It’s a quick turnaround for the Newfoundland Regiment. The team only found out that they would be travelling to Blainville, Quebec, on Tuesday, and are now gearing up to face off against the Armada on Thursday and Friday for round two of the Gilles-Courteau Playoffs.
The Regiment enter this series as underdogs, as the Armada feature six players that are drafted to an NHL team. The team includes defender Xavier Villeneuve, who is expected to go top-15 in the NHL draft this year, the highest out of any player in the QMJHL.
How both teams shape up ahead of the series
It’s hard to critique Newfoundland’s offence heading into this series, as they were only shut down once by the Eagles in the first round, en route to a 4-2 series victory over Cape Breton.
A big key to Newfoundland’s offense in the first round was Louis-François Bélanger, who earned a point in all six games of the series.
Other key contributors were captain Justin Larose, who scored four goals, Dawson Sharkey, who missed two games but still contributed in the games he played in, including the series clinching game with four total points in said game, and Marek Danicek, who also earned seven points throughout the first round.
Meanwhile, the Blainville-Boisbriand Armada entered the playoffs as the fourth ranked team in the QMJHL standings, which resulted in getting an easier opponent in the first round, the Victoriaville Tigres, whom they would sweep.
Bill Zonnon was instrumental in the Armada’s success, putting up nine total points in only four games. The first round draft pick of the Pittsburgh Penguins ranks second in QMJHL playoff scoring, and will be an absolute handful for the Regiment to deal with.
St. Louis Blues prospect Justin Carbonneau, also a first round draft pick, scored four goals in the series, and led the QMJHL in scoring during the regular season, with 51 goals in 60 games. Xavier Villeneuve had six points in the first round.
Both teams enter the series with hot goaltending, as Newfoundland’s Louis-Antoine Denault and Blainville-Boisbriand’s William Lacelle played huge roles for their team.
What to expect in this series
Both teams only played twice this season, which was all the way back in October. The Armada blew out Newfoundland in both games, however, it is a small sample size, and also happened six months ago. A lot has changed since then.
Newfoundland has made a ton of improvements, while the Armada were not as dominant as they were expected to be.
Dominant or not though, no one can take away the skill and the depth of the Armada. The team can attack in a lot of different ways.
It’ll be key for Newfoundland to play smart hockey in this series. Avoid taking bad penalties, and make sure your foot is on the gas at all times. The team can’t give the Armada any free chances.
The Regiment are absolutely capable of making this a close series. There wasn’t a whole lot that separated these teams in the standings this season, with the Armada finishing with only six more points and two more wins than Newfoundland.
Series schedule
Games one and two of the series begin Thursday and Friday in Blainville.
The series will then shift to St. John’s for games three, four and five on Monday, Tuesday, and Friday night, if necessary.
Should this series need a game six or seven, it will shift back to Blainville next Sunday and Tuesday.
