John Chidley Hill.com A blog about reading, writing, pop culture and sports.

My weekend in junior hockey, Nov. 12-14 2010

All three organizations in the Canadian Hockey League have their own style of play, their own personality.

Everyone knows that the Western Hockey League is rough-and-tumble prairie hockey, the Ontario Hockey League is defensively oriented and the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League is all scorers, goalies and good, clean play.

The QMJHL is also marked by streaky play. Teams can easily reel off wins in the double digits.

Winning streaks can reach crazy heights in the Q - the 1973-74 Sorel Eperviers hold the record with 25 in a row, but last year’s Saint John Sea Dogs came close, taking 22 consecutive games.

Saint John wasn’t the only team to embark on an impressive winning span last season either as the Drummondville Voltigeurs won 16 straight.

In fact, of the ten longest win streaks in QMJHL history, six have happened in the last decade and five in the past three years.

Therefore, it’s a big deal when a top team’s streak comes to an end because it might just shape their season and seriously affect the QMJHL’s playoff picture.

So when the Sea Dogs twisted the knife on the stumbling Quebec Remparts with a 6-0 victory on Sunday afternoon, it’s notable.

Almost as a direct result of that stomping, Saint John switched places with Quebec in the CHL’s weekly power rankings and stole the Remparts’ momentum, possibly shifting the balance of power in the QMJHL.

Don’t believe me? Consider the comment Chicago Blackhawks’ prospect Chris DiDomenico left on Sunday’s QMJHL round up on TSN.ca.

“A championship calibre team wins those 3 games in 3 nights. Our last road trip we had 4 games in 5 nights, the toughest schedule given to any team in the CHL this year. We went 4 wins 0 losses in that stretch and dominated the 4th game. Quebec has a good offensive team and a great goalie but defence wins championships. Saint John is solid at all ends of the ice including a surprising great goaltending from Piche and once Deserres gets back to his regular Memorial Cup form than expect a longer BMO #1 status than last year.”

DiDomenico knows what he’s talking about. He was drafted by Saint John in 2006 and was traded to Drummondville in 2008. In other words, he was a key player  when the Voltigeurs ran wild for 16 games last season.

So now the big question is – will the Sea Dogs start racking up the wins after their big statement game against their nearest competition?

Friday Nov. 12th 2010
QMJHL: REMPARTS STOP SLIDE WITH WIN OVER TITAN
The Quebec Remparts are starting to turn things around after a disappointing week.

Jonathan Audy-Marchessault had two power-play goals as Quebec stopped a three-game slide with a 5-2 win over the Acadie-Bathurst Titan in Quebec Major Junior Hockey League play Friday night.

OHL: TOFFOLI'S HAT TRICK LIFTS OTTAWA TO WIN OVER STING
Tyler Toffoli provided just enough scoring for the Ottawa 67's on Friday night.

Toffoli scored all three goals as Ottawa posted a 3-2 win over the Sarnia Sting in Ontario Hockey League play.

WHL: SASKATOON DOWNS PORTLAND IN MATCHUP OF WHL'S TOP TEAMS
The Saskatoon Blades engineered a small upset in one of the most anticipated matches of the young Western Hockey League season.

Marek Viedensky had a goal and three assists as Saskatoon rallied past the Portland Winterhawks 4-3 Friday night.

Saturday Nov. 13th 2010
QMJHL: NADEAU AND THE VOLTIGEURS BLAST THE WILDCATS
Guillaume Nadeau made 17 saves as the Drummondville Voltigeurs shut out the Moncton Wildcats 4-0 in Quebec Major Junior Hockey League action Saturday night.

It was Nadeau's third clean sheet of his rookie season in the QMJHL.

OHL: KITCHENER RANGERS EARN RARE WIN IN PLYMOUTH
The Kitchener Rangers haven't had a lot of luck in southeastern Michigan.

Kitchener won for the first time in Plymouth since the 2007-08 season Saturday with a 3-2 victory over the Whalers in Ontario Hockey League action.

WHL: STONE SHINES DESPITE EJECTION IN WARRIORS VICTORY
Brandon Stone made an early exit, but he still got to take the final bow.

Moose Jaw's rookie goalie was tossed from the game with eight seconds left to play after stopping 32 shots as the Warriors shut out the Lethbridge Hurricanes 3-0 in Western Hockey League action Saturday night.

Sunday Nov. 14th 2010
QMJHL: SEA DOGS SERVE NOTICE TO REMPARTS WITH 6-0 WIN
The Saint John Sea Dogs made a strong statement Sunday afternoon.

Jacob DeSerres made 22 saves to earn the shutout as the Sea Dogs rocked the Quebec Remparts 6-0 in Quebec Major Junior Hockey League action.

OHL: LEBAR SCORES THREE IN FRONTENACS RALLY OVER SARNIA
The Kingston Frontenacs would not give up Sunday night.

Ryan Spooner scored in overtime as Kingston rallied to a 6-5 win over the Sarnia Sting in Ontario Hockey League action.