Islanders, Cataractes to play in QMJHL final

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The Shawinigan Cataractes are heading back to the President Cup final.

The Cataractes advanced to the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League's championship series with a come-from-behind 5-3 victory over the Quebec Remparts Wednesday night, winning the best-of-five semifinal series in five games.

Playing in front of 14,563 fans at Videotron Centre, the Cataractes erased a 3-1 deficit in the victory. Shawinigan tied the game at 3-3 early in the third period and then Pierrick Dube scored on a power play at 19:12 to make it 4-3. Dube added an empty netter to complete the hat trick and make it a 5-3 final.

Pierrick Dubé a le compas dans l'oeil!!

Revoyez son deuxième du match!!

⚡️ pic.twitter.com/Vyg44oWqca

— Cataractes de Shawinigan (@Cataractes_Shaw) June 2, 2022

The Cataractes' woes have been long documented. The franchise dates back to 1969 but has never won a President Cup championship. This will be their first trip to the final since 2016.

Shawinigan, who finished seventh overall in the regular season thanks to a season filled with injuries, will face the No. 2 seed Charlottetown Islanders in the President Cup final. Like the Cataractes, the Islanders have never won a league championship.

The Islanders will be without Xavier Simoneau in Game 1. Simoneau was suspended one-game for a boarding major he took in Game 4 of Charlottetown's semifinal series against Sherbrooke.

The Islanders have home ice advantage for the final. The best-of-seven (yes, seven) series begins Saturday in Charlottetown. 

Sea Dogs make roster moves

The Saint John Sea Dogs announced a number of roster moves on Thursday, including the acquisition of two players and the cutting of three.

The team has acquired the CHL rights to forward Zach Grzelewski and defenceman Chase Stewart. Both players were in the OHL last season.

Grzelewski, 19, spent last season with the Flint Firebirds where he recorded eight goals and 15 assists in 56 games. He spent time with the London Knights the two seasons before last.

“Zach has been a high-scoring forward through minor hockey up to junior ‘A’,” said Sea Dogs head coach Danny Flynn in a news release. “He was one of Flint’s top scorers despite missing some time last year. We think he has the potential to be a top-six forward for us.”

In 2013-14, Grzelewski had 43 goals and 36 assists in 53 games with the SIJHL’s Thunder Bay North Stars, finishing second in team scoring behind current Sea Dogs forward Daniel Del Paggio.

Stewart, also 19, played in 45 games with the Saginaw Spirit last season where he registered one goal and four assists. He played in 48 games with the Spirit in 2014-15 – and 10 games with the Thunder Bay North Stars.

“Chase is a steady, physical defenceman with two years of OHL experience,” said Flynn. “He also attended camp with the Arizona Coyotes last year. As a team, we’re always looking to improve. We think he can help us.”

Both players are expected to arrive in Saint John in the coming days.

The Sea Dogs also announced today that forwards Isiah Campbell and Nathan Cyr-Trottier along with goaltender Derek Fournier have been released from training camp.

24 forwards, 16 defencemen and four goalies remain at Sea Dogs camp.