Third round series are set

Cape Breton Eagles

The third round of the Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League playoffs is locked in.

The Drummondville Voltigeurs finished off the Sherbrooke Phoenix in six games on Sunday, officially ending the second round. The Volts join the Victoriaville Tigres, Baie-Comeau Drakkar and Cape Breton Eagles in the third round.

The teams are reseeded based on the overall standings in the third round — but this year that keeps teams within their conferences. The Drakkar will face the Eagles while the Voltigeurs will take on the Tigres.

Baie-Comeau and Cape Breton have had smooth rides through the playoffs so far. The Drakkar swept the Charlottetown Islanders and Acadie-Bathurst Titan while the Eagles, meanwhile, needed just five games to eliminate the Rimouski Oceanic before sweeping the Chicoutimi Sagueneens.

No matter who wins, we're getting a team in the league final that we haven't seen there in some time. The Drakkar's last QMJHL final appearance was in 2014 (a seven-game series loss to Val-d'Or) while the Eagles have never made it past the third round.

Victoriaville and Drummondville are located just 45 minutes from each other, so this is a fun series before it even starts. The Tigres swept the Shawinigan Cataractes in the first round before needing just five games to eliminate the high powered Rouyn-Noranda Huskies in the second round. The Voltigeurs swept the Saint John Sea Dogs in the first round and, somewhat surprisingly, went six games in the second round against the pesky Phoenix after going up 3-0. 

The Tigres won the President Cup in the bubble in 2021 while the Voltigeurs haven't been to the league final since winning it all in 2009.

The Eagles/Drakkar series begins Thursday in Baie-Comeau. The Tigres/Voltigeurs series begins Friday in Drummondville.