Inside the CHL
With Canada’s gold medal performance officially in the books, Canadian Hockey League fans have turned their attention back to a bunch of dramatic playoff races that are coming to a head in the next two weeks.
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For the Gatineau Olympiques, that push will come with a new face behind the bench.
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Former Olympiques’ first round pick John Chabot was named to replace Jerome Dupont, who resigned as the Olympiques’ coach on Saturday.
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Chabot guided the Olympiques to a 2-1 win over the Val-d’Or Foreurs in his debut behind the bench on Tuesday. It was just their second win in the past 10 games but Chabot said that he is anxious to get the Olympiques back into a winning mode.
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“I’ve seen Gatineau play a period and a half this year, so I’m going from what I hear, and that is that we stand a chance in the first round,” Chabot told the Ottawa Citizen after his hiring was announced on Monday. “I don’t know how things were under Jerome, but, depending on, what the players want to do I think we can do some damage.”
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The 47-year-old Chabot was the QMJHL player of the year for the 1981-82 season and went on to play more than 500 games in the NHL with the Montreal Canadiens, Pittsburgh Penguins and Detroit Red Wings.
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Chabot was an assistant coach with the Olympiques and the head coach of the Acadie-Bathurst Titan before joining the New York Islanders as an assistant coach under Ted Nolan in 2007.
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With Tuesday’s win, Gatineau improved to 27-30-1-4 and they are in third place in the Telus Western Division with 59 points in 62 games. They are currently in position to face the Montreal Junior in the first round of the playoffs.
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“It should be fun. I always enjoy a good challenge,” Chabot said. “I believe in what I’m doing as a coach. I believe the way I coach is a successful way to coach and I think they haven’t changed in the short period of time I haven’t been coaching junior.”
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Playoff races in both conferences in the Ontario Hockey League are coming right down to the wire.
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The Guelph Storm hold a one point margin over the Owen Sound Attack for the final playoff spot in the Western Conference with six games to go while the Niagara IceDogs have a two point lead on the Oshawa Generals for the final post-season berth in the Eastern Conference. The Generals had the inside track on the spot in January but are mired in a slide that has included just one win in the past 14 games.
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“Now it’s just a matter of our will and our ability to just hunker down,” Generals’ coach Chris DePiero told DurhamRegion.com. “I think our guys are pretty much committed to doing that. We’ve got some good leadership there that’s able to convey that message internally.”
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In the Western Hockey League, all eight playoff spots in the Western Conference have been claimed while the Moose Jaw Warriors and Swift Current Broncos are on the verge of clinching the final two spots in the Eastern Conference.
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One of the best races is for the final home ice spot in the Western Conference. The Spokane Chiefs currently hold the position by a one point margin over the Portland Winterhawks.