Laval Patriotes claim a pair of provincial championships with ‘10 and ‘11 titles
Hockey Quebec concluded its 2022-23 youth hockey season this weekend with the Chevrolet Cup. The tournament crowned a provincial champion as the best team in the Canadian province at the 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010 and 2011 age groups.
The Laval Patriotes claimed two of those championships, winning the ‘10 and ‘11 tournaments. Additionally, As de Quebec won the 2009 title, while Estacades Mauricie won the 2008 playoffs and Laval/Montreal won the oldest age group as 2007 champions.
After dropping the first game of the tournament, the Patriotes rattled off four consecutive wins in three days en route to the 2011 championship. Shawn-Anthony Senat led the team in scoring with seven points in five games. Three of those came in the final two games, as Laval clinched the U12 Chevrolet Cup with a 7-1 win in the semifinal and 4-0 win in the championship.
In the U13 tournament, Mathis Khoury and Justin Cardillo proved to be a dangerous tandem. They combined to score 18 of Laval’s 44 goals over the weekend. Khoury’s eighth goal helped propel the Patriotes past Intrepide de Gatineau in the semifinals. Then in the championship, he would score two more goals in Laval’s 4-2 finish over Dynamiques CCL.
With a pair of championships, the Laval Patriotes can claim superiority over youth hockey at the youngest age levels in Quebec. The U13 squad went 21-4-5 in LHEQ play and finished the regular season third in the Rousseau Sports Division. The U12 team finished second in its division with a 20-6-4 record. Both proved to be difficult opponents come playoff time, evident by their championship runs.
Léo-Gabriel Gosselin scores back-to-back game-winning goals for as de Quebec
Entering the postseason on a 7-0-1 run, As de Quebec continued its winning ways through Entrepôts du Hockey series play. That ultimately led to a four-win run that earned Quebec a No. 1 seed entering the Chevrolet Cup. And from there, the success never stopped.
Félix Vachon’s first goal of the weekend broke a 1-1 tie against Seigneurs des Milles-Iles on Thursday. That kept Quebec’s win streak in tact as they avoided near defeat. The next two days consisted of a dominant 4-1 win over Lions Lac St-Louis and a 5-1 win over Albatros est-du-Quebec. That pushed them into a semifinal matchup with Harfangs de Sherbrooke on Sunday morning.
Forwards Zack Arsenault and Louis-Émile Dumais had done much of the heavy lifting for As de Quebec. They combined for 40 points in nine playoff games. However, when they entered the third period of the semifinal game tied 2-2, it would be a new name breaking through. Just 2:24 into the final frame, Léo-Gabriel Gosselin scored the go-ahead goal. It was his fourth goal of the playoffs and fifth point total, pushing Quebec on to the championship.
Just seven hours later, in the championship, Gosselin would do it again.
Trailing the Lanaudière Pionniers, Dumais would tie the game at 1-1 early in the third period. Then, Arsenault would score his 15th goal of the playoffs that tied it again at 2-2. As the game went to overtime, it would be Gosselin who again broke the tie, winning the U14 championship for As de Quebec just 1:17 into the extra frame.
Winning the championship in dramatic fashion, Gosselin’s goal ends As de Quebec’s 2022-23 season with a 17-game unbeaten streak.
The top four teams from each of the three divisions in the Ligue de Hockey d’Excellence du Quebec (LHEQ) earned automatic bids into the tournament.
Estacades Mauricie dominate U15 Chevrolet Cup
The 2008-born Estacades Mauricie faced little resistance on their path to a 2023 Chevrolet Cup championship. In four Entrepôts Series games, they out-scored opponents 23-6 to earn the top seed heading into this weekend. Domination continued at the provincial championship as well. First, a 5-1 win over Arsenal Lac St-Louis on Thursday. That was followed up by 7-3 and 5-3 wins over Patriotes Laval and Vert et Noir RIC.
In the semis and finals, goaltenders Malik LeBlanc and Jacob St-Cyr would trade shut-out performances, as Estacades won 5-0 and 3-0 games just five hours apart.
The championship run was indicative of their 2022-23 season. In 30 LHEQ games, Mauricie went 21-2-7 to finish as the top team in L’entrepôt du Hockey Division. Enzo Lottin and Chad Lygitsakos were among the leading scorers in the league, leading the Estacades to a 2008 championship.
Laval/Montreal completes unthinkable comeback in semifinal stunner
A team that suffered defeat just four times in LHEQ play this season, Laval/Montreal finished a run to the 2023 Chevrolet Cup with a dominant playoff push. They went 25-4-3 in the Rousseau Sports Division of the LHEQ.
With a balanced attack, Nicola Ragusa and Kamyl Chemrouk led an offense that featured nine skaters with nine-or-more points in the playoffs. That depth came in handy when Laval/Montreal needed offense to advance. In the final four games of the tournament, they reached or surpassed the five-goal mark, including a 6-5 win in the semifinals. At one point, they trailed Citadelles R-N Abi 5-1 just 22 minutes into the game. A pair of goals from Ragusa, and a third goal from Chemrouk would dig Laval/Montreal out of a hole in the second period. Luc Béliveau would score a power-play goal 6:26 into the third period to tie the game up. Then in the final moments of regulation, Mickaël Pagé would complete the comeback to make it 6-5 with his fifth goal of the playoffs.
Pulling off the unlikely comeback opened up the doors for a championship matchup with Corsaires Pointe-Lévy. An opponent that finished the regular season with a 16-12-4 record, and entered the Chevrolet Cup as the No. 4 seed out of the Entrepôts du Hockey series. Three consecutive one-goal victories helped lift Corsaires just to get to the championship game. However, Laval/Montreal would see to it that Corsaires’ run came to an end.
Ragusa, Chemrouk, Anthony Miscione and James Roberts would score four consecutive goals to start the game. That mounted a lead large enough that Pointe-Lévy could not come back from. Laval/Montreal would finish the game 5-1 to claim the 2007 championship.
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