Preview: Rocket vs Screaming Eagles

The Cape Breton Screaming Eagles take on the P.E.I. Rocket tonight at Center 200 in Sydney, N.S.

With a victory, the Eagles can clinch the 16th and final playoff spot in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League.

The Eagles posted this photo on there Facebook page this morning:

Reid on the Rocket: Rocket snap slump with big win over Wildcats

Josh Currie's early third period goal lifted the Rocket to a 5-3 win over the Moncton Wildcats Tuesday night at the Charlottetown Civic Centre.

For the sixth time in seven games this season, the Rocket have beaten the Wildcats. The win also snapped a 10-game losing streak for P.E.I. and improved to 18-40-2-3 on the season.

Ben Duffy led the way for the Rocket scoring two goals and adding an assist. He said it was huge to snap the losing streak.

"Especially right before going into the Cape, the two biggest games of the season coming up. "

The success against the Wildcats this year has been thanks to rivalry the two teams have, said Duffy.

"Come time to play them we never want to lose and I think that's why we battle so hard to make sure we get those two points every game."

A lot of positives came out of the win, said Duffy.

"We played a full 60 minutes and stuck to our game plan…and that's what we got to do for the rest of the season."

Moncton opened the scoring with Allain Saulnier's 25th goal of the season at 12:27 of the first period.

It didn't take the Rocket long to respond as Louick Marcotte potted home his 11th of the season at 13:22 to tie the game.

Ryan Penny gave the Wildcats a 2-1 lead at 17:40.

After a near scoreless second period, Duffy's goal with 22 seconds left in the period tied the game at two.

In the third period, Duffy scored 51 seconds in to give the Rocket a 3-2 lead with his 34th of the season before Currie's 25th of the season made it 4-2 at 4:08.

Patrick Delisle-Houde got the Wildcats within a goal with a powerplay marker at 7:09.

Jimmy Oligny capped off the scoring with an empty net goal at 19:07.

Maxime Lagace made 26 saves for the win in goal for P.E.I.

Roman Will took the loss for Moncton stopping 28 shots.

With five games left on the schedule, the Rocket are still battling for that last and final playoff spot.

"We have to stay positive and make sure we compete and work hard in practice and make sure were mentally and physically ready for every game," said Duffy.

The Rocket are back in action Friday and Saturday night with back-to-back games against the Cape Breton Screaming Eagles in Cape Breton.

Rocket return home for their final home game of the season Sunday March 18 at 4 p.m. against the Halifax Mooseheads.

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nolan@theqspot.ca

Reid on the Rocket: Titan edge Rocket in shootout

The Acadie-Bathurst Titan used a shootout to get by the P.E.I. Rocket, 4-3, Sunday afternoon at the Charlottetown Civic Centre.

The loss for the Rocket keeps them in the league's basement with a 17-40-2-3 record for 39 points. It was also the ninth straight loss for the Rocket, but collected their first point in nine games.

Alex Noel, who scored a goal for the Rocket, said the team battled hard for two periods, but could have played better in the third period.

"We could have came out with two points there, got one, it's better than nothing but we should have performed better in the third period."

Noel's goal gave the Rocket a 3-2 lead with less than a minute to go in the second period but it wouldn't be enough as Bathurst's Mirko Hoefflin tied the game with 2:54 left in the third period. Bathurst then scored twice in the shootout and the Rocket were shutout.

It's never fun to lose like that, said Noel.

"We were playing pretty good all game, pops our bubble a little bit. We just got to forget about it and focus on the Moncton game on Tuesday."

The Titan opened the scoring with Zach O'Brien's league-leading 50th goal of the season just 2:19 into the first period.

Josh Currie tied the game at one with this 23rd goal of the season at 11:02. Jimmy Oligny and Victor Provencher drew the assists.

In the second period, Olivier Croteau's 13th goal of the season put the Rocket up by a score of 2-1 on the powerplay at 6:22.

Hoefflin scored his first of the game to tie the game at two for the Titan at 9:59.

Noel's ninth of the season gave the Rocket a 3-2 lead at 19:06.

In the third period, Hoefflin tied the game for Bathurst to send the game to overtime and eventually to the shootout.

O'Brien and Sebastien Trudeau scored for Bathurst in the shootout, as Jessyko Bernard and Louick Marcotte were held scoreless.

Maxime Lagace made 27 saves in net for the Rocket.

Jacob Brennan made 28 saves to pick up the win for Bathurst.

The Rocket host the Moncton Wildcats on Tuesday night at 7 p.m. It is also the last ticket redemption night for the season.

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nolan@theqspot.ca

Who's Hot, Who's Not: Feb. 20th - 26th

Two wingers from one of the league’s lowest ranked clubs take home hottest players of the week honours here at the q spot, and a team other than the Sea Dogs will be recognized for their strong play of late.  With less distinction, one of the league’s top scorers on what should be one of the top ranked teams is cooling down, and there’s no foreshadowing it, P.E.I is freezing in February.

The Val d’Or Foreurs may be near the QMJHL basement in 14^th place but the teams’ second leadings scorer Benjamin Casavant is one of the hottest producers in the league right now. Casavant has 29 goals and 60 points in 51 games this season.  Even at over a point per game on the season, February has been a good month.  Casavant is in the midst of a nine game point streak this month that at one point saw him score a goal in seven straight. He has 12 points in those nine games.

Anthony Mantha may be a surprise second entry for the lowly Foreurs this week. Prior to the beginning of February, Mantha had managed only 23 points in 55 games, and then only two points in his first four games to start the month.  But since then, Mantha has put together a six game goal scoring streak where he earned 12 points.  In ten games this month Mantha has put up 14 points and 26 points in his last 18.

This is the longest goal scoring streaks for both Mantha (Current) and Casavant (broken 02/26) QMJHL careers, and both players second longest points streak. Mantha had an eight game streak lasting until the end of January and Casavant has twice reached the 10 point plateau.

Despite Halifax’s strong play of late, 25 goal scorer Matthew Boudreau has struggled.  A two goal output on February 10^th against Chicoutimi improved Boudreau to a point per game with 52 points in 52 games.  Boudreau and the Mooseheads have played seven times since that game with Halifax sporting an impressive 5-2 record. Yet Boudreau hasn’t scored a point and is a minus five in those same seven games.  Boudreau’s will look to break out of his slump over the next three games which are against Gatineau and Rouyn-Noranda. In the two games against those two clubs this season, Boudreau has scored two goals and added an assist to go with a plus three rating.

Last week’s cold team of the week, the Chicoutimi Saguenees, continue to struggle, and nobody is feeling it more than leading scorer Guillaume Asselin. Asselin sits 18^th in league scoring with 67 points in 59 games but has only scored one goal and one assist in his last seven games.  A four game slump in the middle of those seven games was the longest he has been held without a point this season.

The Halifax Mooseheads are the surprise hot team of the QMJHL this week.  Halifax entered what may have been their hardest stretch of the year including four games in five nights on the road.  In their last nine games Halifax has had to play Shawinigan and Victoriaville twice, and Saint John and Chicoutimi once. Shawinigan, Saint John, and Victoriaville are first, second, and third in points this season.  Halifax won four of those six games and are 6-2-0-1 in their last nine. Within those nine games the Mooseheads have even managed a four game winning streak, swept Victoriaville and split with Shawinigan. One of their two losses was a hotly contested 4-3 against the Saint John Sea Dogs. Their only other regulation loss was to the memorial cup hosts Shawinigan. 

You don’t have to travel from this week’s hottest team to find its coldest. The P.E.I Rocket have had a dismal February. The Rocket have now lost eight straight being outscored 45-13 in the process. Four in a row were at home by a combined score of 24-3. Positive news is leading scorer Ben Duffy is starting to break out of his slump with two points in his last three games. Less fortunate news is the team’s next game will be against the Saint John Sea dogs at Harbour Station.  Their last meeting ended in a 10-1 drubbing.

Honourable Mentions: 

The Saint John Sea Dogs have won 14 straight games now, and 15 of their last 16.

Montreal Canadians first round pick Nathan Beaulieu of the Saint John Sea Dogs had a seven game point streak snapped Saturday in Moncton. Beaulieu has 1 goal and 14 points in nine games in February. 

16-year-old Halifax Mooseheads forward Ryan Falkenham had a four game streak snapped Saturday against Shawinigan. The longest streak of the young rookie’s career saw him score four goals and add two assists.

*Disclaimer- 15 of 16 does not include forfeit to Gatineau that Saint John originally won.

Reid on the Rocket: Remparts blank Rocket

The Quebec Remparts took full advantage of their powerplay scoring three times with the extra man and adding three others in a 6-0 win over the P.E.I. Rocket Sunday afternoon at the Charlottetown Civic Centre.

The Remparts, who improved to 36-15-5-2 on the season, were led by Mikhail Grigorenko (1-2) and Frederick Roy (0-3) who had three points each.

P.E.I. has dropped their fifth straight game and drop to 17-36-2-2 on the season.

Ben Duffy, Rocket's assistant captain, said the team competed hard but could not stay discipline.

"They were 3-for-4 on the powerplay and against a skilled team like that you got to stay out of the box."

The Rocket have only managed to score five goals in the last five games with two of those games being shutout by the opponent.

The chances are there, said Duffy.

"Maybe we're gripping our sticks a little too hard and being a little too fancy which is causing us to make mistakes and really, we just have to keep it simple."

Staying positive, Duffy said he doesn't think these last five games will have a bad effect on the team over the next month.

"We're still competing hard which is a good sign, so I think when we get a couple of lucky goals and w'ere competing like we are, pucks are going to start going in from everywhere.

Quebec opened the scoring with Grigorenko's 32nd of the season at 10:45 of the first period before Gabriel Desjardins scored on the powerplay at 11:19 to give the Remparts a 2-0 lead.

In the second period, the Remparts got a powerplay goal from Marc-Antoine Carrier at 3:19 to take a 3-0 lead.

Anthony Duclair added to the lead at 10:39.

In the third period, Logan Shaw's powerplay goal at 12:02 gave the Remparts a 5-0 lead. Alexandre Comtois finished off the scoring at 13:43 to give the Remparts a 6-0 lead.

Maxime Lagace took the loss for the Rocket allowing six goals on 28 shots.

Remparts rookie netminder, Francois Brassard made 27 saves to earn the shutout.

The Rocket are back in action Wednesday Feb. 22 when they travel to Blainville-Boisbriand to take on the third-place Armada. Game time is 8 p.m.

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nolan@theqspot.ca

Reid on the Rocket: Hobbs, Tigres edge Rocket 3-2

Former Rocket captain Matt Hobbs came back to Charlottetown to haunt the P.E.I. Rocket by scoring the game-winning goal for the Victoriaville Tigres in a 3-2 win over the Rocket Saturday night.

The goal was scored on the powerplay at 11:36 of the third period and was Hobbs' fifth of the season and second since joining the Tigres in December.

The 20-year-old defenceman played two and a half seasons with the Rocket and said it was good to see familiar faces on the ice but weird being on the other bench.

"It was a good feeling and it's nice to get the game-winning goal against your old team. It was a lot of fun."

Hobbs described his goal as a "flutter of a goal."

"A goal is a goal so I'll take it."

The Victoriaville Tigres upped their season record to 37-17-1-3.

For the Rocket, it's their fifth straight loss and drop to 17-35-2-2 on the season.

Rocket forward Jessyko Bernard said the team doesn't try to think about the losing streak.

"We try to think of our next game…we're fighting for a playoff spot and these are our playoffs."

It was tough seeing Hobbs score the game winner, said Bernard.

"He had a good shot and then we blocked it and then he got another one, it went over my shoulder then off (Marc-Andre) Levesque. Hobbs is a good guy and I wish him all the best in Victo…but we got to get a win right now and no matter who scores on their team, it's not good for us."

Bernard had a goal for the Rocket in the contest.

Victoriaville opened the scoring at 3:29 of the first period with a goal from Philippe Halley.

The Tigres went up 2-0 with a goal from Brandon Hynes at 18:38.

After a scoreless second period, Josh Currie put the Rocket on the board with his 20th of the season at 3:04, before Hobbs gave the Tigres the 3-1 lead.

Bernard scored a late powerplay goal for the Rocket at 17:01 but that wouldn't be enough for the Rocket.

Bernard said the Rocket came out sluggish and were not finishing checks in the first period

"We picked up our hits in the second…and once you get momentum its hard to get it away from a team."

Rocket goaltender Maxime Lagace made 22 saves in the loss.

David Honzik picked up the win for the Tigres making 27 saves and earning first-star honours.

The Rocket are back in action Sunday afternoon when they host Patrick Roy's Quebec Remparts. Game time is 7 p.m.

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nolan@theqspot.ca

Reid on the Rocket: Sea Dogs dominate struggling Rocket

The Saint John Sea Dogs built a 4-0 lead in the first period and never looked back as they went on to dominate the P.E.I. Rocket 10-1 at the Charlottetown Cvic Centre on Wednesday night.

It wasn't a pretty loss for the Rocket either, as the two teams combined for 92 penalty minutes including four fights.

For Saint John, it's their 10th win a row and remain first overall with a 40-14-0-2 record. For the Rocket, it's their third straight loss and remain in last place with a 17-34-2-2 record.

Rocket captain Josh Currie said it was an embarrassing loss.

"It was really tough on all of us. Obviously you don't want to lose in front of your home crowd, especially 10-1."

It was a bad game, said Currie.

"We couldn't get anything going. I thought we had offensive chances but their goalie came up huge, and when they had chances they were able to put them in and that's what it came down to."

Jonathan Huberdeau (2-2) led the way for Saint John with four points as Charlie Coyle (1-2) and Tomas Jurco (2-1) chipped in with two points.

Alex Noel had the lone goal for the Rocket.

It didn't take long for Saint John to open the scoring as Huberdeau scored 4:15 into the first period. Oliver Cooper made it a 2-0 Sea Dogs game at 9:58 before Coyle made it 3-0 at 11:14.

Jurco's powerplay marker at 14:15 chased Rocket starter Maxime Lagace out of the net after giving up four goals on only eight shots.

Currie said the team came out strong in the first.

"We were hitting them, getting pucks down low…but then we took penalties and it's costly against a team like that."

In the second period, Maxime Villemaire scored 55 seconds in to give the Sea Dogs a 5-0 lead before Jurco scored shorthanded at 2:30 to increase the lead by six. Villemaire added a second goal at 6:33 to make it 7-0.

With the Saint John up 7-0, the Rocket only had five shots on goal half way through the second.

That's pretty bad, said Currie.

"I thought as the game went on we got more pucks to the net and played a little bit better, but unfortunately they also were able to put more in."

Noel gave the Rocket some life with his eighth of the season 1:13 into the third period. But, the Sea Dogs responded with goals from Danick Gauthier, Stanislav Galiev and Huberdeau to increase the Sea Dogs lead to 10-1.

Antoine Bibeau made 20 saves in relief of Lagace.

Sea Dogs goaltender Mathieu Corbeil made 21 saves.

The schedule doesn't get any easier for the P.E.I. Rocket as the host the Victoriaville Tigres on Saturday night, then take on the Quebec Remparts on Sunday.

A closer look
Shots per period: P.E.I. 3,5,14 total 22; Saint John 11,13,10 total 34.

Scorers: P.E.I. - Noel; Saint John - Coyle, Huberdeau (2), Jurco (2), Gauthier, Villemaire (2), Cooper

Powerplay: P.E.I. 0-for-7; Saint John 2-for-4.

Fights: 4, Herret, P.E.I. vs. Villemaire, Saint John; Oligny, P.E.I. vs. Villemaire, Saint John; Gallant, P.E.I. vs. West, Saint John; Gallant, P.E.I. vs. Villemaire, Saint John

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nolan@theqspot.ca

Reid on the Rocket: Penalties prove costly for Rocket

The Acadie-Bathurst Titan used the powerplay to their advantage with four powerplay goals in a 4-2 win over the P.E.I. Rocket Friday night at the K.C. Irving Regional Centre.

Christophe Lalancette scored the game-winning goal at 13:45 in the second period and added another goal at 14:23 in the third period.

Scoring for the Rocket were Victor Provencher and Alex Noel early in the second period.

Sebastian Trudeau added a late first period goal and Etienne Salvail added a goal for the Titan.

The Titan went 4-for-6 on the powerplay, as the Rocket were shutout on three attempts.

Antoine Bibeau made 20 saves on 23 shots through two periods before being replaced by Maxime Lagace who made nine saves.

Titan goaltender Robert Steeves was 21-for-23.

The Rocket host the Saint John Sea Dogs tonight at 4 p.m.

nolan@theqspot.ca

Gourde, Graham and Bernard named TELUS three stars of the week

Yanni Gourde, Domenic Graham and Jessyko Bernard were named the Telus three stars of the week today.

The week is the period spanning from Jan. 30 to Feb. 5.

The first star of the week is Victoriaville Tigres left-winger Yanni Gourde. On Wednesday in an 8-7 loss to Rimouski, the 20-year-old collected four assists. On Friday in a 6-1 win over Baie-Comeau, the St-Narcisse, Que. native was named first star with two goals and four points.

Gourde finished the week with two goals and eight points in two games.

Gourde currently sits first overall in scoring, just one point shy of 100 and has an 11 point lead over Zach O'Brien of the Acadie-Bathurst Titan.

The second star of the week is Drummondville Voltigeurs goaltender Domenic Graham. On Friday, the 17-year-old made 43 saves in a 3-2 shootout loss against the Saint John Sea Dogs. On Saturday, Graham made 27 saves in a 2-1 win against the Rimouski Oceanic.

The third star of the week belongs to P.E.I. Rocket forward Jessyko Bernard. On Tuesday in a 4-1 win over the Moncton Wildcats, the 20-year-old forward had a goal and an assist. On Thursday in a 9-6 win over Cape Breton, Bernard collected a goal and a pair of assists and had the game winner. On Friday in a 4-2 win over Cape Breton again, the Dalhousie, N.B. native added the game-winning goal.

Bernard finished the week with three goals and six points and helped the Rocket move out of last place.

nolan@theqspot.ca

Reid on the Rocket: Rocket storm back to beat Screaming Eagles

Jessyko Bernard scored with 4:53 remaining in the game to complete the comeback for the P.E.I. Rocket in a 4-2 win over the Cape Breton Screaming Eagles Friday night at the Charlottetown Civic Centre.

For the third straight game, the Rocket used the third period to their advantage, scoring three times after battling back from a 2-0 deficit.

Bernard said the team has been keeping their game simple in the third period and that is what has been successful for them.

"We're trying to get the pucks in deep, play physical on the closing team's defense and it wears them out come third period time and I think that gives us a little bit of a boost."

With the win, the Rocket have won three-straight games, including two straight against Cape Breton, and have improved to 17-31-2-2 on the season.

The winning streak feels good and relaxing, said Bernard.

"Everyone's happy when you're winning. (It) just makes coming to the rink just fun everyday and it's just a good atmosphere around the room right now."

The Screaming Eagles opened the scoring in the first period with a powerplay goal from forward Jonathan Brunelle.

In the second period, Kyle Farrell gave the Screaming Eagles a 2-0 lead at 2:27.

The Rocket cut the lead in half with Victor Provencher's 17th goal of the season at 6:27.

In the third period, Ben Duffy's team-leading 31st goal of the season tied the game 2-2 at 13:15 before Bernard's 15th of the season gave the Rocket the 3-2 lead at 15:07.

Matej Beran sealed the deal with an empty-net powerplay goal at 19:18.

Antoine Bibeau made 24 saves to pick up the win for the Rocket.

Philippe Trudeau took the loss for Cape Breton stopping 24 shots.

The Rocket will look to win their fourth straight game on Friday Feb. 10 when they travel to Acadie-Bathurst to take on the Titan. Game time 7:30 p.m.

Video Highlights


nolan@theqspot.ca

Game Previews-February 3rd, 2012

Game of Interest:

Saint John (36-13-0-2) at Drummondville (21-25-2-4)- Something has to give. Both teams have winning streaks; Drummondville has a four game streak going, while Saint John is riding a five game streak. This is a definite game of interest.

Players to Watch

Jonathan Oligny (Drummondville) & Ian Saab (Saint John). Oligny and Saab are one and two respectively in penalty minutes and major penalties. Expect them to drop the gloves tonight.

Other games on the Q schedule tonight:
Moncton (23-23-3-2) at Halifax (27-16-2-3)

Cape Breton (20-28-0-2) at P.E.I. (16-31-2-2)

Rimouski (31-21-0-0) at Quebec (32-12-4-2)

Victoriaville (33-16-1-2) at Baie-Comeau (24-22-1-3)

Gatineau (19-23-4-4) at Blainville-Boisbriand (27-20-2-1)

Rouyn-Noranda (16-29-2-3) at Chicoutimi (26-16-3-6)

Val-d’Or (21-26-0-4) at Shawinigan (34-11-2-3)

Reid on the Rocket: Wild third period gives Rocket 9-6 win over Screaming Eagles

A six goal effort by the P.E.I. Rocket in the third period propelled them to a 9-6 win over the Cape Breton Screaming Eagles Thursday night at the Charlottetown Civic Centre.

It is the second win in a row for the the Rocket and they up their season record to 16-31-2-2.

Jessyko Bernard (1-2) and Matej Beran (0-3) led they way for the Rocket with three points each. Ben Duffy had two goals while Matt Bursey had the Gordie Howe hat-trick with a goal, assist and a fight.

Jonathan Brunelle (2-1) led the way for the Screaming Eagles with three points.

Bursey, who just turned 18 on Wednesday, said it was a good game but too many goals were given up by the Rocket.

"Obviously we scored a lot of goals, but if we capitalized on all our chances it could have been a different outcome."

For the second straight game the Rocket used the third period to their advantage. The team isn't quitting, said Bursey.

"We know that it's a 60 minute game…and if a team doesn't battle for 60 minutes then their chances aren't that good."

The Rocket opened the scoring 1:53 into the first period with Yan Pavel Laplante's sixth goal of the season.

Cape Breton responded with a powerplay goal at the 10:00 mark with a goal from Alexandre Lavoie. Kyle Farrell scored 14 seconds later with another powerplay goal to give the Screaming Eagles a 2-1 lead.

Brunelle gave the Screaming Eagles a 3-1 lead at 16:28.

Jimmy Oligny scored his fourth of the season to put the Rocket within one on the powerplay at 19:02 before Josh Currie's 19th of the season tied the game with two seconds to play in the first period.

Being down by two, the team knew they could come back, said Bursey.

"It wasn't anything big. We knew we could beat this team and it end up happening."

There were no goals in the second period but it opened up for a wild third period, where the two teams combined for nine goals.

Cape Breton took a 4-3 lead with a shorthanded goal from Brunelle 36 seconds into the frame, but Ben Duffy responded with a powerplay goal just 24 seconds later to tie the game at 4-4. Bursey gave the Rocket a 5-4 lead just 15 seconds later with his seventh of the season.

Olivier Croteau put the Rocket up 6-4 with his 11th of the season at 10:24 before Bernard's 14th of the season made it 7-4 Rocket at 11:47.

Former Eagle Olivier Jodoin put the Rocket up by four with his fifth of the season at 14:31.

Blake Millman scored at 14:31 to make it an 8-5 game before Raphael Corriveau made it 8-6 only 27 seconds later.

Duffy capped off the scoring with an empty net powerplay goal at 18:49 for his 30th goal of the season.

Nobody in the stands could have predicted that third period, Bursey joked.

"We played to get pucks on net…fortunately a lot of them went in."

Rocket goaltender Maxime Lagace made 13 saves to pick up the in but was pulled after the sixth goal. Antoine Bibeau was 1-for-1.

Philippe Trudeau stopped 25 pucks before being replaced by William Racicot who made six saves on seven shots.

The Rocket play the Screaming Eagles again Friday night at the Charlottetown Civic Centre. Gametime 7 p.m.

Video Highlights


nolan@theqspot.ca

Reid on the Rocket: Big third period helps Rocket beat Wildcats

The P.E.I. Rocket scored four goals in the third period and Wes Herrett had the game winning goal in a 4-1 win over the Moncton Wildcats Tuesday night at the Moncton Coliseum.

The Rocket improve to 15-31-2-2 on the season, and won their fifth game against the Wildcats this season. P.E.I. currently leads the season series between the two clubs 5-1-0.

Jessyko Bernard had a goal and an assist as Josh Currie and rookie Antoine Venne had a pair of assists each for the Rocket.

After a scoreless first period, the Wildcats took a 1-0 lead with 54 seconds to go in the second period with Marek Hrivik's 21st goal of the season.

Alex Noel tied the game with his sixth of the season 2:23 into the third period.

Herrett gave P.E.I. a 2-1 lead at 9:08 before Tomas Pavelka added a powerplay goal at 14:49.

Rocket's Bernard sealed the deal with an empty-net powerplay goal at 18:32 to give the Rocket a 4-1 lead.

Antoine Bibeau made 20 saves in goal for the Rocket to pick up the win. Roman Will made 24 saves in the loss for Moncton.

The Rocket return home Thursday and Friday night for back-to-back games against the Cape Breton Screaming Eagles. Both games a 7 p.m.

Reid on the Rocket: Rocket comeback but lose 4-2 to Armada

Olivier Picard capitalized on an odd-man rush for the Blainville-Bosbriand Armada with 4:13 left in the third period and it proved to be the game-winner as the Armada dropped the P.E.I. Rocket 4-2 on Saturday night at the Charlottetown Civic Centre.

The Rocket erased a 2-0 second-period deficit to tie the game with two powerplay goals in the third period, but couldn't get the job done. With the loss, the Rocket drop to 14-31-2-2 on the season.

Rocket defenceman Jimmy Oligny said the Rocket played hard but turnovers cost them the game.

"Overall, I think we played well."

After a scoreless first period, the Armada jumped out to a 2-0 lead with goals from Samuel Hodhod and Alex Micallef, powerplay, at 1:16 and 8:26 respectively.

It was Armada's goaltender, Storm Phaneuf, that let the Armada take the lead, said Oligny.

"The puck just wouldn't go in. The goaltender on the other side was making great saves."

Oligny scored his second goal in two games to bring the Rocket within a goal at 5:53. The 18-year-old Rocket alternate captain has three goals so far this season.

It's very unusual, Oligny joked.

"I guess I just shoot the puck more and try and keep that going."

Tomas Pavelka scored his fifth of the season at 11:09 to tie the game.

Picard scored his second of the season to put the Armada back infront at 15:47 before Cedric Paquette scored on the empty net with 15.4 seconds left to seal the deal.

Maxime Lagace made 21 saves in the loss for the Rocket. Phaneuf made 31 saves for second-star honours for the win.

The Rocket travel to Moncton to take on the Wildcats on Tuesday Jan. 31. Gametime 7 p.m.

The Rocket return home Thursday Feb. 2 when they host the Cape Breton Screaming Eagles at 7 p.m.

Video Highlights


Photo by Darrell Kennedy.

nolan@theqspot.ca

Keeping an eye on the Q's Europeans

Each season a new group of European stars bring their skills to North America via the CHL Import Draft.

These players usually go on to play significant roles for their Canadian clubs. This season is no different with six European skaters in the top 30 in QMJHL scoring.

Three of these six skaters are QMJHL rookies, taken in the 2011 import draft.

Mikhail Grigorenko leads the charge of European’s this season. Grigorenko, the QMJHL’s top prospect for the 2012 NHL Entry Draft, leads all rookies with 61 points in 39 games this season.

He was ranked second amongst all North American skaters by the most recent NHL Central Scouting Service (CSS) report and has a four point lead over Halifax’s Nathan MacKinnon in the rookie scoring race. CSS ranks players based on the geography of their current league, not birthplace.

Grigorenko stands a very good chance at becoming the first QMJHL player to make the transition to the NHL as an 18-year-old since Rimouski’s Sidney Crosby made the jump in 2005. This is a very exclusive club, including Crosby, only four 18-year-olds have made the jump from the QMJHL in the past 15 years. These players are: VincentLecavalier, Pierre Marc Bouchard, and Patrice Bergeron.

Anton Zlobin has a lot of ground to make up if he’s going to catch Grigorenko for the European scoring crown. Zlobin is currently second in European scoring with 56 points in 48 games this season. Those five points may not seem like much, but Zlobin has played nine more games this season than Grigorenko.

Undrafted at the 2011 NHL draft and not dominating the way most would expect a 19-year-old European skater too, has dropped his draft stock in 2012. Still, Zlobin’s 31 goals lead all European skaters in the QMJHL this season and thus CSS has him projected as the 128^th skater amongst players in North American leagues.

Despite missing time due to injury and the World Junior Championships, Saint John’s Tomas Jurco sits third in team scoring and third among Europeans this season with 51 points.

Having played only 35 games, Jurco comes in with the least amount of games among Europeans in the top five. Averaging well over a point per game and having the luxury of playing for a powerhouse Saint John squad, expect Jurco to take over second spot among the top five by season's end. If anyone has the ability to challenge Grigorenko for the European scoring lead this season it will be Jurco. A late birthday delayed Jurco’s draft eligibility until 2011 where he was taken 35^th overall in the second-round by the Detroit Red Wings.

A three way tie rounds out the top 30 in QMJHL scoring as well as the top five amongst Euro’s.

Sven Andrighetto, Marek Hrivik and Matej Beran each have 50 points on the season.

Andrighetto leads the three with 23 goals on the season, yet of the three, he’s the lowest ranked by CSS at 186th.

Hrivik and Beran are tied with 19goals each and are likely to be drafted this summer. Beran is ranked 59^thamong North American skaters and Hrivik 65^th.

Despite various rankings, all six are playing crucial roles for their respective teams this season. Grigorenko and Zlobin are the leading scorers for two Presidents Cup contenders in Quebec and Shawinigan.

Andrighetto leads his club, the Rouyn-Noranda Huskies, as well. On P.E.I., Beran follows only star Ben Duffy in scoring and Jurco and Hrivik sit third on their respective teams in scoring.

Reid on the Rocket: Rocket pick up 14th win with 3-2 win over Drakkar

Ben Duffy's third period powerplay goal became the eventual game-winning goal as the P.E.I. Rocket edged the Baie-Comeau Drakkar 3-2 Friday night at the Charlottetown Civic Centre.

The win for the Rocket improves their season record to 14-30-2-2, but remain last overall in the league.

Rocket goaltender Maxime Lagace, who made 23 saves for third-star honours, said the team played great.

"We had a couple of penalties but our penalty kill played well. I think I did what I had to do and players did great so I'm pretty happy with the game."

Jimmy Oligny's second goal of the season opened the scoring at 15:29 of the first period and gave the Rocket the 1-0 lead. Matej Beran and Duffy drew the assists.

On the powerplay, Drakkar's Jonathan Lessard tied the game at one, two minutes later.

In the second period, Victor Provencher gave the Rocket a 2-1 lead with his 16th of the season at 2:43. Duffy and Jessyko Bernard drew the assists.

Duffy's 28th goal of the year gave the Rocket a 3-1 lead at 1:26 on the powerplay. Beran and Oligny drew the assists.

Drakkar's Samuel Carrier went five-hole on Lagace to cut the Rocket lead to one at 16:54.

Lagace said he wasn't too nervous during the last few minutes of the game with his team holding a one-goal lead.

"It was my bad, it was not the best goal. It was just the same job I had all game; just stop the puck. Sure, when there's six guys around you, you don't know where they're going to go but it's still fun."

Drakkar goaltender Philippe Cadorette, who was recently named CHL Vaughn Goaltender of the Week, made 22 saves in the loss.

The Rocket host the Blainville-Boisbriand Armada Saturday night at 7 p.m. The Rocket need to play the same way, said Lagace.

"Not take as many penalties…and I think we should win the game tomorrow night."

The P.E.I. Rocket will be honouring several Holland College teams tomorrow night during The Holland College Hurricanes Night of Champions. Holland College students can purchase a ticket for $5 by presenting their college ID.

nolan@theqspot.ca

Game Previews: January 22nd

SAINT JOHN AT BATHURST: Saint John comes into the game having won two straight and six of their last 10. They should not take Bathurst lightly, especially with the league’s leading scorer, Zach O’Brien on the team. Oh, and Bathurst has a streak of their own: four straight wins.

Players to Watch

Saint John: Charlie Coyle- Since joining the Sea Dogs, Coyle has four goals in three games-an impressive start for any rookie.

Bathurst: Zach O’Brien- Coming off an impressive four-goal performance against Moncton, should be interesting to see what he can accomplish against their other New Brunsiwick counterpart.

MONCTON AT CAPE BRETON: Moncton will be looking to get back on track against Cape Breton. Both teams have only four regulation wins in their last 10 games.

Interesting Fact

Both teams traded their team Captains to the Memorial Cup host Shawinigan Cataractes. Even more interesting is that both players (Ellis & Gormley) hail from P.E.I.

RIMOUSKI AT BAIE-COMEAU: Rimouski has won four straight games, and seven out of their last 10, the second best streak in the league. It’s safe to say that David Rose and the Drakkar will have their hands full in this one.

Players to Watch

Rimouski-Jerome Gauthier-Leduc- The Oceanic’s stud defensemen has had another solid year. Once thought to be surely dealt, stayed in Rimouski, and their fans have been beyond happy.

Baie-Comeau- Jonathan Lessard- To say that Lessard is a pure goal scorer is an understatement. Lessard is second in team goal scoring, but only tenth in overall points.

DRUMMONDVILLE AT BLAINVILLE-BOISBRIAND: The Surprising Armada are tops in their division, 10 points ahead of Drummondville. While it’s unlikely the Voltigeurs catch up to the Armada, you can bet this will be a chippy affair.

Players to Watch

Drummondville-Alexandre Veronneau- There was a lot of questions when Veronneau was acquired, and the questions continue. He has a Goals Against Average greater than six with the Volts. Should be interesting to see how many he lets in tonight.

Blainville-Boisbriand-Etienne Marcoux- The 18-year-old goalie has been one of the best this season, unlike Veronneau. Marcoux is top 10 in every major category for goaltenders this season.

VAL-D’OR AT ROUYN-NORANDA: Val-d’Or have won three straight, while their opponent has lost fourstraight. With Val-d’Or battling for first in the West, you can bet they’ll be hungry.

Stat of the Game

Foreurs’ player Mathieu Guertin is second in the league in minor penalties taken, with 38.

P.E.I AT VICTORIAVILLE: PEI wraps up its latest swing through Quebec hoping for a win. It has been an incredibly rough trip for the Rocket, who have been outscored 15-2 so far. A win may be too much to ask of the Rocket, as Victoriaville is on a four-game winning streak.

Players to Watch

P.E.I. - Ben Duffy- Earlier this season Duffy broke the franchise’s all-time points record. Duffy has been one of the lone bright spots for P.E.I. this year

Victoriaville- Matthew Hobbs- Hobbs, traded from PEI to Victoriaville last month, has been one of the Tigres' best defensemen.

Reid on the Rocket: Sagueneens blast Rocket

The Chicoutimi Sagueneens struck five times in the second period and put the game away in an 9-1 win over the P.E.I. Rocket Saturday afternoon in Chicoutimi, Que.

After holding a 1-0 lead after the first period, the Sagueneens scored five times in the second and added three more in the third period.

Jean-Gabriel Pageau (2-3) led the way for Chicoutimi with five points.

Ben Duffy had the lone goal for the Rocket.

The loss for the Rocket drops them to a season record of 13-29-2-2.

Pageau opened the scoring in the first period at 14:58 to give Chicoutimi the 1-0 lead.

In the second period, Chicoutimi struck 20 seconds in with a goal from Steve Lebel to give the Sagueneens a 2-0 lead. Charles Hudon scored on the powerplay at 7:18 to make it a 3-0 game. Jeremy Gregoire, Charles Hudon and Guillaume Asselin, powerplay, added goals for Chicoutimi to increase the lead to 6-0.

Duffy's 26th of the year put the Rocket on the board at 18:58.

The scoring continued in the third period. Etienne Brodeur gave Chicoutimi a 7-1 lead before Lebel scored shorthanded at 12:26 to make it 8-1. Pageau capped off the scoring with a powerplay goal at 15:13.

Chicoutimi used the powerplay to their advantage, going 3-for-6 on the night, The Rocket on the other hand were 0-for-3 on the powerplay.

Maxime Lagace made 38 saves in goal for the Rocket. Christopher Gibson picked up the win for the Sagueneens making 21 saves.

The Rocket travel to Victoriaville Sunday afternoon to battle the former captain, Matt Hobbs and the Tigres. Gametime 5 p.m. EST.

Reid on the Rocket: Penalties kill Rocket in loss to Drakkar

Two powerplay goals in the third period lifted the Baie-Comeau Drakkar to a 6-1 win over the P.E.I. Rocket Friday night in Baie-Comeau, Que.

The Drakkar scored five times in the third period, breaking a 1-1 tie.

Drakkar forwards Jonathan Lessard and David Rose took advantage of a five-minute major penalty by Rocket defenceman Jimmy Oligny. Oligny was assessed a game misconduct for hitting from behind.

The loss for P.E.I. drops them to a 13-28-2-2 season record.

The Rocket opened the scoring in the first period with Deverick Ottereyes' first career QMJHL goal at 6:18 but the lead didn't last long until Robbie Graham tied the game for Baie-Comeau at 9:59.

After a scoreless second period, Lessard and Rose scored on the powerplay to give the Drakkar a 3-1 lead. Goals were then followed by Tomas Filippi, Gabirel Verpaelst and Rose in a span of 1:57.

Antoine Bibeau made 35 saves in the loss for the Rocket. Drakkar netminder, Philippe Cadorette made 12 saves for the win.

The Drakkar were 2-for-10 on the powerplay, as the Rocket were 0-for-1.

The Rocket will travel to Chicoutimi on Saturday to battle the Sagueneens. Gametime 5 p.m. EST.

nolan@theqspot.ca

Learning languages key part of junior hockey

Rocket forward Alex Gallant is escorted to the penalty box after a fight in a recent 7-3 loss to the Saint John Sea Dogs in Charlottetown.

Tomas Pavelka knew three languages when he arrived from the Czech Republic to play junior hockey for the Rocket. Now he speaks five. He knew Czech, German and Russian when he arrived. He has added English and French.

Pavelka struggled early on. He had to adjust to an English-speaking province as well as a smaller ice surface. European rinks have a much larger ice surface.

But it’s not just the European players who have to adjust to an English-speaking province.

When Olivier Croteau first came to P.E.I. through a trade with the Gatineau Olympiques, he struggled with English so he’s impressed with Pavelka.

“When he came here, he could already speak three languages. Now he can speak English and French,” said Croteau.

The Rocket roster includes two players from the Czech Republic. Last year the Rocket had two Czech-born players finish their junior careers with the Rocket. Having them on the team helped them prepare for the Czech rookies, said Rocket assistant captain Josh Currie.

“It helped a lot. We have two guys coming from a European culture and things are totally different here for them.”

Rocket coach Gordie Dwyer helps the players adapt.

“Gordie is great. If he’s talking one-on-one with a French player, he will speak in French,” said rookie Alex Gallant.

The players said the French players are good at speaking English, but the English players admit they can’t speak French.

“I can’t speak a word of French,” said Currie.

Despite not being able to speak Czech, the players do what they can to help Matej Beran and Pavelka.

“It’s a challenge, but we do what we can to help them,” said Croteau.

Beran and Pavelka said their teammates have played a huge part in their adjustments to life in Canada.

Team leading scorer Ben Duffy is well liked by Beran and Pavelka.

“We like Ben Duffy, he has helped us a lot. He’s a great guy,” said Beran.

The players struggled early on, but once they start to know each other, the adjustment was very fast.

“I’m amazed at how fast Beran and Pavelka are adjusting. Pavelka can already speak some French and English,” said billet coordinator Lisa Savard.