Friday Notes: Playoff position updates

QUEBEC CITY - Greetings from Quebec City, where the race for first-place in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League got more interesting last night.

With the Saint John Sea Dogs handing the Charlottetown Islanders an 8-4 loss, the Quebec Remparts took over top spot in the QMJHL standings thanks to a 4-1 home win over the Gatineau Olympiques. The Islanders do still have a game in-hand, though, and have nine game regular season games remaining. The race is far from over.

The Islanders have a tough schedule coming up, visiting Bathurst and Rimouski this weekend before making a stop in Moncton on Tuesday. That schedule could be even tougher if the Islanders are without more regulars following some injuries suffered in Thursday's loss to the Sea Dogs.

Both Saint John and Bathurst won Thursday, keeping them in a tie for third spot in the Eastern Conference.

It's looking like Rimouski will stay in the No. 5 spot and Halifax in No. 6, meaning the No. 3 seed in the Eastern Conference will play the Mooseheads and the No. 4 seed the Oceanic.

A few other notes...

• As mentioned in the recap, William Dufour has tied Jonathan Huberdeau's franchise record for points in a single season with 105. Josh Lawrence, meanwhile, is one assist away from tying Huberdeau's single season assist record of 62. Given how Saint John's top line has been playing and given who their opponent is this weekend, you have to think those records will be snapped over the next couple games.
• In the scoring race, Dufour now sits one-point back of Sherbrooke's Joshua Roy. Dufour continues to lead the league in goals with 49. Lawrence, with 61 assists, is two back of Roy for the league lead.
• Some suspensions will very likely come out of last night's Sea Dogs-Islanders game.
• How great would a Sea Dogs-Islanders playoff series be? But also, how sad is it that it might come in the second round?
• A new addition at the Videotron Centre is a section sponsored by Bet99. Curious to see how involved junior teams will get with sports betting sponsorships/partnerships.
• In the Maritime Junior Hockey League, the Summerside Western Capitals took a 3-0 series lead over the Fredericton Red Wings thanks to a 6-4 win. The other semifinal, featuring the Truro Bearcats and Valley Wildcats, is now tied 2-2 following a 4-1 Valley win Thursday night. Former Sea Dog Luke Wilson had a goal and an assist in that game.