Voltigeurs claim second QMJHL title
For the first time in 15 years, the Drummondville Voltigeurs are QMJHL champions.
The Volts completed a four-game sweep of the Baie-Comeau Drakkar Tuesday night to claim the Gilles-Courteau Trophy for the second time in franchise history.
Sam Oliver had a pair of goals in Game 4 as the Voltigeurs secured a 4-3 victory. Ethan Gauthier (TB) and Matteo Rotondi also found the back of the net while Riley Mercer made 23 saves.
Vsevolod Komarov, who won the Emile Bouchard Trophy as defenceman of the year, claimed the Guy Lafleur Trophy as QMJHL Playoffs MVP after he recorded 15 points (five goals) in 19 games. Ethan Gauthier (TB) led the club with 14 goals and 25 points while captain Luke Woodworth had one point less. Mikael Huchette reached 20 points while Alexis Gendron (PHI) scored 11 postseason goals. Between the pipes, Riley Mercer was fantastic as he went 16-2-1 with a .934 save percentage, 1.89 GAA and two shutouts.
As QMJHL champions, Drummondville will join hosts Saginaw as well as the OHL and WHL champion at the 2024 Memorial Cup presented by Dow that will take place May 24 – June 2.
.@VoltigeursDRU captain Luke Woodworth hoists the Gilles-Courteau Trophy❗️🏆 pic.twitter.com/XXuUEjJnR8
— Canadian Hockey League (@CHLHockey) May 15, 2024
Drummondville finished the regular season with 48 wins and 102 points to win the Q’s Western Conference. Both the club’s win and point total were the fourth most in franchise history and trailed only the Drakkar in 2023-24.
The Volts swept Saint John in the first round of the QMJHL Playoffs before they took out Sherbrooke in six games in Round 2. In the third round, Drummondville beat Victoriaville in five contests.
In the Gilles-Courteau Trophy final, the Volts took Game 1 5-0 as Mercer made 43 saves while Alexis Gendron (PHI) had a hat-trick. Mercer would again blank the Drakkar with a 33-save performance in Game 2 as Gauthier scored the overtime winner at 5:23.
In Game 3, Gauthier had three points (2G, 1A) in a 6-2 victory while Mercer’s shutout streak was finally snapped at 174:33, the sixth longest in QMJHL playoff history.
A 15-year wait ends! @VoltigeursDRU are @QMJHL champions again! 🏆#RoadtoMemorialCup pic.twitter.com/7plM9gMpzy
— Canadian Hockey League (@CHLHockey) May 15, 2024
Under newly appointed head coach Sylvain Favreau, Drummondville entered the regular season with a nucleus of offseason acquisition Gauthier alongside the club’s existing core that included Justin Cote, Mikael Diotte (NJ), Maveric Lamoureux (UTA), Peter Repcik and Luke Woodworth in addition to Mercer. In December, the club swung a big trade as they landed 2023 Memorial Cup and QMJHL champions Mikael Huchette and Vsevolod Komarov (BUF) from Quebec while at the QMJHL trade deadline, they acquired the rights to former 50-goalscorer Gendron who subsequently joined the club from the AHL’s Lehigh Valley Phantoms as well as another Rempart in Kassim Gaudet.
Drummondville will open the 2024 Memorial Cup presented by Dow on May 25 when they face the OHL champion while a day later they will battle hosts Saginaw. The Volts will close out the round-robin on May 28 against the WHL champion.
This year will be the club’s fourth appearance at a Memorial Cup after they took part in 1988, 1991 and 2009. In 1991, they fell 5-1 in the final to Spokane.
Every game of this year’s 2024 Memorial Cup will air on TSN and RDS in Canada and be available via live stream on TSN.ca, the TSN app, RDS.ca, and the RDS app. In addition to full coverage in Canada on TSN and RDS, the 2024 Memorial Cup will be available in the United States on NHL Network, and for subscribers of CHL TV outside of North America.
2024 Memorial Cup presented by Dow schedule:
May 24 – Game 1: WHL vs. Saginaw — 7:30pm ET
May 25 – Game 2: OHL vs. Drummondville — 4pm ET
May 26 – Game 3: Saginaw vs. Drummondville — 7:30pm ET
May 27 – Game 4: OHL vs. WHL — 7:30pm ET
May 28 – Game 5: Drummondville vs. WHL — 7:30pm ET
May 29 – Game 6: Saginaw vs. OHL — 7:30pm ET
May 30 – Tie-breaker (if necessary) — 7:30pm ET
June 1 – Semi-final — 7:30pm ET
June 2 – Final — 7:30pm ET
