Jason La Rose
The Cantonniers de Magog are one step away from a return trip to the TELUS Cup, but if they hope to improve on their 2018 silver medal they’ll have to get by the giant-killers of Midget hockey, the Lions du Lac St-Louis. While the second-seeded Cantonniers were expected to be in the final, most had them pencilled in to face the Chevaliers de Lévis, who set a LHMAAAQ record with a 41-1 record and were 6-0 through two rounds of the playoffs. But the Lions roared in the semifinals, shocking the Chevaliers in overtime of the deciding Game 5 to finish off the upset.
Olivier Adam has been almost unbeatable in the Magog goal, posting a 0.95 goals-against average and .961 save percentage in 10 postseason games, but will face a tough challenge from the Lions, who feature the top two playoff scorers – James Malatesta (10-10—20) and Matt Choupani (8-10—18).
RECENT CHAMPIONS (TELUS CUP FINISH) 2018 – Cantonniers de Magog (silver medal) 2017 – Blizzard du Séminaire Saint-François (silver medal) 2016 – Lions du Lac St-Louis (bronze medal) 2015 – Grenadiers de Châteauguay (silver medal) 2014 – Grenadiers de Châteauguay (silver medal)
LIONS DU LAC ST-LOUIS LHMAAAQ FINALIST
Regular season record: 24-16-2 (5th in LHMAAAQ) Goals for: 168 Goals against: 130 Leading scorer: Matt Choupani (43G 40A 83P)
Playoff record: 9-3 Goals for: 49 Goals against: 28 Leading scorer: James Malatesta (10G 10A 20P)
ROAD TO THE QUEBEC REGIONAL Preliminary round: defeated Collège Esther-Blondin 3-0 (7-3, 4-2, 6-2) Quarter-final: defeated Trois-Rivières 3-1 (4-0, 3-4 2OT, 4-0, 6-3) Semifinal: defeated Lévis 3-2 (1-2, 5-2, 2-1, 2-5, 5-4 OT)
Last national championship appearance: 2016 (silver medal) Total national championship appearances: 8 (1977, 1981, 1984, 1985, 1991, 1992, 2011, 2016)
CANTONNIERS DE MAGOG LHMAAAQ FINALIST
Regular season record: 34-2-5 (2nd in LHMAAAQ) Goals for: 196 Goals against: 88 Leading scorer: Alexandre Doucet (29G 26A 55P)
Playoff record: 9-2 Goals for: 42 Goals against: 17 Leading scorer: Justin Robidas (5G 12A 17P)
ROAD TO THE QUEBEC REGIONAL Preliminary round: defeated Amos 3-0 (3-2 OT, 5-0, 5-2) Quarter-final: defeated Châteauguay 3-1 (5-1, 9-0, 3-7, 1-0 4OT) Semifinal: defeated Gatineau 3-1 (4-1, 2-1, 0-1, 5-2)
Last national championship appearance: 2018 (silver medal) Total national championship appearances: 3 (1995, 2000, 2018)