2025 QMJHL playoffs second round predictions

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The second round of the QMJHL playoffs have arrived which means it's time for another round of predictions.

It was a tough first round for me. I had Moncton, Rimouski and Chicoutimi correctly advancing in the Eastern Conference. My one error was picking the Cape Breton Eagles over the Baie-Comeau Drakkar in six games. That series made it to six games, at least.

In the Western Conference I correctly picked Rouyn-Noranda and Shawinigan to move on. Like everyone, I had Drummondville beating Halifax easily, which of course did not happen. I also had Blainville-Boisbriand beating Sherbrooke, which ended up being wrong.

In short, I am 5/8 so far, which isn't great. Let's see if I can improve this round.

Eastern Conference

1. Moncton vs 4. Baie-Comeau - Moncton in 5

I'm not really sure what to make of Moncton's first round series with Quebec. I'm not sure if underwhelming is the right word, but it didn't feel like the dominant Wildcats we saw in the final few weeks of the regular season. On the Baie-Comeau side, they looked a bit better than expected even with some injury issues. I like Moncton in this series but I expect Baie-Comeau to push them at times – especially in Quebec.

2. Rimouski vs 3. Chicoutimi - Rimouski in 5

Rimouski really put the pedal to the floor after Game 1 of their first round series with Charlottetown. I expect Chicoutimi to be more of a challenge, but I think they'll be fine. The wild card in this is, of course, the fact that you just never know with Memorial Cup host teams in these early rounds.

Mooseheads complete stunning upset

Drummondville Voltigeurs

The Halifax Mooseheads have done it.

The Mooseheads completed a massive upset of the Drummondville Voltigeurs on Tuesday night, winning Game 7 by a score of 2-0 to advance to the second round of the QMJHL playoffs.

It's a stunning upset by the Mooseheads, who grabbed one of the final playoff spots on the final few days of the regular season. Drummondville finished third overall in the regular season standings and won the Western Conference. They finished with 86 points – 38 more than the Mooseheads.

It's a tough pill to swallow for the Voltigeurs, who opted to hang on to their veteran players from last season's Gilles Courteau Trophy run and hoped to take advantage of a wide open Western Conference. Now their season is over two weeks into the playoffs.

It seemed like the Voltigeurs could never fully recover from losing goaltender Riley Mercer, who was injured in Game 1. The Mooseheads won the first two games of the series and took a 3-2 series lead back to Drummondville on Monday. The Volts posted a commanding 6-0 win in Game 6 only to drop a tight Game 7 just 24 hours later.

Three of Halifax's wins in this series came on the road. 

The star of this series was overage goaltender Jacob Steinman, who made 38 saves in Tuesday's shutout win. He posted a 2.43 goals against average and a .936 save percentage in the series.

The Mooseheads will now play the Western Conference's No. 2 seed – the Rouyn-Noranda Huskies – in the second round.

Here's what the second round will look like.

Eastern Conference

1. Moncton vs 4. Baie-Comeau

2. Rimouski vs 3. Chicoutimi

Western Conference

2. Rouyn-Noranda vs 8. Halifax

3. Shawinigan vs 5. Sherbrooke

All four series begin Friday.

Tivey commits to Quinnipiac

Michael Hawkins/Saint John Sea Dogs

Nate Tivey will be playing south of the border next season.

The Saint John Sea Dogs announced Monday that Tivey has committed to the NCAA's Quinnipiac Bobcats for the 2025-26 season. The defensemen just completed his overage season with the Sea Dogs.

This is the first time the Sea Dogs have formally announced an NCAA commitment since the rule change in the fall.

“I am super excited to be able to play hockey at Quinnipiac University," Tivey said in a team news release. "Playing Division 1 hockey in the United States has been a goal of mine for a very long time. To be able to play hockey at such a high level while getting an education from a great school is very special and I couldn’t be more honoured.”

Quinnipiac is regularly one of the top programs in college hockey. The team, which plays in the ECAC conference with schools like Harvard and Cornell, has been to three Frozen Fours since 2013 and won the national championship in 2023.

The Bobcats have already secured commitments from Halifax Mooseheads defenseman Brady Schultz and Moncton Wildcats forward Markus Vidicek. Tivey, Schultz and Vidicek are/were all captains this season.

Tivey captained the Sea Dogs in the second half following the Eriks Mateiko trade. The 21-year-old posted five goals and 35 assists in 63 regular season games.

Tivey played in 192 career games with the Sea Dogs over three seasons, recording 11 goals and 81 assists.

Titan play final game; Eagles defeat Drakkar in 5th OT

TULSA, OK - Greetings from Oklahoma, where the Tulsa Oilers picked up a key 3-1 win over the Wichita Thunder in ECHL action on Friday night.

Anyways, here's what went down on an eventful night in the QMJHL playoffs.

• Quispamsis native Angelo Fullerton scored at 1:42 of the fifth overtime period as the Cape Breton Eagles defeated the Baie-Comeau Drakkar 3-2 in the second longest game in QMJHL history. It was a wild, wild night with two Drakkar goals and an Eagles goal both being overturned in extra time. Cape Breton goaltender Jakub Milota made 84 saves in the victory. The series now shifts back to Baie-Comeau with the Drakkar leading 3-2.
• The Halifax Mooseheads did it again. Jacob Steinman made 29 saves in a 4-2 Halifax victory over the Drummondville Voltigeurs. The Moose now lead the series 3-2 as it shifts back to Drummondville for the final two games – if both games are needed. Halifax won both of the first two games at Marcel Dionne Centre.
• The Acadie-Bathurst Titan are no more. The Titan allowed four goals in the first period in a 5-1 loss to the Chicoutimi Sagueneens at the KC Irving Regional Centre. The Sags take the series 4-1 and advance to the second round. This was the final QMJHL game to be played in Bathurst with the Titan moving to St. John's this summer.

  Alexandre Lallier has been credited with the final goal in @ABTitan history 😢 pic.twitter.com/v0Mqa0eSci

  — QMJHL (@QMJHL) April 5, 2025

• The Sherbrooke Phoenix secured a spot in the second round with a 2-1 overtime win over the Blainville-Boisbriand Armada, winning the series 4-1. Hugo Primeau scored the winner at 6:42 of the extra frame. 
• The Rouyn-Noranda Huskies have advanced to the second round following an 8-4 win over the Gatineau Olympiques, winning the series 4-1.
• The Shawinigan Cataractes also secured a spot in the second round thanks to a 5-2 victory over the Val-d'Or Foreurs, winning the series in five games. Former Sea Dogs forward Noah Reinhart scored and added an assist in the loss, his final game of junior hockey. Vince Elie had an assist for Shawinigan. 

Chicoutimi, Sherbrooke, Rouyn-Noranda and Shawinigan join the Moncton Wildcats and Rimouski Oceanic as teams who have secured second round spots.

Oceanic, Wildcats complete sweeps

Mike Bernard/Charlottetown Islanders

The Memorial Cup hosts are moving on to the second round of the QMJHL playoffs.

The Rimouski Oceanic completed a sweep of the Charlottetown Islanders on Wednesday with a 4-1 victory at Eastlink Centre. The Oceanic outscored the Islanders 24-3 in the four-game series.

The first round of the QMJHL playoffs hasn't been an easy ride for Memorial Cup hosts of late. 

• 2022: The Saint John Sea Dogs were eliminated in the best-of-five opening round by the Oceanic. 
• 2019: The Halifax Mooseheads needed seven games to advance past the Quebec Remparts. The Mooseheads went on to lose in the league final.
• 2015: The Remparts needed seven games to get past the Cape Breton Screaming Eagles. The Remparts went on to lose in the league final.
• 2012: The Shawinigan Cataractes were the lost QMJHL host team to sweep their first round series, beating the Rouyn-Noranda Huskies. The Cataractes went on to lose in the next round.

The Oceanic weren't the only team to complete a sweep on Wednesday. The Moncton Wildcats are moving on after a 4-3 victory over the Remparts at Videotron Centre. The series was surprisingly close with three of the four games being decided by a goal.

Wildcats need OT again; Voltigeurs are back in series

Trevor MacMillan/Halifax Mooseheads

It's officially time to bring out the "brink" terminology in this year's QMJHL playoffs.

The Moncton Wildcats, Rimouski Oceanic, Chicoutimi Sagueneens and Rouyn-Noranda Huskies all took 3-0 series leads thanks to wins on Tuesday night. All four teams will look to book trips to the second round with wins on Wednesday.

The Wildcats once again had their hands full with the Quebec Remparts, needing overtime for a second time in this season. St. Andrews native Gabe Smith netted the winner at 8:34 of the extra frame.

Gabe lugs it in and the puck finds him again.
GAME OVER. https://t.co/JsTx3vLWTy pic.twitter.com/XiHIOLVUOg

— Moncton Wildcats (@monctonwildcats) April 2, 2025

The Oceanic went 3/6 on the power play in a 4-0 win over the Charlottetown Islanders. Eriks Mateiko had five shots in that game. Rimouski has shutout Charlottetown in back-to-back games.

The final game in Acadie-Bathurst Titan history could be played Wednesday night at the KC Irving Regional Centre. Kassim Gaudet scored at 3:39 of overtime to give the Sagueneens a 4-3 win and a 3-0 series lead. Chicoutimi went 2/6 on the man advantage.

Lastly, the Huskies edged the Gatineau Olympiques 2-1 to take a stranglehold on that series.