After 2 seasons of being second place in the Atlantic division, the New Glasgow Highlanders finally hit the top of the division after making a solid 2nd half of the season, including staying unbeaten in the last 10 games of the season 8-0-2. “It was our goal to take 1st place in our division. Now our new goal is to win the Bronz Cup.” Highlanders head coach Doug Reid said at the league press conference in Moncton.
The Moncton Bears made some improvements, just enough to finish 2nd place, thanks to goalie Seth Taylor winning 20 out of 35 games didn’t get any shutouts, but many can see him making more wins down the road and could give this team a chance to go deep into the playoffs.
After playing in Membertou, the Warriors are back at the newly upgraded Warrior Arena. Fans got to finally see the rising of the 1979 Bronz Cup banner to start the season, they did alright, but the last 10 games were ugly for them, with a 2-6-2 to even losing the head-to-head season series to the Moncton Bears. “We need to get our “A” game going if not, we will be out in the first round in a heartbeat,” said Warriors head coach Lenny Copeland.
The Portland Clippers have once again finished 4th in the division, led by overage Frank Logan, who has been a great leader in the locker room. There will likely be some young players who can step up to the plate next season. For now, they are focusing on the playoffs and hoping to go all the way.
Rounding off the Atlantic division is the Manchester Americans finished 5th after being last place in their first two seasons, while the Fredericton Vikings may get a win more than the Americans, but the Vikings got three losses more to finish last place.
The Verdun Knights took both the Quebec Division and the league despite its 7 points less than last season, but they kept themselves ahead of everyone, including keeping the Highlanders from hitting the 80 points mark on the last game of the season, winning it in a dominating fashion 4-1.
For the third season in a row, the Sherbrooke Loups finished 2nd in the Quebec division. Josh Winter led the team with s 33 goals, and 89 points played a factor in their success. The biggest impact made for the Loups was rookie goalie Lenny Tardif winning 25 out of 40 games with a rookie league record of 18 shutouts. “What a great first year for us at our new Arena, with many broken records. What better way to cap it all is winning both the Bronz Cup and the Valor Cup.” Allen Poulette Jr said after the team’s last game of the season.
After their first three years, the Shawinigan Voltages are heading to the playoffs after winning 25 games along with 4 ties to make the total of 54 points to make it happen. Team captain Vincent Leroux was on a roll for the Vols until he got called up by the Saskatchewan Pro hockey club midway into the season. After that news, the team put the “C” on Christian Gaudreau. He adapted to the role well in his second season, as his playmaker style boosted the team. They need to finish 3rd place and enter the playoffs 7th seed overall.
After missing the playoffs for 2 straight years, the Drummondville Les Rouges' 32 points were just enough to make it to the playoffs with most of the roster very young players, but they are hungry for wins, but many believe that if they enter the playoffs without the same fire that they got themselves in they will be out of the playoffs very early.
The Laval Tigers ended their season poorly, as they will miss the playoffs for the 2nd year in a row by finishing 5th. The once mighty Titans were on the top of the league but had just hit rock bottom. To make matters worse for the team, they lost their GM Leon Rheaume as he accepted a GM deal with the Quebec City Pro Hockey Club, “it’s a sad day for us, but I wish him the best as we will find ourselves a new GM that can build this team back to the top once again” Titans co-owner Lance Chouinard said.
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