U SPORTS: an Eastern Final with a QMJHL flavor
The second game of the OUA East Final takes place tonight, at 7 pm ET, between the McGill University Redbirds and the Université du Québec à Trois-Rivières Patriotes.
The Patriotes won the first matchup of this best-of-three series by a score of 4-2 on Wednesday, in Montreal.
Five of the game’s six goals were scored by QMJHL alumni, while two more of our league’s former players, Alexis Shank (McGill) and Alexis Gravel (UQTR), were the starting goaltenders.
A quick glance at the 38 players who hit to the ice at McConnell Arena on Wednesday reveals that no less than 31 of them (81.6%) played in our league, including the 19 players from UQTR!
Our 31 alumni include an impressive total of ten Gilles-Courteau Trophy winners: Samuel L’Italien (Titan) / Pier-Olivier Roy (Remparts) / William Rouleau (Huskies) / Conor Frenette, Zachary Gravel and Fabio Iacobo (Tigres) / Charles Beaudoin, Charles-Antoine Lavallée, Lori Rafanomezantsoa and William Veillette (Cataractes).
Among those champions, L’Italien and Roy also won the Memorial Cup.
For both the Redbirds and Patriotes, most of the players (now aged between 20 and 25) are currently studying in business administration, in physical education and health teaching, or in kinesiology.
The Redbirds will be looking for a win tonight to force a deciding Game 3 on Sunday evening at Colisée Jean-Guy-Talbot, in Trois-Rivières.
Note that regardless of the outcome of the Eastern Final, both teams are guaranteed a spot in the 2024 U SPORTS University Cup, to be held March 12-17, in Toronto.
The entire QMJHL family wishes the best of luck to its former student-athletes!
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Former QMJHL players:
McGill Redbirds (12 of 19 players)
Thomas Belzile, Maxime Blanchard, Taylor Ford, Xavier Fortin, Brandon Frattaroli, Alexandre Gagnon, Mathieu Gagnon, Stéphane Huard, Nicolas Pavan, William Poirier, William Rouleau and Alexis Shank
UQTR Patriotes (19 of 19 players)
Charles Beaudoin, Édouard Cournoyer, William Dumoulin, Conor Frenette, Kaylen Gauthier, Mavrick Gauthier, Alexis Gravel, Zachary Gravel, Samuel L’Italien, Félix Lafrance, Simon Lafrance, Félix Lauzon, Jordan Lepage, Vincent Milot-Ouellet, Anthony Munroe-Boucher, David Noël, Lois Rafanomezantsoa, Pier-Olivier Roy and Ludovic Soucy