A Plea for Sweater Vests, and Some Other Stuff

There was a distinct lack of this in 2011-12:

Borrowed from @EP31's blog. And no doubt, Journal L'Express.

And it showed.

Regardless of shared theories pertaining to sweater vests, Mario Duhamel will remain a Voltigeur for the next three years. He signed an extension recently, along with Louis Robitaille. In fact, the whole coaching staff is here to stay.

Onto serious business now. Arguments in favour of Duhamel bringing back the sweater vest:

1) President's Cup hangover didn't happen. Sure, Couturier and Palat helped out a little, but it was really the sweater vest. Wins would happen more frequently if he wore it. Check your VOX footage.

2) It gives off the homey grandpa feel without aging the rest of him. In fact, he's just about the youngest-looking coach I've ever seen, which means a lot given the season he's just endured.

3) Original!Coach, Guy Boucher, can have a freakout episode like the best of them. Shades of Richard Martel, sometimes. He can even match ties with suits to a varying degree of success, like Duhamel. But he didn't have the sweater vest. The wave of reminders and/or comparisons to Boucher came to a screeching halt in that department. Which is good, because everyone that comes after him usually wishes there was some sort of buffer zone beforehand. That buffer zone is secretly shaped like a sweater vest...

Around the league: Saint John sneezed yesterday and Etienne Brodeur erased their win-streak. They were bound to mess up at some point, right? But let's not let it happen again because I want a full ten points in my pool.

Also, J-P Mathieu is beasting it up in Rimouski, in case you haven't seen. Someone (non-repulsive) better snatch him up this offseason.

Alum-watch: Most guys are on vacation, and Scott Howes' AHL team was eliminated this week, but his season's not over. He reports to Alaska, who won their opening-round series against Stockton, before they take on the Las Vegas Wranglers. He's last year's ECHL Playoffs' MVP...

(The only sad part about that is that Eric Lampe is going to be on the other side now, which will cease my I love Lamp(e) jokes for the time being.)

You saw what Sean Couturier did in the NHL playoffs recently, no doubt. Wait. No?



Mike Hoffman is also up with the Senators, but hasn't seen any action yet. 

And so it ends.

It's been so long since Game 4's untimely, tragic end that I've forgotten what I came here to say. My first thought is "well, thank goodness that's over."

Perhaps that's harsh. But no less true. The greatest blessing my first-ever favourite team, the Montreal Canadiens, gave me that day was firing Pierre Gauthier. Not because of the obvious. The overtime loss and therefore four-game sweep of the Drummondville Voltigeurs was not Reason Numero Uno anyone made their way to the Quebec Remparts' post-game press conference. That, of course, was Patrick Roy. Hurrah for overblown speculation sweeping very real embarrassment under the rug!

It's also true because, instead of focusing on what could have been, it gives way to the future. The Domenic Grahams et compagnie have valuable experience to add to their resumes and another fresh crop of prospects and acquisitions (because in my experience I have never known Dominic Ricard to miss the boat during or after trade period) will make their way into the fold. They'll all step up to the plate together and try again.

Together. I'm going to draw from the departing André Bouvet-Morrissette's quote: "Les gars doivent retenir que lorsqu’on est unis, tout devient possible."

Together everything is possible. I hope everyone he's left an impression on (read: an entire population and thensome) in his brief two-year passage takes that message to heart and even tattoos it on for next year and beyond.

Speaking of Stilts, he has apparently attracted a couple of NHL clubs such as the Sharks and the Kings (among a class of others, I'm sure). I've got an eye out for ATO/PTOs, and will certainly pass along the news here and/or Twitter if he finds a home.

Bet you didn't know: David Desharnais' first AHL club was the Bridgeport Sound Tigers, who offered him a tryout after Chicoutimi was eliminated six years ago. I think they may regret not signing him to a real deal.

This has not been Photoshopped. He has been able to stand tall before!

Around the league: Saint John (duh), Halifax, Blainville-Boisbriand, Baie-Comeau (eek), Chicoutimi, Rimouski, and #theshawi are the other teams that have moved on. Quebec next takes on the Mooseheads, BLB and Rimouski are facing off, the Mem Cup hosts are up against Chicoutimi and...Baie-Comeau awaits the crushing block. Not to say they don't have momentum, though, which'll throw a wrench in a few predictions.

Dose of mind-f*ckery: Back to that Patrick Roy debacle. TVA Sports spoke to Richard Martel this week, who is looking for his next project. Mix that thought in to the seed of doubt that's been planted surrounding Roy's status...

As much as half of me is shouting all sorts of profanity against the inference that seems hopelessly wrong, the other half is proverbially sitting in the Colisée Pepsi with a jumbo bag of popcorn.


Alum-watch: I can't even write anything mind-blowing here to detract from my obvious sadness that started this post. But for what it's worth, Philippe Lefebvre scored a goal (from Massé!) in a comeback victory by the Bulldogs on Saturday, and Ondrej Palat and Philip-Michael Devos scored in the same game on the same side and were named second and first star respectively, all of which still weirds me out. For his part, Palat has a seven-game point streak happening right now. Oh, and Derick Brassard has gone slightly bonkers pointswise himself (6 in 6 GP) lately and Sean Couturier scored a goal yesterday and added an assist today.

So...

Perhaps the fact that I have rescued and started blasting my old Nevermind CD is enough to represent the last two days.

Never mind, indeed.

"Bright" side: looking terrible is something of a trend in the Q lately. Halifax swept Moncton, Cape Breton is in the midst of wondering why they couldn't have switched places with P.E.I., and in the biggest twist, Victoriaville is down 3-0 in the series to Baie-Comeau. (There goes my "that should be an easy 5" prediction). Bathurst is literally the only team who was able to snag a game despite being the ones down in the series. Let's hope they don't end up being the only ones to do so in the entire first round.

BUT IN OTHER NEWS...

PRINCETON, N.J. – Yannick Riendeau of the Reading Royals is the Sher-Wood Hockey ECHL Player of the Week for March 19-25.

The 23-year-old right wing scored three goals, added five assists and was a +9 in three games last week, helping the Royals go 3-0-0 for the week to move into the eighth and final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference.

Riendeau opened the week with an assist in a 3-2 shootout win against Trenton on Friday and then scored two goals and added two assists as part of a +4 effort in a 7-0 victory at Trenton on Saturday. He ended the week with three points (1g-2a) and another +4 rating in a 5-3 win against the Titans on Sunday.

A native of Boucherville, Quebec, Riendeau has 41 points (12g-29a) in 40 games with the Royals this season. He also has tallied six point (3g-3a) in 18 games with Providence of the American Hockey League.

Under contract to the New York Islanders of the National Hockey League, Riendeau has 89 points (33g-56a) in 100 career games with Reading and has tallied 11 points (4g-7a) in 46 career games AHL games with Providence.

On behalf of Yannick Riendeau, a case of pucks will be donated to a Reading youth hockey organization by Sher-Wood Hockey, the exclusive puck supplier of the ECHL. Since beginning its sponsorship of the award in 2000-01, Sher-Wood Hockey has donated more than 25,000 pucks to youth hockey organizations in ECHL cities.

Should've just made this blog about Volts' alumni, the way this is going: McGill is still off celebrating, Scott Howes had a goal in a 5-4 Bridgeport win, and Dmitry Kulikov was the latest participant in bringing down the Habs (+2, 21:18) after Sean Couturier, also in the "Volts gone too soon" category (1A, 2PIM, 16:55) had his turn on Saturday.

Nanananananananananananananananana playooooooffffs!

They start tonight!

Game 1 : Tonight!, 7:00 p.m., Drummondville @ Québec
Game 2 : Monday, March 26th, 7:00 p.m., Drummondville @ Québec
Game 3 : Tuesday, March 27th, 7:00 p.m., Québec @ Drummondville
Game 4 : Thursday, March 29th, 7:00 p.m., Québec @ Drummondville
Game 5 : Saturday, March 31st, 7:00 p.m., Drummondville @ Québec*
Game 6 : Sunday, April 1st, 7:00 p.m., Québec @ Drummondville*
Game 7 : Tuesday, April 3rd, 7:00 p.m., Drummondville @ Québec*

*if necessary

In news of the depressing variety, the Golden Puck Awards are Voltigeur-less in their entirety, meaning not even a single nominee (though ex-Volts Jonathan Brunelle and Jean-Philippe Mathieu are up for the Marcel Robert, which has to count for something) for the first time that I can actually think of.

(The famous tank-year of 2007-08 won Best Fail and Best Result of Best Fail, if I remember correctly.)

Also, I am left asking myself why exactly the worst power play results in stronger penalty kills. Was it always like this? Habs fans know what I'm talking about (heck, so do Yotes' fans) but this is also reflective of Drummondville, who find themselves with only one team worse than them on the man-advantage and are somehow fourth-most effective league-wide with one LESS guy on the ice.

Anyway.

Around the league: I know I said I wasn't doing predictions, but there's a neat little QMJHL playoff pool over at RDS that made me reconsider. No, I'm not telling you what my answers were (that's cheating! And anyway, you'd also fail). But for the français-challenged, here are the rules:

Before each round, there's the usual pick-your-team-in-each-series-and-how-many-games-it-will-take-them-to-crush-their-opponents challenge. Five points if you get the team, a perfect ten if you get both the team and the amount of games.

Then, pick two forwards, a defenseman, and a goalie to carry you through said round. But, be careful here, because you can't pick the same guys come next round, or for the rest of the playoffs. So you can't really coast through this riding on Hoobadoo's coattails or anything of the like.

Bonus points (10 for each) are awarded to whoever gets the championship team and MVP right. Goals and assists are one point each. Goalies get two points for a win and two extra if it's a shutout. You have until Game 1 starts to get your picks in!

Alum-notes: All I have for you is this:

"I have the choice, either I start crying — which I felt like — or I just look at it as it is ridiculous and you just have to go with it," - Guy Boucher on the growing infirmary otherwise known as the Lightning.

This...can probably be applied to most of this hockey season in general. Sigh.

And it's Quebec.

'Sup Remparts?

I don't know how to approach this series. (Or the prospect of the postseason altogether, come to think of it.) I suppose the fact that Drummondville has a winning record against Quebec (3-1) in comparison to

• 0 wins all season against Victoriaville
• outscored by the Tigres 25-14 in those four games
• generally not being liked by Yanick Jean
  
  

...means we (I?) may have to thank our lucky stars that Rimouski let Victo win 4-0 this afternoon.

As imposing as both teams may seem, aside from a couple of minor hiccups, this month hasn't been a total nightmare for Drumm. Certainly finishing on the winning side of things against the division leaders has to be a plus.

That said, I'm not delving into playoff predictions this year. I don't feel like I've seen enough

action (that is the truth actually, this is the first season in seven that I have not been to a single Q regular season game) and generally I just don't like predictions, even if I wasn't terribly shabby last year (only got three winners wrong in total).

But I read something about mullets on one of the players' Twitter accounts. If that turns out to be the playoff hairdo, I may have to up my amount of vodka intake in this series. Not that it won't be stressful enough.

Update for those who cared to know: Stilts did not end up getting his 40th goal of the year, but is no less awesome. At the very least, may this playoff season send him off excellently.

Around the league: Oh, right. The other teams. Drum roll please!


Saint John faces: Cape Breton.
#TheShawi faces: Rouyn-Noranda.
Blainville-Boisbriand faces: Gatineau.
Victoriaville faces: Baie-Comeau.
Halifax faces: Moncton.
Rimouski faces: Val-D'Or.
Chicoutimi faces: Acadie-Bathurst.

Which you probably already knew before getting here, but just in case you forgot, there you go.

Injury scares seem to have a commonality in that they seem to target anyone eligible for the 2012 NHL Entry Draft. We all heard how Yakupov went down, how Galchenyuk came back only to go back down, and this weekend the bullseye landed on Marty Frk. The playoffs will reveal what shape the three players will be in, but good Lord. Start wrapping all the others in bubble wrap, pronto.

Update on the unfortunate trash can: it is safe from danger (for now) but still recovering from shock.

Alum-notes: Gabriel Dumont scored two goals against Grand Rapids Saturday night, but unfortunately, Grand Rapids scored five. He was still named second star of the game, however. Dany Massé and Olivier Fortier are still out of the lineup with injuries. Meanwhile, Freddy St-Denis has returned to the farm team cavalry after being scratched against the Isles Saturday night.

He may not be our captain anymore but he is no less fab.





Speaking of former captains, it also turns out that we have not seen the last of UQTR and that they and McGill (and UNB!) will all be participating in the CIS Championships like a fantastic 2009-and-beyond reunion. It all starts this Thursday, March 22nd, as Moncton faces McGill at 1:00 p.m. EST and UQTR battles the host-team UNB at 6:00 EST.