Inside the Numbers for Week #15

The rivalry between Rouyn-Noranda and Val-d’Or will be at its best during these next 24 hours, with two clashes of the unbeaten (at least for a very long time!) Huskies and Foreurs. We are also going to offer you some mid-season comparisons between QMJHL team records from this year and last.

UNBEATABLE: FOREURS/HUSKIES

• Game notes –please consult our current notes, available on our website http://lhjmq.qc.ca/gamecentre/games/4446?tab=1. There you can get a preview of the next two match ups between the Huskies (1^st in the league, 56 points) and the Foreurs (2^nd in the Western Division, 4^th overall, 51 points). The games will take place tonight in Rouyn-Noranda and tomorrow in Val-d’Or.
• Thursday – The Foreurs are attempting to equal another record. They have already won their last 8 home games and are going after the team record-tying 9^th win, a mark that dates form 2012-13. A big crowd is expected at the Air Creebec Centre this Thursday, which just might be the incentive needed to help them become only the 15^th team in QMJHL history to achieve 15 consecutive wins. As for the Huskies, the results of these games will have an effect on the standings the end of the season.

Longest single-season win streak at home for the Val-d’Or Foreurs
Rank	Season	From	To	Record
1	2012-13	13-01-04	13-02-22	9
2	2000-01	00-10-20	00-12-01	8
	2000-01	01-01-03	01-02-10	8
	2006-07	07-01-11	07-02-24	8
	2015-16	15-11-07	…	8

QMJHL record for the longest single-season win streak
Rank	Team	Season	From	To	Record
1	Sorel, Éperviers	1973-74	73-11-23	74-01-27	25
2	Hull, Olympiques	1995-96	95-11-22	96-01-26	24
3	Saint John, Sea Dogs	2009-10	09-10-17	09-12-12	22
4	Rimouski, Océanic	2004-05	05-01-15	05-03-03	19
5	Drummondville, Voltigeurs	2008-09	08-11-08	08-12-27	18
6	Rimouski, Océanic	2008-09	09-01-23	09-03-06	17
	Saint John, Sea Dogs	2011-12	12-01-14	12-03-03	17
8	Québec, Remparts	1972-73	72-10-01	72-11-10	16
	Drummondville, Voltigeurs	2009-10	10-02-06	10-03-14	16
	Rimouski, Océanic	2013-14	14-02-07	14-03-14	16
11	Québec, Remparts	1970-71	70-11-27	71-01-08	15
	Halifax, Mooseheads	1998-99	98-09-20	98-10-24	15
	Shawinigan, Cataractes	2008-09	08-10-11	08-11-21	15
	Saint John, Sea Dogs	2010-11	11-01-21	11-02-25	15
15	Val-d`Or, Foreurs	2015-16	15-11-01	…	14

 

Personal Streaks

• Francis Perron (Rouyn-Noranda) – It will be interesting to see what kind of special coverage the Foreurs give the Huskies captain and lead scorer (56 points). Now in 32^nd spot, all-time, Perron has taken part in the scoring in every one of his first 29 games this season and is nearing Mike Ribeiro’s Huskies’ record of 32 (1997-98).

QMJHL record for most consecutive games with at least one point since 1969
Rank	Player	Team	Season	From	To	Record
1	Mario Lemieux	Laval	1983-84	83-09-16	84-02-22	61
2	Luc Simard	Trois-Rivières	1969-70	69-10-14	70-02-19	52
3	Alexander Radulov	Québec	2005-06	05-10-26	06-03-15	50
4	Marc Fortier	Chicoutimi	1986-87	86-11-27	87-03-22	44
5	Michel Archambault	Drummondville	1969-70	69-11-09	70-02-19	43
	Pat LaFontaine	Verdun	1982-83	82-09-17	83-01-09	43
7	Guy Lafleur	Québec	1970-71	70-10-04	71-01-20	40
	Reginald Savage	Victoriaville	1988-89	88-09-25	89-02-05	40
9	Marc Saumier	Hull	1987-88	87-10-09	88-01-29	39
10	André Savard	Québec	1972-73	72-11-22	73-03-09	38
11	Sidney Crosby	Rimouski	2004-05	04-10-23	05-02-09	37
12	Réal Cloutier	Québec	1973-74	73-12-23	74-03-24	36
	Daniel Gauthier	Victoriaville	1988-89	88-10-11	89-02-03	36
14	Pierre Larouche	Sorel	1973-74	73-11-16	74-02-15	35
	Michel Déziel	Sorel	1973-74	73-11-16	74-02-15	35
	Jacques Cossette	Sorel	1973-74	73-11-16	74-02-15	35
	Mike Ribeiro	Rouyn-Noranda	1997-98	97-09-18	97-12-17	35
18	Guy Rouleau	Longueuil	1984-85	84-09-23	85-01-16	34
	Guy Rouleau	Hull	1985-86	85-12-17	86-03-21	34
20	Jacques Jr Locas	Québec	1973-74	73-12-30	74-03-24	33
	Patrice Tremblay	Chicoutimi	1986-87	86-11-30	87-02-27	33
	Nikolaj Ehlers	Halifax	2014-15	14-10-29	15-02-26	33
23	Stéphane Morin	Chicoutimi	1988-89	88-09-23	88-12-06	32
	Paul Willett	Longueuil	1988-89	88-10-09	89-01-27	32
25	Gary MacGregor	Cornwall	1973-74	73-11-22	74-02-15	31
	Jacques Sylvestre	Granby	1981-82	81-12-06	82-03-04	31
	Radim Vrbata	Shawinigan	2000-01	00-11-11	01-03-10	31
28	Kevin Treacy	Cornwall	1973-74	73-10-09	74-01-06	30
	Michel Mongeau	Laval	1984-85	84-11-26	85-02-12	30
	Patrice Lefebvre	Shawinigan	1987-88	87-09-18	87-11-27	30
	Steve Chartrand	Drummondville	1988-89	88-11-08	89-01-27	30
32	Francis Perron	Rouyn-Noranda	2015-16	15-09-24	15-12-12	29

• Jan Mandat & Shawn Ouellet-St-Amant (Val-d’Or) – Two Foreurs players who are on fire at the moment, each with a 15-game point streak. Mandat has been super productive, with 24 points during this stretch, while Ouellete-St-Amant has collected only 4 fewer.

A MID-SEASON COMPARISON

• Most improved – No surprise here, Rouyn-Noranda (22 more points than at this time last year) and Val-d’Or (12 better) are the two teams who can take the most reassurance in comparing this year to last.
• Honourable mention – Gatineau & Cape Breton. Their fans will cheer that these two teams have 12 and 10 more points respectively than last year. Shawinigan (+9) and Acadie-Bathurst (+6) are also have reason to be happy. See the chart below…

QMJHL Teams at Mid-Season – Comparisons of the number of points, 2015-16 vs. 2014-15
	2015-16			2014-15
Team	Rank	GP	PTS	Rank	GP	PTS	DIFF. PTS	DIFF. Rank
Rouyn-Noranda	1	33	56	12	33	34	22	11
Val-d’Or	2	34	51	14	34	33	18	12
Moncton	3	36	48	1	36	50	-2	-2
Shawinigan	4	33	45	9	33	36	9	5
Gatineau	5	33	44	15	33	32	12	10
Rimouski	6	33	42	2	33	48	-6	-4
Québec	7	34	41	5	34	42	-1	-2
Saint John	8	33	40	3	33	45	-5	-5
Cape Breton	9	35	39	17	35	29	10	8
Victoriaville	10	32	35	7	32	38	-3	-3
Drummondville	11	35	34	13	35	34	0	2
Chicoutimi	12	34	32	11	34	35	-3	-1
Sherbrooke	13	33	31	8	33	37	-6	-5
Blainville-Boisbriand	14	34	30	4	34	43	-13	-10
Halifax	15	33	29	10	33	35	-6	-5
Charlottetown	16	34	29	16	34	32	-3	0
Acadie-Bathurst	17	34	27	18	34	21	6	1
Baie-Comeau	18	31	12	6	31	38	-26	-12

 

December Favourites

• Matthew Welsh (Charlottetown) – The Islanders rookie goaltender proves himself solid whenever #1 goalie Mason McDonald out of play for whatever reason. In 3 games in December, he had a goals against of 2.03 and a save percentage of .941 This while being bombarded with 101 shots – an average of 34 per game, but also while failing to win any of those games. Unfortunately, his teammates had trouble finding the back of the net when he was in net, which helps explain his record of 4 wins in 11 starts in 2015-16. Welsh is currently with the Canadian Junior team in preparation for the 2016 World Junior Championship in Finland, which will take place from December 26^th to January 5^th.
• Antoine Morand (Acadie-Bathurst) – only 16-years-old, he has had a scoring outburst. Morand has already had eight 2-point games this season. He just racked-up 8 points in his last four December games. He is an asset for the Titan and a big draw for QMJHL fans.
• Dmitry Zhukenov (Chicoutimi) – The 18-year-old Russian is worth his weight in gold to the Saguenéens. An intense player of almost a point per game (28 in 30 matches), he also already has 28 penalty minutes. He was more physical than ever in last three games, meting out 8 hits all while earning 55.3% on the face off since the start of the month.
• Joseph Veleno (Saint John) – Considering that he is still only 15-year-old, it’s normal that it would take him some time to get used to the style of play in the QMJHL. Is his apprenticeship done? Certainly not, but he has collected 10 points in his last 11 games, two of which were 2-point nights, in December. With 21 points in 27 games, it’s a great start for the newcomer. He sits in 5^th spot among rookies, with a significant +10; 4^th best on his team!
• Pascal Corbeil (Blainville-Boisbriand) – After being voted best defenceman in Midget AAA in Quebec last year, he has already earned a spot for himself among the Blainville-Boisbriand defence corps. With 5 points in as many games in December, he hasn’t been neglecting the defensive side of his game, with 4 games + or at 0. In all, he has 13 points in 16 outings since September, with a +/- of +4. He will turn 18 this January 21^st.

THE HOLIDAY SEASON AROUND THE LEAGUE

• On pause – At end of Friday night, players can go home for a long and well-earned rest. Action will resume on December 28^th.
• 27 games – Fans can cheer on their favourites at some great games between Christmas and New Year’s. On New Year’s eve there will be 9 games on the card. Visit the QMJHL schedule to see a complete listing – It’s a great opportunity for a family outing. Get your tickets now!
• WJC 2016 – Don’t forget to follow the World Junior Hockey Championship, 2016. Several players from our league will be taking part in the action. For the moment, the list of Q players representing Canada includes goalies Mason McDonald (Charlottetown) and Julien Gauthier (Val-d’Or). Pierre-Luc Dubois (Cap-Breton) was cut from the roster a few days ago. Dominique Ducharme (Halifax) will also be taking part in the tournament as an assistant to Dave Lowry (Victoria, WHL). The action will kick off at a high level on Saturday, December 23^rd at 1 PM, when Canada takes on team USA.
• So on to next year – I want to take this opportunity to wish our fans a very happy holiday from me and all my colleagues at the QMJHL. Inside the Numbers will return on January 8^th. HO HO HO – Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!