CHL on CBC Gem | 3 Reasons to Watch – Titan vs. Wildcats
Saturday is hockey day.
Available via the free CBC Gem streaming service, fans can tune in Saturday as the Acadie-Bathurst Titan visit the Moncton Wildcats, with puck drop set for 4 p.m. Atlantic.
To get you ready, here are three reasons why this QMJHL showdown is must-see TV:
Rivalry renewed
The seventh meetup this season between the two squads, Saturday’s showdown also marks the second of a three-in-three weekend set between the Titan and Wildcats. Coming on the heels of Friday’s 5-1 home ice win for Acadie-Bathurst, the contest saw the Titan score five times unanswered before the Wildcats got on the board with less than four minutes remaining. In all, leading the Titan to victory were a handful of multi-point efforts including captain Logan Chisholm who tallied twice as did fellow forward and newly minted Tampa Bay Lightning prospect Bennett MacArthur as part of a three-point performance. Also dazzling the home crowd Friday was savvy centre and Montreal Canadiens 2021 second-round selection Riley Kidney who wrapped up the contest with four assists to shift into first in Titan scoring with 81 points counting 26 goals and 55 assists through 52 appearances, production outpaced by only three players league wide.
Oh. My. 🤯
Riley Kidney. 8 seconds into OT@cbcsports | @ABTitan | @CanadiensMTL pic.twitter.com/MrauklWUmT
— Canadian Hockey League (@CHLHockey) November 20, 2021
Pro bloodlines
An invaluable secondary scorer in Moncton, among the names to circle Saturday is that of budding right-wing Maxim Barbashev, the club’s opening round selection from the 2020 CHL Import Draft whose second season with the club has seen him make impressive offensive strides where through 44 appearances he has come up with 14 goals and 17 assists for 31 points, good for fourth in Wildcats scoring. The younger brother of Wildcats graduate and current St. Louis Blues forward Ivan Barbashev, the younger brings a similar well-rounded game built on speed, a scoring touch, and a physical edge. Recently returning to the Wildcats after playing before the greater scouting community as part of the 2022 Kubota CHL/NHL Top Prospects Game, Barbashev has turned heads this season and projects as a mid-round selection in this summer’s NHL Draft after ranking 86th among North American skaters in NHL Central Scouting’s midterm assessment.
Barbashev stuffs it home! 🏠#CHLTVGOTW | @KubotaCanadaLtd | @monctonwildcats pic.twitter.com/IwrPeGKfol
— Canadian Hockey League (@CHLHockey) February 6, 2022
Between the pipes
Home to one of the top netminders in the circuit, the Wildcats will need to bring their ‘A’ game to Moncton if they are to find the win column as they go head-to-head with Titan netminder and Detroit Red Wings draftee Jan Bednar. Now in his second season with Acadie-Bathurst, the Czech-born goaltender continues to impress where this year he leads his QMJHL brethren with 23 victories on the season while also ranking amongst the league’s best in the save percentage (.912) and goals-against average (2.69) columns. Facing the Wildcats on Friday, Bednar turned aside 25 of 26 shots to mark his seventh victory in his past eight outings. Stellar between the pipes, beyond Bednar the Titan also bring a star understudy in 2002-born goaltender Chad Arsenault who through 18 appearances this season has come away with an 11-6-0-1 showing – including a pair of victories versus Moncton – alongside a .910 save percentage and 2.76 goals-against average.
#ArretDeLaSoiree @chezmaxi
Jan Bednar du @ABTitan repère la rondelle avant d’effectuer tout un arrêt! 👏🏻 pic.twitter.com/nnIcNl2DyR
— LHJMQ (@LHJMQ) April 7, 2021