Inside the Numbers ahead of Week-end #21

The overall standings are as tight as ever, but you don’t need to tell QMJHL coaches and players that as they embark on some of the most crucial games of the season. Meanwhile in Rimouski tonight, Michel Ouellet will see his No. 28 get raised to the rafters and Loiseau, Cadorette and Gamelin will soon reach some impressive milestones.

 

FIRING ON ALL CYLINDERS

• QMJHL Standings – Simply put, as of the morning of Jan. 24 last week there were no less than three, triple-ties in the standings. First off, there was a logjam at the 1-2-3 spots with Blainville-Boisbriand, Rimouski and Moncton all tied at 61 points. It was the same deal with the 4-5-6 spots where Quebec, St. John and Baie-Comeau were tied at 57 points, and a little lower in the standings it was Victoriaville, Val-d’Or and Drummondville tied at 47 points. And of course the overall standings are what dictate what teams make the playoffs, with the bottom two teams being eliminated at season’s end. 
• Cape Breton – They’ve won nine of their last 11. Since returning from the Christmas break, the Screaming Eagles have scored 58 goals in 14 games for an average over four goals per game. Tonight is shaping up to be another classic rivalry game between Cape Breton and Halifax, with the two clubs separated by only three points: 50-47 in favour of the Mooseheads.
• Blainville-Boisbriand or Sherbrooke – Tonight will mark the second encounter between the Phoenix and the Armada in less than a week. Last Sunday, the Phoenix pulled up a 4-3 win over the Armada. Joel Bouchard’s squad has grabbed hold of the West Division lead and are now ahead of the Phoenix by six points on the strength of the Armada havinf won 10 of their last 13 games. Sherbrooke is also playing some good hockey to the tune of their .679 points percentage since December 28.

 

STATISTICALLY SPEAKING

• Alexis Vanier (Sherbrooke) – The newly-acquired defenceman from the Drakkar seems to have settled right into his new duds with the Phoenix. In 10 games in January, the 6-foot-5 behemoth picked up nine points including eight assists to go with a +3 differential. He is also enjoying the hottest stretch of his career with points in each of his last five games. Vanier was also named the second star of the game in a 5-1 win over Drummondville after scoring a goal and adding an assist. 
• Chirstophe Lalonde (Shawinigan) – The veteran forward gunned his 100th goal in the QMJHL yesterday night. With already 20 points in January thanks to his six multi-point games. Since the Cataractes picked him up from Moncton, Lalonde has 14 goals in 17 games.

 

 TIP OF THE CAP

Kyle Farrell (Cape Breton) – The 20-year-old veteran has 16 points in his last eight games. Might Farrell well be on his way to becoming the first Screaming Eagles player to ever win a QMJHL scoring title? With three more points on Wednesday against Chicoutimi to bring his hefty season total to 73 points, leaving him only six points back of leader Conor Garland (Moncton | 79pts) He also just surpassed the career 200-point plateau in the QMJHL (202) and is only four goals shy of the 100-mark. An impressive feat is that 38 of his 73 points have come on the road this season, representing more than half of his overall production (52%). He leads the league in shorthanded goals (six) and also has 35 goals on the year. Over his 2,988 draws he’s taken in the QMJHL, he boasts the second-highest face-off winning percentage among active players (56.1%) second only to leader Anthony Beauvillier (SHA | 56.5%).

 RECORD WATCH

• Alexis Loiseau (RIMOUSKI) – With already 65 points on the season to rank him eighth in the league, Loiseau also has played in all 163 of the Oceanic’s most recent games. Since Angelo Miceli (Victoriaville) went down to injury in mid-January to snap his iron man streak at 199 games (32nd in QMJHL history ), Loiseau is now the current leader. The 20-year-old is now just shy of the Oceanic’s club record of 166 games established by Eric Drouin from 1996-98. Should he remain healthy, Loiseau will tie the mark next Wednesday against St. John before then possibly breaking the record the following night in Moncton. 

 

GOING STREAKING!

• Nikolaj Ehlers (Halifax) – His 22-point streak continues and is the longest one in the league this season. He might shatter the Mooseheads team record of 29 straight games with a point, a record that was set by Jonathan Drouin in March 2013.
• Timo Meier (Halifax) – Ehler’s teammate Meier has also had the pedal to the metal, with his point streak now at 16 games. He’s averaging 1.5 points per game (60pts in 40 games). He is also averaging 5.3 shots per game (212 shots | 5th in the QMJHL).
• Anthony Richard (Val-d’Or) – He’s been on fire! He was named the first star in a 3-2 Foreurs win over the Olympiques on Wednesday following a two-assist performance that extended his point streak to 12 games. He remains the Foreurs top point getter with 67 points.

 

MILESTONE WATCH

• Frederic Gamelin (Baie-Comeau) – Last night in Charlottetown, he played in his 300th career QMJHL game. His next objective to catch Drakkar’s all-time leader in that department, Martin Mandeville, who played in 311 regular season games in his career. Gamelin is the league’s active leader in assists (163) ahead of Adam Erne (145), Nikolas Brouillard and Angelo Miceli (144 each).
• Philippe Cadorette – He is now only one win shy of 100 in the QMJHL. That total ranks him ninth all-time and draws him closer to the likes of Maxime Ouellet (101), Jean-Francois Labbe (103) and Mathieu Chouinard (104).
• Alex Dubeau (Moncton) – The Wildcats’ goalie has 123 career wins in the QMJHL, and is ready to surpass Olivier Roy (123) at No. 3 all-time. Dubeau is also the league’s current shootout specialist with 15 saves on 16 shots (93.8% efficiency), winning four of five shootouts he’s played in.
• Marc Muylaert (QMJHL) – The longtime referee is approaching the 750-game mark as a league official (749).
• Sylvain Losier (QMJHL) – The veteran linesman will soon reach the 700-game mark (697).

 

HAVE YOUR SAY

• In recent days, we’ve asked you which team that has yet to reach the 50-point will win the most games this season.
• Halifax – The Mooseheads were our big winners, garnering 26.6% of the 2,774 votes as the team most believe will be a club to watch down the stretch.
• Cape Breton – But beware of the Screaming Eagles. After a tough first half of the season, they’ve come on strong and 452 voters showed their support (16.3).
• Val-d’Or – Among Quebec-based teams, the Foreurs (13.1%) are the team you think will amass the most wins up to March 21, the end of the regular season.

 

HISTORY LESSON

• Michel Ouellet (Rimouski | 1998-2002) – Tonight in his native Rimouski, the ultimate honour will be bestowed onto the former Oceanic star as his No. 28 he wore so proudly will be raised to the rafters.
• His four seasons with the team included a Memorial Cup win in 2000 alongside teammates like Brad Richards and captain Jonathan Beaulieu and under the tutelage of head coach Doris Labonte.
• His career – Over this time in the QMJHL, both regular season and playoffs combined, he piled up 331 points in 267 games. He then joined the Pittsburgh Penguins organizations after they selected him in the fourth round of the 2000 NHL Draft. From 2005-06 to 2008-09, he played 190 NHL games and amassed 116 points following his three seasons in the minors.