Savoie lifts Gilles-Courteau Trophy; junior career ends for Lawrence

Vincent Ethier/QMJHL

Former Saint John Sea Dogs forward Charles Savoie is a Gilles-Courteau Trophy champion.

Savoie helped the Quebec Remparts lift the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League championship trophy with a thrilling 5-4 win over the Halifax Mooseheads on Sunday night at Scotiabank Centre, taking the series in six games.

Savoie, his Saint John billet family and the Gilles-Courteau Trophy. 🏆 pic.twitter.com/PhuXzeCyQz

— Saint John Sea Dogs (@SJSeaDogs) May 22, 2023

The gritty forward - who was a second-round pick of the Sea Dogs in the 2019 QMJHL Entry Draft - finished the playoffs with two goals and six assists in 18 games. Savoie spent parts of three seasons with the Sea Dogs before being dealt to the Cape Breton Eagles during the 2021-22 season.

Savoie and the Remparts will now travel to Kamloops, BC to take part in the 2023 Memorial Cup. The team's first game is this Friday against the host Blazers.

Savoie wasn't the only former Sea Dog playing in the Gilles-Courteau Trophy final. Josh Lawrence of the Halifax Mooseheads finished in a tie with teammate Alexandre Doucet for the QMJHL's playoff scoring lead with 31 points. Lawrence had a league best 19 assists.

Doucet and Lawrence appreciation post. 💚

The two in-season acquisitions largely contributed to the @HFXMooseheads’ success, finishing atop the #QPlayoffs scoring race with 31 points each!https://t.co/TUGBukhJfv pic.twitter.com/GN1QMXn3fY

— QMJHL (@QMJHL) May 22, 2023

Sunday's loss ended an impressive junior hockey career for Lawrence. A first-round pick of Saint John in 2018, the Fredericton native leaves the QMJHL with 131 goals and 218 assists for 349 points in 320 regular season and playoff games combined.

Here's an updated look at how former Sea Dogs performed in the QMJHL playoffs this year.

Player	Team	GP	Goals	Assists	Points
Josh Lawrence	HAL	21	12	19	31
Joshua Roy	SHE	14	12	12	24
Cam MacDonald	GAT	13	5	3	8
Charles Savoie	QUE	18	2	6	8
Marshall Lessard	BAC	6	1	2	3
Connor Trenholm	MON	12	0	3	3
Leighton Carruthers	ROU	8	0	0	0
Simon Hughes	CHA	4	0	0	0

Rouyn-Noranda goaltender Thomas Couture finished 4-5 with a 3.93 goals against average and a .883 save percentage in nine playoff games.