Former Sea Dogs looking to win Jr A titles

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Nikolas Hurtubise made 25 saves to help the Terrebonne Cobras defeat the Cégep Beauce-Appalaches Condors 7-3 in the first game of the QJHL final on Friday.

Hurtubise has appeared in four playoff games with the Cobras, posting a 3-0 record to go along with a 1.58 goals against average and a .940 save percentage. He played in seven regular season games since joining Terrebonne for the second half, going 5-2 with a 3.17 GAA and .889 SV%.

The 20-year-old Hurtubise and 19-year-old Alexandre Marchand form quite a goaltending duo in Terrebonne. Marchand, who has played in seven of the Cobras' playoff games, has been one of the QJHL's top goaltenders all season.

Game 2 of the league final is Sunday afternoon in Terrebonne.

Hurtubise, who backstopped the Sea Dogs to a Memorial Cup title last year, is expected to join the Concordia Stingers for the 2023-24 season.

The Cobras are a threat to win a national junior A title this season, finishing third in the final CJHL Top 20 rankings. The Maritime Hockey League's Yarmouth Mariners, meanwhile, finished 10th while the Edmundston Blizzard were 19th. 

The Mariners and Blizzard will meet in the MHL final, which begins Sunday night in Yarmouth. The Mariners had the MHL's best regular season record (41-9-2-0 for 84 points) while the Blizzard were second (38-13-0-1 for 77 points).

The Mariners feature former Sea Dogs defenseman Benjamin Roode while the Blizzard have ex-Dogs d-man Brandon Casey.

It's not a short drive between Yarmouth and Edmundston and this marks the second time the two franchises have met in the MHL final. In 2018, Edmundston defeated Yarmouth in six games.

For the second straight season, all nine CJHL league champions and the host team (Portage Terriers) will participate in the Centennial Cup national championship tournament, which begins May 11 in Portage la Prairie, MB.