CHL Coast to Coast: Heroes emerge in Round 1
(Photo: Brayden Low – Chris Mast / Justin Nichols – Terry Wilson / Nikolaj Ehlers – David Chan)Wednesday April 8, 2015
Junior hockey enthusiasts awoke to complete second round playoff scenarios across the Canadian Hockey League on Wednesday thanks to some late night overtime heroics on opposite sides of the continent.
Just four second round spots remained unclaimed in the CHL heading into Tuesday’s action as the WHL featured Game 6 tilts between a foursome of American clubs and the QMJHL saw a pair of series go the distance with Game 7 action.
Fleet-footed Winnipeg Jets prospect Nic Petan gave the Portland Winterhawks a 5-4 victory to eliminate the rival Seattle Thunderbirds on the road, getting assists from Miles Koules and Layne Viveiros with 59 seconds to spare in the first overtime. Both goaltenders were busy as Portland’s Adin Hill made 46 saves and Seattle overager Taran Kozun provided 36.
Heading east on I-90, Everett Silvertips forward Brayden Low had some late night road heroics of his own, beating Spokane’s Garret Hughson 3:43 into the third overtime to push the Tips into the second round with a 4-2 series victory.
Portland now takes on an Everett Silvertips club that has reached the second round of the WHL Playoffs for the first time since 2007. The clubs lock horns in the postseason for a fourth time as the Winterhawks continue their quest for a fifth straight Western Conference title.
Elsewhere in the WHL, the Western Conference’s first place Kelowna Rockets prepare for a second round dance with Canadian National Junior gold medalist Joe Hicketts and the Victoria Royals.
In the Eastern Conference, the Brandon Wheat Kings come off a 4-1 first round series victory over the reigning WHL Champion Edmonton Oil Kings and will square off with the Regina Pats.
CHL Player of the Week Adam Tambellini and the Calgary Hitmen come off a thrilling 4-3 series win over the Kootenay Ice to battle the Medicine Hat Tigers in the other Eastern semi-final. The Hitmen received a bit of a scare from the Ice after going ahead 3-1 in series before a pair of Kootenay wins forced Game 7. Overage forward Connor Rankin buried a hat-trick as Calgary outshot Kootenay 35-13 in the decisive game for a 6-2 win to prolong their playoff run.
Looking eastward to the QMJHL, the Halifax Mooseheads needed overtime to get past the Shawinigan Cataractes in Game 7 of their first round series on Tuesday. Nikolaj Ehlers teamed up with linemate Philippe Gadoury, setting him up for a redirection in the slot to tie the score 2-2 with 2:03 remaining in the third period.
With overtime winding down, Mooseheads goaltender Eric Brassard made a big save at one end before Ehlers scooped up the puck and beat Shawinigan goaltender Marvin Cupper through the legs at the other to give the Mooseheads a 3-2 victory with just 3:01 remaining in the extra frame. Ehlers now leads the QMJHL Playoffs in scoring with two goals, 13 assists and 15 points in seven games.
Halifax’s win paired with a Quebec Remparts 6-3 Game 7 victory over the Cape Breton Screaming Eagles completed the second round playoff picture as four series get underway on Friday night.
The first place Rimouski Oceanic will face a Gatineau Olympiques club that eliminated the Blainville-Boisbriand Armada in six games. Olympiques’ playoff leading scorer and draft eligible forward Yakov Trenin had two goals and six assists in six first round contests while goaltender Francois Brassard recorded a 1.95 goals against-average and a .934 save percentage with one shutout.
The Moncton Wildcats will square off with the Halifax Mooseheads in a maritimes battle. The Wildcats took six of a possible nine wins against the Mooseheads this season. Fine goaltending from Alex Dubeau paced Moncton past the Chicoutimi Sagueneens in a five game first round series.
The 2015 MasterCard Memorial Cup host Quebec Remparts enter the second round to face the Charlottetown Islanders who had six goals in six first round games from overage winger Spenser Cobbold to lead them to a 4-2 series victory over the Sherbrooke Phoenix. The Remparts had a big first round from draft eligible Russian forward Dmytro Timashov who potted three goals and seven assists for 10 points in seven contests.
Rounding out the second round of the QMJHL Playoffs is a series between the reigning President’s Cup Champion Val-d’Or Foreurs and the Baie-Comeau Drakkar. Philadelphia Flyers prospect Nicolas Aube-Kubel paced Val-d’Or past the rival Rouyn-Noranda Huskies in six games with four goals and six assists for 10 points. The Foreurs will be tasked with taking on 54-goal scorer Maxime St-Cyr and the Drakkar, a team they managed to defeat twice in the month of March.
The OHL wrapped up its first round on Sunday as the London Knights managed to stomp out a Kitchener Rangers rally that saw them push the series to six games after falling behind 3-0. The Knights blanked the Rangers 5-0 while the Niagara IceDogs advanced past the Ottawa 67’s in the Eastern Conference with a 4-3 win in Game 6.
The second round gets underway on Wednesday as the CHL’s top ranked Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds battle the Guelph Storm who come off a hard fought first round victory over the Owen Sound Attack. Guelph goaltender Justin Nichols was named the Vaughn CHL Goaltender of the Week as a result of his solid first round performance that featured a 2.41 goals against-average and a .932 save percentage in five contests.
Elsewhere in the Western Conference, NHL Central Scouting’s top ranked Connor McDavid and the Erie Otters take on Max Domi and the London Knights in a series that is sure to garner a great deal of attention. Knights winger Mitchell Marner leads the OHL Playoffs in scoring with eight goals, seven assists and 15 points in six games.
In the east, the Oshawa Generals prepare for a clash with the Niagara IceDogs who had an excellent first round showing from draft eligible blueliner Vince Dunn. The Peterborough, ON, native scored six goals and added two assists in six contests against Ottawa and is the 32nd ranked North American Skater in Wednesday’s NHL Central Scouting Final Draft Rankings.
Central Division foes in the Barrie Colts and the North Bay Battalion will battle in the other Eastern Conference series that gets underway on Friday. The Colts will be out to settle a score after they met their demise at the hands of the Battalion in the Eastern Conference Semi-Finals last spring. The two clubs split their six game season series with three wins apiece.
The list of MasterCard Memorial Cup contenders is down to 24 as the second round of the playoffs get underway this week. Just four teams will emerge to compete in the 2015 MasterCard Memorial Cup in Quebec City beginning on May 21.