QMJHL Playoffs: Round 3

Round 3 kicks off tonight and gets fully underway this weekend as the QMJHL is down to it’s Final Four. The two matchups feature the number one and two teams from the regular season and have the potential to set up a Memorial Cup preview. However, we’re deep in the playoffs, so anything can happen.

The Road Warriors: Matchup number one features the teams with the greatest disparity of power and should be the most definitive. This series also comes with a brutal travel schedule, which one team has already grown accustomed to. Moncton has yet to really be challenged through two rounds and Rouyn-Noranda doesn’t seem to be the team to do it. Where the Wildcats ran away with the regular season, the Huskies managed to win a less than impressive division. Furthering the potential disparity, the Huskies had the luxury of a second round against a Cinderella Halifax squad whose magic ran out. Still, the Huskies appeared to use Halifax as a tune up, showing complete game capability at both ends of the ice. Finally, the 1,600 km/1,000m journey will be fun for neither team, especially if the series gets into the later games when the format switches arenas nightly.  If there’s an advantage for Rouyn-Noranda, they’re road tested following the series with Halifax.  

Too Close to Call: Matchup number two features a dominate division winner and squad who got hot at the right time down the stretch. Rimouski came into the season ready for a Memorial Cup run and solidified its chances at the trade deadline. The result had them far ahead of the pack at the end of the season and would have been enough for the regular season title if not for the dominance of Moncton, who far outpaced even them. Despite the success, a young, scrappy Chicoutimi team showed that the Oceanic wasn’t invincible, securing back-to-back wins against them in Round Two. Now they face a Shawinigan team who just missed a division title and has cruised through two rounds. Other than a pair of high profile blown leads toward the end of the regular season, the Cataractes have been nothing short of hot and appear to be peaking at the right time. This matchup has the potential to be a nail biter.

Moncton and Rouyn-Noranda start the party tonight in Moncton, while Shawinigan and Rimouski join the festivities tomorrow night.