Jason La Rose
Collège Français de Longueuil is finally playing for Canada’s National Junior A Championship.
After coming agonizingly close during its decade-long run of success in the Ligue de hockey junior AAA du Quebec (LHJAAAQ), Longueuil is skipping the step it has historically stumbled at – the Fred Page Cup.
In six appearances at the East Region tournament since 2011, Collège Français has lost in the regional final (2011, 2018), lost in the semifinals (2015, 2016, 2017) and missed out on the playoffs altogether (2013).
But with regionals cancelled in the wake of COVID-19 shutdowns that affected Junior A leagues across the country, Longueuil’s sixth league title in the last 10 completed seasons comes with it a path directly to the 2022 Centennial Cup, presented by Tim Hortons.
“It's a great opportunity,” says Longueuil head coach Eric Bouchard. “It's great visibility for our league, for the city of Longueuil. It's great experience for our players, as well. We've worked really hard to get here. We've been building this day since day one of training camp, and we had a really good progression along the way throughout the season. So, we're just excited to be here. It's going to be a great, great experience.”
The key to Collège Français’ success this season? Being really, really good at both ends of the ice.
To no one’s surprise, Longueuil scored and scored a lot, potting 265 goals in 41 games. That average of 6.46 goals per game was better than all other 118 Junior A teams in Canada; only three other teams – LHJAAAQ rivals Saint-Jérôme (6.36) and Beauce-Appalaches (6.05), and the Brooks Bandits (6.18) – averaged more than six goals a game.
Collège Français balanced its offence; Maxime Gagné won the LHJAAAQ scoring title with 94 points (40-54—94), but four other players had 50-point campaigns and another three reached the 30-point plateau.
So the offence was there, as expected.
But somewhat surprisingly, Collège Français was extremely stingy in the defensive end, allowing a league-low 105 goals – a whopping 55 less than Saint-Jérôme, which had the second-best defensive numbers.
Three goaltenders saw significant action, with Simon Bérubé (7-1, 2.38 GAA), Frederic Duteau-Labonte (12-1, 2.43 GAA) and Mathis Lacroix-Goulet (15-5, 2.66 GAA) finishing as three of the four LHJAAAQ netminders to post sub-3.00 goals-against averages.
The 200-foot success helped Longueuil to the top of the LHJAAAQ with only four regulation-time losses in 41 games, and after a slight stumble in the first round of the playoffs, when it went down 2-1 to Granby, it rolled off wins in 11 of its final 13 postseason contests, taking down Beauce-Appalaches in five games in the league final.
“I think our defensive game is helping us to get more time with the puck,” says Bouchard. “If we play well without the puck, we're to have more puck possession. And I think this is where we're building our offensive zone time.”
Now Collège Français gets its chance on the big stage, looking to become the first Quebec-based team to ever win a national title and the first to even reach the championship game since Châteauguay in 1993.
Longueuil opens its Centennial Cup schedule against the Alberta Junior Hockey League champions, the Brooks Bandits, on May 19.
HOW THEY GOT TO ESTEVAN
Ligue de hockey junior AAA du Québec Quarterfinal: defeated Granby 4-2 (2-3, 4-2, 1-5, 2-1 OT, 6-2, 2-1) Semifinal: defeated Terrebonne 4-1 (5-3, 1-5, 4-2, 8-4, 8-3) LHJAAAQ championship: defeated Beauce-Appalaches 4-1 (6-2, 0-3, 3-0, 6-4, 6-4)
REGULAR SEASON
Record (W-L-OTL): 34-4-3 (1st in LHJAAAQ) Goals for: 265 (1st in LHJAAAQ) Goals against: 105 (1st in LHJAAAQ) Power play: 55 for 192 (28.7% – 4th in LHJAAAQ) Penalty killing: 121 of 142 (85.2% – 1st in LHJAAAQ) Longest winning streak: 18 (Oct. 29-March 3) Top 3 scorers: • Maxime Gagné – 40G 54A 94P (1st in LHJAAAQ) • Frédérick Latendresse – 30G 34A 64P (18th in LHJAAAQ) • Owen Stammer – 30G 32A 62P (20th in LHJAAAQ)
PLAYOFFS
Record: 12-4 Goals for: 64 Goals against: 44 Power play: 17 for 59 (28.8%) Penalty killing: 38 of 49 (77.6%) Top 3 scorers: • Maxime Gagné – 12G 19A 31P • Tommy Bouchard – 12G 8A 20P • Chris Roy – 10G 7A 17P
NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP HISTORY
1990 – Sieurs de Longueuil | fourth place | 1-4 | 16GF 34GA
COMMITMENTS
None
CJHL TOP 20 RANKINGS
Oct. 4 – 17th Oct. 11 – not ranked\ Oct. 18 – not ranked Oct. 25 – not ranked Nov. 1 – Honourable Mention Nov. 8 – 12th Nov. 15 – 10th Nov. 22 – 7th Nov. 29 – 9th Dec. 6 – 5th Dec. 13 – 3rd Dec. 20 – 5th Feb. 7 – 5th Feb. 14 – 5th Feb. 21 – 2nd Feb. 28 – 2nd March 7 – 2nd March 14 – 2nd March 21 – 2nd