Oceanic, Wildcats complete sweeps

Mike Bernard/Charlottetown Islanders

The Memorial Cup hosts are moving on to the second round of the QMJHL playoffs.

The Rimouski Oceanic completed a sweep of the Charlottetown Islanders on Wednesday with a 4-1 victory at Eastlink Centre. The Oceanic outscored the Islanders 24-3 in the four-game series.

The first round of the QMJHL playoffs hasn't been an easy ride for Memorial Cup hosts of late. 

• 2022: The Saint John Sea Dogs were eliminated in the best-of-five opening round by the Oceanic. 
• 2019: The Halifax Mooseheads needed seven games to advance past the Quebec Remparts. The Mooseheads went on to lose in the league final.
• 2015: The Remparts needed seven games to get past the Cape Breton Screaming Eagles. The Remparts went on to lose in the league final.
• 2012: The Shawinigan Cataractes were the lost QMJHL host team to sweep their first round series, beating the Rouyn-Noranda Huskies. The Cataractes went on to lose in the next round.

The Oceanic weren't the only team to complete a sweep on Wednesday. The Moncton Wildcats are moving on after a 4-3 victory over the Remparts at Videotron Centre. The series was surprisingly close with three of the four games being decided by a goal.

Wildcats need OT again; Voltigeurs are back in series

Trevor MacMillan/Halifax Mooseheads

It's officially time to bring out the "brink" terminology in this year's QMJHL playoffs.

The Moncton Wildcats, Rimouski Oceanic, Chicoutimi Sagueneens and Rouyn-Noranda Huskies all took 3-0 series leads thanks to wins on Tuesday night. All four teams will look to book trips to the second round with wins on Wednesday.

The Wildcats once again had their hands full with the Quebec Remparts, needing overtime for a second time in this season. St. Andrews native Gabe Smith netted the winner at 8:34 of the extra frame.

Gabe lugs it in and the puck finds him again.
GAME OVER. https://t.co/JsTx3vLWTy pic.twitter.com/XiHIOLVUOg

— Moncton Wildcats (@monctonwildcats) April 2, 2025

The Oceanic went 3/6 on the power play in a 4-0 win over the Charlottetown Islanders. Eriks Mateiko had five shots in that game. Rimouski has shutout Charlottetown in back-to-back games.

The final game in Acadie-Bathurst Titan history could be played Wednesday night at the KC Irving Regional Centre. Kassim Gaudet scored at 3:39 of overtime to give the Sagueneens a 4-3 win and a 3-0 series lead. Chicoutimi went 2/6 on the man advantage.

Lastly, the Huskies edged the Gatineau Olympiques 2-1 to take a stranglehold on that series.

Peddle signs ATO with AHL's Monsters

Michael Hawkins/Saint John Sea Dogs

It looks like Tyler Peddle will be making his professional hockey debut at some point over the next couple weeks.

The AHL's Cleveland Monsters announced Monday that the Saint John Sea Dogs forward has been signed to an amateur tryout contract. The Monsters, who sit eighth in the AHL's Eastern Conference, have eight regular season games remaining.

Peddle was a seventh-round pick of the Columbus Blue Jackets in the 2023 NHL Draft. Even if he does appear in some AHL games, he is still eligible to return to the QMJHL for an overage season in the fall.

Like for much of his junior career, consistency was the problem for Peddle during the 2024-25 season, looking good for some stretches then sliding down the lineup for others. He finished with 15 goals and 14 assists in 54 games. He missed the club's final regular season game with an injury.

In the same news release, the Monsters signed Providence Friars defenseman Guillaume Richard to an ATO as well. Richard, who's season (and college career) came to an end this past weekend, was a fourth-round pick of Saint John in the 2020 QMJHL Entry Draft.

The Monsters are back in action on Friday when they host the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins.

Mooseheads stun Voltigeurs again

Embed from Getty Images

The Halifax Mooseheads have done it again.

After pulling off a 3-2 upset win over the Drummondville Voltigeurs in Game 1 on Friday, Quispamsis native Liam Kilfoil scored the overtime winner to give Halifax another 3-2 win and a 2-0 series lead on Saturday at the Marcel Dionne Centre.

Soak it in Moose Country. OT winner Liam Kilfoil. #GoMooseGo pic.twitter.com/Qb5vzXadKF

— Halifax Mooseheads (@HFXMooseheads) March 30, 2025

The series now shifts to Halifax for the next three games – if that Game 5 is even needed.

Drummondville had the third best record during the QMJHL's regular season while Halifax finished 16th. The start of this series has been nothing short of stunning.

Halifax took a 2-1 lead on a Braeden MacPhee goal just 54 seconds into the third period and carried that into the final minute. With the goaltender pulled, Saint John native Sam Oliver – the QMJHL's leading goal scorer in the regular season – beat Jacob Steinman upstairs to tie it at 2-2. But that goal underwent a long review before eventually being overturned for goaltender interference.

Then, with 38 seconds remaining, Oliver scored again – this time on a legal play – to send things into overtime.

Kilfoil's winner came at 16:40 of overtime on a power play. Simon-Pier Brunet was called for delay of game at 15:22.

Steinman was named the game's first star with 45 saves. Louis-Felix Charrois – who got the start with Riley Mercer injured in Game 1 – made 24 saves in the loss.

Game 3 is Tuesday night at Scotiabank Centre.

Wildcats survive wild Friday night in QMJHL

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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.

Julius Sumpf scores the Game 1 OT winner for the @monctonwildcats! 😤 #QPlayoffs pic.twitter.com/e0gQ09lzs1

— QMJHL (@QMJHL) March 29, 2025

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.

Notebook: Sea Dogs thank fans

Michael Hawkins/Saint John Sea Dogs

Saint John Sea Dogs president Trevor Georgie shared a thank you message to fans earlier this week.

The letter was shared on the team's social media channels and via email (click to enlarge).

The letter comes after another challenging year for the Sea Dogs. The team has been in the league's basement for three consecutive seasons and this year missed the playoffs for the first tine since 2018-19.

As Georgie notes, there are reasons to be optimistic about the club's future. It's also noted that the team has three first-round picks in June's QMJHL Entry Draft and will have two import players next year. Saint John played the entire second half with no imports.

ELLIOTT SIGNS ATO

Former Sea Dogs forward Drew Elliott has signed an amateur tryout with the AHL's San Diego Gulls, the club announced Wednesday.

The 21-year-old appeared in 26 regular season games with the UNB Reds this season, recording 14 goals and eight assists. He added an assist in five playoff games.

Elliott, a Saint John native, split his overage season between the Sea Dogs and Drummondville Voltigeurs. In 32 second half games with Saint John, Elliott recorded 10 goals and seven assists. 

The Gulls are back in action on Friday when they host the Tucson Roadrunners.