QMJHL wraps up series with 6-4 win
Thursday November 19, 2015
By Josh Sweetland/CHL
Tampa Bay Lightning prospect Mathieu Joseph (Saint John Sea Dogs) scored twice while recently signed Boston Bruins draftee Jeremy Lauzon (Rouyn-Noranda Huskies) had a goal and two helpers as Team QMJHL closed out the 2015 CHL Canada Russia on a high note, defeating Russia 6-4 in Halifax on Thursday.
The QMJHL victory wasn’t without it’s tense moments. After climbing out to a 4-0 lead, Russia answered with three straight to draw within one before Team QMJHL widened the gap for good.
“We were going hard in the first, but we slowed the pace down a little bit in the second,” said Lauzon. “What’s most important is that we were harder in the third and we got the win. I thought we executed better tonight than we did in Rouyn-Noranda and that made a big difference.”
With the win, the Canadian Hockey League takes a 15-3 series victory in points, marking the seventh straight year that the CHL and Russia have alternated as winners.
- GAME 6 PHOTOS
- WATCH: Game 6 Highlights
- WATCH: Game 6 Recap
- WATCH: Lauzon and Bishop post-game
- WATCH: Mathieu Joseph post-game
- WATCH: Coach Dominique Ducharme post-game
An offensively charged first period saw Team QMJHL take out a 4-0 lead before Russia struck to stay within reach.
Lauzon got the QMJHL on the board after Chicoutimi Sagueneens centreman Nicolas Roy won an offensive zone faceoff cleanly. Thomas Chabot (Saint John Sea Dogs) put the puck on a tee for Lauzon who stepped into a one-timer past Russian goaltender Alexander Trushkov at 3:44.
Team QMJHL extended the lead to 2-0 as Philadelphia Flyers second round pick Nicolas Aube-Kubel (Val-d’Or Foreurs) scored on a quick release. A cross-zone powerplay pass from Francis Perron (Rouyn-Noranda Huskies) got Trushkov moving laterally as the big Russian goaltender wasn’t able to get across in time to stop Kubel at 7:53.
Local favourite Maxime Fortier (Halifax Mooseheads) brought the Halifax crowd to its feet at 15:07, taking the puck to the slot before dishing off to Joseph who ended Trushkov’s night early with a short side shot that snuck over his shoulder.
Trushkov gave way to Maxim Tretiak after surrendering three goals on nine shots.
Tretiak wouldn’t fare much better as Anthony Beauvillier (Shawinigan Cataractes) crossed the blueline a shift later at 16:58, snapping a wrister over his glove to put Team QMJHL ahead 4-0.
The line of Yakov Trenin (Gatineau Olympiques), Maxim Lazarev (Cape Breton Screaming Eagles) and Evgeny Svechnikov (Cape Breton Screaming Eagles) gave the Russians something positive to feed off of headed into the intermission as Trenin dropped for Lazarev off the rush who found a waiting Svechnikov in the slot for a deflection past Mason McDonald (Charlottetown Islanders) at 18:15.
Down three to start the second, the Russians came out firing early as Svechnikov struck again before the ice could dry. The Detroit Red Wings first round puck got his stick on an Artem Volkov point wrister, deflecting it past McDonald at 1:57 to cut the QMJHL lead down to two.
Artur Lauta’s third goal of the series pulled Russia to within one at 10:23, as he swiped a puck through the legs of McDonald off an offensive zone draw. Andrey Svetlakov managed to tie up his man in the faceoff dot as the puck sat loose for Lauta who jumped in and took a quick shot that froze McDonald.
The QMJHL upped the intensity in the latter half of the second, going on to outshoot Russia 14-7 for a two period outcome of 27-18 in their favour.
With just a one goal cushion to start the third, Team QMJHL came out with a spark as defenceman Nicolas Meloche (Baie-Comeau Drakkar) provided some insurance at 4:30. The Colorado Avalanche draftee took a pass below the goal line from Beauvillier, accelerating behind the net to beat Tretiak across the goal line on a wraparound to increase the QMJHL lead to 5-3.
McDonald faced his heaviest workload in the third frame as the Russians were in desperation mode, outshooting Team QMJHL 13-7. His biggest save of the third came on a Daniil Vovchenko breakaway as the Calgary Flames prospect stood his ground to make the save.
Joseph’s second of the night came at 16:04 to give team QMJHL a 6-3 lead. The 18 year-old collected a deflected puck in the goalmouth, beating Tretiak inside the post before he could react as the 7,034 on hand in Halifax rose to their feet.
Kirill Pilipenko’s second of the series at 18:50 proved to be too little, too late as Team QMJHL hung on for a 6-4 victory, striking back at Russia following Monday’s 3-2 loss in Rouyn-Noranda.
“We wanted the third period to be our best of the six we played,” said QMJHL coach Dominique Ducharme following the win. “I really liked the way we responded. It was a good way for us to come back from a loss tonight and show what we can do.”
QMJHL talent received player of the game recognition on both benches, with Joseph’s two goals earning him the honours for Team QMJHL while Cape Breton’s Svechnikov also found the back of the net twice to take the award for Russia. Fellow Screaming Eagles forward Maxim Lazarev was also a bright spot for Russia, registering three assists in the loss.
Team QMJHL took the shooting column 34-31 in the victory, improving to an overall record of 14-9-3 in the history of the CHL Canada Russia Series.
With the 13th CHL Canada Russia Series in the books, the Canadian Hockey League holds an all-time record of 54-18-6 and has won a total of 10 series titles.
2015 CHL Canada Russia Series
Game 1 – Monday, November 9 at Kelowna, BC – WHL wins 7-3
WHL Player of the Game – Collin Shirley (1G, 3A)
Russia Player of the Game – Artur Lauta (1G)
Game Summary
Game 2 –Tuesday, November 10 at Kamloops, BC – WHL wins 4-2
WHL Player of the Game – Jayce Hawryluk (1G, 1A)
Russia Player of the Game – Maxim Tretiak (35 SV)
Game Summary
Game 3 – Thursday,November 12 at Owen Sound, ON – OHL wins 3-0
OHL Player of the Game – Mackenzie Blackwood (25 SV)
Russia Player of the Game – Kirill Pilipenko
Game Summary
Game 4 –Monday, November 16 at Windsor, ON – OHL wins 2-1
OHL Player of the Game – Mitch Marner (1A)
Russia Player of the Game – Alexander Trushkov (36 SV)
Game Summary
Game 5 – Tuesday, November 17 at Rouyn-Noranda, QC – Russia wins 3-2
QMJHL Player of the Game – Nicolas Roy (1G)
Russia Player of the Game – Daniil Vovchenko
Game Summary
Game 6 – Thursday, November 19 at Halifax, NS – QMJHL wins 6-4
QMJHL Player of the Game – Mathieu Joseph (2G)
Russia Player of the Game – Evgeny Svechnikov (2G)
Game Summary
Click here for CHL Canada Russia Series Photo Galleries
Click here for CHL Canada Russia Series Videos
For news, roster information and ticket details, please visit canadarussia.chl.ca.