1979 AQHL Playoffs

1st Round

1st Verdun Knights vs. 8th Moncton Bears

Game one at the Verdun Arena is jam-packed as the Knights forward Josh Lucas scored three goals for a 5-2 win over the Bears. The Bears played poorly as they lost game two 7-1 to Verdun as three Knights players scored 2 goals. In-game three at Moncton, the Bears played better, but it wasn’t enough as the third period started it all Knights; for forward Max Victor, it was a career day for him after a slow season this year, with 3 goals and 4 assists as he led the Knights to an 8-2 win. The Bears had a hard time scoring as Knights goalie Nick Leflamme was a brick wall, taking 62 shots all game, not one puck passed by him. The Knights completed the sweep with a 4-0 shut win and 4 games to 0 series win to end the Moncton Bears season.

2nd Cape Breton Warriors vs. 7th Fredericton Vikings

The Fredericton Vikings shocked the crowd at the sold-out Warriors Arena with a 3-1 win in game one and a 3-2 win in game two. At the John Haskell Arena in Fredericton, the Vikings had a 3-0 lead going into the third period when Warriors rookie forward Luke Davis made 1 goal and 2 assists to tie the game and head into overtime. Over 9 minutes in the overtime, Luke Davis passed the puck to defence Shane Abrams, made the shot and scored as the Warriors got themselves back in the series with a 4-3 game three-overtime win. Thanks to the big overtime win in game three, the Warriors would continue their way and beat the Vikings three straight games, 4-2 in game four, 3-1 game five wins, and 2-0 in-game six series 4 games to 2.

3rd Sherbrooke Loups vs. 6th Laval Tigers

The Patinoire de Sherbrooke was full as fans witnessed one of the best games the Loups fans have ever seen as both Christian Dupont and rookie Josh Winters both scored three goals to give the Loups a big blowout win over the Tigers 8-2. Since the blowout loss, the Tigers had a hard time turning it around as they could not even score more than one goal as they lost both game two and game three with scores of 5-1 and 6-1. At Laval, the Tigers did more than score more than one goal, they also won game four with a score of 3-1, and lastly, they avoided being swept as they kept their season alive. Tigers head coach Chris Oliver was please with his team’s performance, “We may win game four, for us we have a long way to go, but to them (Loups) we are on borrow time.” The Tigers hope to play well like they did in game four, but the Loups had other ideas as they take game five 4-2 over the Laval Tigers and take the series 4 games 1.

4th New Glasgow Highlanders vs. 5th Trois-Rivieres Titans

The Highlanders shocked the Titans by winning game one 3-1 and 4-2 in game two. The Titans bounce back from a back-to-back loss at New Glasgow by winning games three and four but not the way they had in mind as both ended in overtimes with 3-2 and 4-3. Led by Jaune Fredette, who scored 2 goals and 4 assists as the Titans win game five 7-5 and could have a chance in ending the series in game six. The Titans' hopes of going to the next round got delayed as the Highlanders blank them in a big way with 7-0. Throughout both the first period and the second period, it was back and forth with a 4-4 tie score going into the third period. 5:07 left the Highlanders had the lead by one goal, but the Titans found a way to score two unanswered goals and hold on until the clock hit zero as they beat the New Glasgow Highlanders 7-5 and won the series 4 games to 3.

2nd Round

 1st Verdun Knights vs. 5th Trois-Rivieres Titans

The Verdun Knights show their fans why they are at the top of the league by routing the Titans in the first two games of the series with 6-1 and 5-2. The Titans turn it around at Trois-Rivieres as they tie the game 3-3 going into overtime. Ten minutes left overtime Titans Jaune Fredette scored the O/T winner 4-3 as they got themselves back in the series. The Knights took game four on cruise control with a 5-1 victory and one win away from advancing to the Bronz Cup championship. The Titans fought tooth and claw in games five and six. Both ended in overtime 3-2 and 2-1. The first two periods show that the Knights had the Titans on the ropes. Still, in the third period, the Titans played rough to even dirty as Titans' defence held both Josh Lucas and Max Victor to the point where they argued with the referees for not calling penalties and got ejected; after that, the Titans went on to win the game seven with the score of 3-2 and moving on to the Bronz Cup finals with a series victory four games to three.

2nd Cape Breton Warriors vs. 3rd Sherbrooke Loups

Fans at the Warrior Arena were on their feet as Cape Breton beat the Loups 4-2 thanks to Luke Davis, who made 2 goals, and 2 assists in game one. The Sherbrooke Loups bounce back in game two with a 5-3 win followed by game three at the Patinoire de Sherbrooke 4-2 over the Warriors. After losing two straight games, the Warriors fought back as Luke Davis 5 goals and 7 assists within two games as Cape Breton takes the series lead with a 6-2 and 7-4. Back at Sherbrooke, the Loups had the lead 3-1 halfway into the second period until Shane Abrams surprised everyone, including his teammates, as he scored three unanswered goals. Late in the third, Shane and the rest of the defence lines held the Loups offence as the clock hit zero, and the game six is over with the score of 4-3. With that win, the Cape Breton Warriors are going to the Bronz Cup finals with a 4-to-2 series win over the Sherbrooke Loups.

1979 Bronz Cup Finals

2nd Cape Breton Warriors vs. 5th Trois-Rivieres Titans

For the third straight year, the Titans are in the finals hoping for a third title in a row; however, the Warriors had other ideas as they made their Bronz Cup appearance for the second time since 1975 as Luke Davis 4 points (1G, 3A) performance leads to a 5-2 Warriors win over the Titans. The Titans played a rough game all over the Warriors' offence as Jaune Fredette scored two goals to win 2-0. The Titans' rough, challenging style game plan works, but both ended by one goal as the Warriors win game three 3-2 and game four 2-1. The Warriors were too much for the Titans as they scored six goals in the first two periods, as the third started the crowd was singing “we are the champions” as the Warriors added three more goals as the third period comes to an end with the score of 9-2 and the series 4 games to 1. The Warriors celebrate with the fans inside the Warrior Arena with the Bronz Cup. Their next quest is the Valor Cup tournament in Ottawa, Ontario.