMJHL this season.

HockeyProspect.com Releases New Rankings

HockeyProspect.com released their latest rankings for the 2014 QMJHL Entry Draft yesterday.

Once again, American defenseman Chad Krys topped the list. He is unlikely to go first overall because he probably won’t report to the league next year or possibly ever. Quebec born defenseman Samuel Girard was ranked second.

Given Saint John’s offensive struggles this past season, they seem destined to take a forward with their top pick. Pascal Laberge of the Quebec AAA ranks is the top ranked forward at No. 3 overall. “Without a doubt, Laberge is the best forward available from the province of Quebec,” writes HockeyProspect.com.

In 40 games with the Châteauguay Grenadiers this season, Laberge had 20 goals and 23 assists.

Newfoundlander Jordan Maher is the top ranked Atlantic Canadian, coming in at No. 4. Maher led the Newfoundland & Labrador Major Midget Hockey League in scoring this season with 23 goals and 24 assists in 24 games. He added 10 goals and 11 assists in 10 playoff games – tops in the league – and helped the Central IcePak win a championship.

Mitchell Balmas of the Cape Breton Tradesmen, also a forward, sits seventh.

HockeyProspect.com has their top 18 listed on their website. You must be a subscriber to view the top 100.

The QMJHL Entry Draft takes place on May 31st in Sherbrooke. The Sea Dogs will select either first or second overall.