rttc albatros

Road to the TELUS Cup: Albatros du Collège Notre-Dame

Jason La Rose
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April 18, 2015
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It has been a long six weeks for the Albatros du Collège Notre-Dame.

Eliminated from the Ligue de hockey midget AAA du Québec playoffs by the Grenadiers de Châteauguay on March 11, the Albatros return to the ice at Centre Premier Tech as the host team for the 2015 TELUS Cup.

When the puck drops Monday against the Newbridge Academy Gladiators, it will have been 40 days since Châteauguay’s 2-1 win in Game 4 of the LHMAAAQ quarter-final ended the Albatros’ hopes of qualifying for Canada’s National Midget Championship through the front door.

College Notre-Dame has stayed busy on the ice, including games as part of the Coupe Dodge, the provincial championship for teams eliminated from the postseason, but they’re ready for the games that really count.

“Our chances of winning are very good,” head coach Allan Johnston told infodimanche.com. “The players have worked very hard over the last month. They believe. We have pushed our players physically, and our physical condition will help us as the tournament goes on.”

The Albatros started the regular season strong, winning five in a row in September, and ended with a bang, getting six victories in their last seven games, and they weren’t too bad in between, either, finishing their schedule with the fifth-best record in the LHMAAAQ.

That earned them a first-round date with the Cantonniers de Magog, and the Albatros quickly took command of the best-of-five series with a pair of wins on home ice in the opening two games.

The Cantonniers got one back as the series shifted to Magog, but a shutout win in Game 4 sent Collège Notre-Dame through to the quarter-finals and set up a showdown with the defending LHMAAAQ champions.

Starting the series on the road, the Albatros picked up an important split thanks to a four-goal third period – two off the stick of captain and league-leading scorer Raphaël Bastille – and a 6-5 win in Game 2.

Back on home ice at the Centre Premier Tech, Collège Notre-Dame held a 3-1 lead late in the second period of Game 3, but allowed the Grenadiers to get within one before the end of the middle frame and tie the game early in the third before an overtime winner gave Châteauguay a 4-3 win and the series lead.

The Albatros’ playoff run lasted just one more game, setting up their long hockey hiatus.

They’ll get another chance at the Grenadiers, who lost just one more game en route to their second consecutive LHMAAAQ championship; the teams meet in the preliminary round finale on April 24.

History is not on the side of Collège Notre-Dame. Since the tournament went to a six-team regional format in 1984, only three host teams have been crowned national champions – North Bay in 1984, Richelieu in 1990 and Calgary in 1991.

HOW THEY GOT TO RIVIÈRE-DU-LOUP

Ligue de hockey midget AAA du Québec
Preliminary round: defeated Magog 3-1 (5-2, 4-2, 2-4, 4-0)
Quarter-final: lost to Châteauguay 3-1 (1-3, 6-5, 3-4 OT, 1-2)

REGULAR SEASON

Record: 24-12-6 (5th in LHMAAAQ)
Goals For: 162 (3rd in LHMAAAQ)
Goals Against: 126 (8th in LHMAAAQ)
Longest Winning Streak: 5 (Sept. 7-21)
Top 3 Scorers (all games):

  • Raphaël Bastille – 22G 45A 67P (1st in LHMAAAQ)
  • Marc-Olivier Lantin – 25G 29A 54P (7th in LHMAAAQ)
  • Raphaël Santerre – 21G 25A 46P (16th in LHMAAAQ)

PLAYOFFS

Record: 4-4
Goals For: 26
Goals Against: 22
Top 3 Scorers:

  • Raphaël Bastille – 5G 3A 8P
  • Samuel L’Italien – 2G 6A 8P
  • Raphaël Santerre – 2G 5A 7P

NATIONAL MIDGET CHAMPIONSHIP HISTORY

First appearance

PLAYERS TO WATCH

RAPHAËL BASTILLE
two-way centre … leads on and off the ice … plays a consistent game … works hard … plays with grit … can score in bunches … smart

HUNTER MOREAU
offensive minded … pure goal scorer … great shot … quick release … always a threat to score … good speed … quick feet … finds open space

RAPHAËL SANTERRE
has offensive upside … sees the ice very well … good shot … above average hockey sense … uses size to create space … finds teammates

QMJHL DRAFTED PLAYERS

Samuel L’Italien – Cape Breton 2014 (2nd round, 35th overall)
Hunter Moreau – Rimouski 2014 (2nd round, 36th overall)
Raphaël Santerre – Shawinigan 2014 (3rd round, 46th overall)
Emanuel Aucoin – Shawinigan 2013 (3rd round, 48th overall)
Félix Gagnon – Gatineau 2013 (6th round, 98th overall)
Francis Stachtchenko – Chicoutimi 2014 (12th round, 215th overall)

For more information:

Esther Madziya
Manager, Communications
Hockey Canada

(403) 284-6484 

[email protected] 

Spencer Sharkey
Manager, Communications
Hockey Canada

(403) 777-4567

[email protected]

Jeremy Knight
Manager, Corporate Communications
Hockey Canada

(647) 251-9738

[email protected]

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