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1947 QAHL Offseason
A few weeks after winning their first championship, the Drummondville ownership announced that the team had finally found their name. Drummondville HC would rebrand to the Drummondville Defenders for the upcoming 1947/48 season.
The Defenders would drop blue from their colour scheme and replace it with black. Their new logo would be a red and black shield with a white D on it.
The only thing that remained similar to the old jerseys was the striping. The Defenders darkened the red on their jerseys and replaced blue with black
Montreal had originally planned to also make a rebrand this offseason but the rebrand wasn't ready in time for the new season. They announced that their rebrand would come in the 1948 offseason.
Last edited by Kingsfan11 (4/17/2021 9:58 am)
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1947/48 QAHL Regular Season
For the second season in a row, the team that was in 5th the prior season finishes 1st in the standings. Shawinigan is that team this year and powered through the regular season to not only make the playoffs for the first time but also finish in a distant 1st place. The newly renamed Drummondville Defenders take second place this year after their top defenseman was forced to miss the entire season after breaking both his legs in a car accident during the summer. Coming in 3rd was Montreal who hope to avenge last year’s loss against Drummondville. The soon-to-be- rebranded Nationals hope to take everyone by surprise this year and take down Drummondville. In 4th place we find the team that won it all 2 years ago, the Sherbrooke Miners. The Miners want to get back to the Cartier Cup finals but they have to face the Shawinigan Power who are firing on all cylinders this year. After being 1 single victory away from a championship, the Quebec Explorers collapse due to an injury-riddled season and finish in 5th place. Trois-Rivières can’t seem to find a way to crawl out of the basement of the league and finish in last place for the second year in a row
Last edited by Kingsfan11 (4/18/2021 5:41 pm)
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1948 QAHL Playoffs
Shawinigan Power (1) vs Sherbrooke Miners (4)
Game 1 between the Power and the Miners started in favor of Sherbrooke who were leading 2-1 midway through the second but then Shawinigan would score 4 goals over the course of the rest of the game to win 5-3. In game 2, the Power wouldn’t allow a single goal while scoring 4 to cruise to a 4-0 victory to take a 2-0 lead in the series. Back in front of their fans in game 3, the Miners would make a comeback of their own to win it 5-3. The final score in game 4 would be almost identical with Shawinigan winning the game 5-3 to push Sherbrooke to the brink of elimination. Back in Shawinigan for game 5, the Power were dominant all game and cut short a comeback attempt from the Miners with a goal in the last minute to send Sherbrooke home.
Drummondville Defenders (2) vs Montreal Nationals (3)
The rematch of last year between Drummondville and Montreal got off to a great start with a tense game 1. It was a game so tense and defensive that the first and only goal of the game was scored by Drummondville with 2 minutes left in the 3rd period. The two teams battled fiercely in game 2 despite many goals being scored with the winning goal coming from Montreal’s Quinn Baldwin 2 minutes into the 3rd to tie the series up at one. Montreal took a 2-0 lead early in game 3 but Drummondville would score a goal in the second and third period to send the two teams to overtime. It was again a defensive battle in OT as the teams were still tied after 20 minutes of overtime. About 6 minutes into 2nd overtime, Quinn Baldwin was Montreal’s hero once again as he found the back of the net to give the Nationals hope of an upset. After the craziness of game 3, game 4 was a fierce battle and with Drummondville down 3-2 going into the last minute of the second period, the Defenders scored 2 goals in barely 40 seconds, then added another one with a minute left in the third to tie the series at 2. Game 5 was a story of domination by the defending champs who would score 4 in the first then add a goal in each of the other two periods to win 6-2 and hoped to deliver the killing blow to the Nationals in Game 6 in Montreal. Just like the majority of the series, Game 6 was a very defensive battle. The two teams scored a goal early but no other goal would be scored until Montreal put one behind Drummondville’s goalie early in the third and held on to force a crucial game 7 in the home of the defending champs. The Defenders scored early into Game 7 and then the 2nd period was filled with goals as the two teams combined for 6 goals, but unfortunately for Nationals fans, the Defenders came up with 4 of them and with the addition of a goal in the third, Drummondville crushed the Nationals 6-2 and would face off against the Shawinigan Power in the Cartier Cup Finals
Last edited by Kingsfan11 (4/19/2021 6:42 pm)
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1948 Cartier Cup Finals
Game 1: Despite playing 7 games and being less rested than the Power, it was the Defenders who would take Game 1 with 2 goals in the first period and 1 each in the second and third periods to win 4-1
Game 2: Not much to say about game 2 other than it was a carbon copy of game 1 with the Defenders winning 4-1 again to take a 2-0 series lead
Game 3: Down 2-1 after 1 period, the Power finally woke up and led a comeback to win 3-2 and notch their first win of the series to make it 2-1
Game 4: Shawinigan showed they weren’t going to give up in game 4 as they took a 3-2 lead midway through the second and then added another goal with 15 seconds left to tie the series at 2
Game 5: Back in Shawinigan for game 5, it was a very defensive battle as whoever won had the chance to end it all in the next game. The Power would be the only ones to score as they put one in early in the 1st and held on to take the series lead
Game 6: It was a crucial game 6 for Drummondville, but it looked like no one had informed them of that fact as they remained scoreless for the second game in a row while Shawinigan scored two goals and held on to complete the comeback and take home their 1st championship with the playoff MVP award going to center Brandon Racine who was a crucial part of the comeback effort
Cartier Cup Champions: Shawinigan Power (1)
Last edited by Kingsfan11 (4/21/2021 12:52 pm)
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1948 QAHL Offseason
The rebrand announced by the Montreal Nationals last offseason was finally completed a few weeks after Shawinigan took home their 1st championship. The ownership group in Montreal were proud to announce the new name for the Nationals who were changing their name to the Metropolitans. The name Metropolitans was chosen to reference Montreal being the metropolis of Quebec.
Along with the new name, the Metropolitans debuted a new logo which consisted of a dark red M with a dark blue outline.
The jerseys were also changed with the red and blue darkened, the numbers were changed to dark blue and finally, a dark blue stripe was added to the socks.
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1948/49 QAHL Regular Season
It turns out that a rebrand was exactly what Montreal needed as the Metropolitans finished first in the QAHL and hope that the trend of 1st place teams winning it all would apply to them this season. After winning it all last year, the Shawinigan Power finished in 2nd place, 7 points behind the Metros. They hope to repeat but recent history doesn’t appear in their favour. In 3rd place, we find Trois-Rivières, who after back-to-back last-place finishes, jump back into the playoffs. Drummondville would finish 4th after losing the tiebreaker to the Loggers and would face a familiar foe in Montreal. It was a season to forget for Sherbrooke who is just 3 years removed from winning it all. They would finish 5th and hope that next year will be better. Finally, we have Quebec whose season was derailed early with injuries and finished in 6th place.
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Looking like the Metros year, but I'm pulling for the Power.
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1949 QAHL Playoffs
Montreal Metropolitans (1) vs Drummondville Defenders (4)
For the third year in a row, Montreal and Drummondville would face each other in the first round, with Montreal being the top seed for the first time. The growing rivalry got even tenser early in Game 1 when a Drummondville defenseman made a dangerous hit on Montreal’s captain that would cause him to fall to the ice and not get up. He was stretchered out of the game, and then play resumed even more fiercely, with Montreal scoring two goals to end the 1st period with the lead. After Drummondville took the lead back with two goals of their own, Montreal would tie the game to make 3-3 after 2 periods. Late in the third, the Metros would score the winning goal to take Game 1 4-3. They would learn after the game that their captain would miss the rest of the playoffs with a concussion. Drummondville would start Game 2 with two quick goals to take a 2-0 lead, but then the two teams would exchange goals in the second to make it 4-1 after 2. Montreal attempted a comeback in the third period, but it wasn’t enough, and the Defenders took Game 2 by a score of 5-3. After the two teams scored 2 apiece in the 1st period of Game 3, the Defenders looked like they were headed to another victory with a goal late in the 2nd but midway through the 3rd period, a Montreal defenseman would bank a shot off the post and score the equalizer to send everyone to overtime. It was a defensive battle in overtime until a Drummondville winger found a hole in the defence and let off a shot that would ring off the crossbar and onto an open teammate’s stick in front to put Drummondville up 2-1 in the series. After the spectacular ending of Game 3, Montreal wanted to redeem themselves in Game 4, and they did exactly that. They would score the equalizer late in the first, score 4 unanswered goals across the next two periods, and then allow a single goal to win 5-2 and tie the series at 2. Montreal’s domination would continue in Game 5 in front of their fans as they ravaged the poor Defenders, not allowing a single goal and scoring 3 themselves to push Drummondville to the brink of elimination. Once again, it was a crucial Game 6 for Drummondville on home ice, but they looked like they hadn’t learned their lesson and remained scoreless again while Montreal escaped with a 3-0 victory that sent the Defenders home empty-handed.
Shawinigan Power (2) vs Trois-Rivières Loggers (3)
It was a great return to the playoffs for the Loggers as they surprised everyone by knocking off the Power with 2 goals in the 1st period and then adding another in the 2nd and 3rd periods to take game 1 by a score of 4-1. The Loggers got started quickly in Game 2, scoring the first barely a minute in. That lead would hold until early in the second when the Power would tie the game for the first time in the series to watch the Loggers get back ahead a few minutes later. Barely 30 seconds after the go-ahead goal by Trois-Rivières, Shawinigan would tie it up again, and this score would hold until the end of regulation. After 20 minutes of overtime, the score was still tied at 2, and we would need double OT. Almost halfway through the 2nd overtime, a Shawinigan forward found his way through the Loggers defence and put the puck past the goalie. Back in Shawinigan for Game 3, the Power felt reenergized by their victory in the last game and gave nothing to the Loggers. They would score two goals, one late in the 1st and the other midway through the second, while allowing no goals to the Loggers offence and would take a 2-1 lead in the series. The Loggers would again take the lead early in Game 4, but the Power would reply with their own goal a few minutes later. It looked like we were heading to overtime with the score still tied at 1 in the last few minutes of the 3rd period, but Shawinigan would find the back of the net with 3 minutes remaining in the period. This goal made the Power a little overconfident, and the Loggers took advantage of that and tied the game at 2 barely a minute later. We were going to overtime for the second time in the series. With about 2 minutes left in overtime, a Trois-Rivières defenseman found a hole and let off a shot that ringed off the crossbar and went in to tie the series at 2. The events of Game 3 would repeat themselves in Game 5 as the Power would score 3 goals without allowing one and push the Loggers to the brink of elimination. Before Game 6, the Loggers captain addressed his team and reminded them that this game was do-or-die for them and not repeat the same mistakes that Drummondville had made earlier that day. Two goals by the Power in the first 2 minutes of the game, and the captain wondered if his team had listened to him at all. The Loggers would manage a goal in the dying minutes of the 3rd, but it wouldn’t be enough, and the Shawinigan Power would advance to face off with the Montreal Metropolitans in the finals
Last edited by Kingsfan11 (6/24/2021 7:45 pm)
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1949 Cartier Cup Finals
Game 1: SHA 6 @ MTL 5 The Power are looking for their second title and they showed exactly that with a quick goal in the first, but then midway through the period, Montreal would tie and then Shawinigan would take back the lead a few seconds later with Montreal tying it at 2 late in the period. The Power would take the lead again early in the second and then double their lead a few minutes later. Montreal would cut the lead down to one barely two minutes later and then tie it at 4 almost midway through the third, but a few minutes later, the Power would take the lead again before adding another one barely a minute after the last one. Barely a minute after that goal, Montreal would cut Shawinigan’s lead back down to 1 again but couldn’t score the equalizer and the Power took Game 1.
Game 2: SHA 1 @ MTL 5 After the spectacular opening period in Game 1, the 1st period was a bit lacking in goals, with the first goal being scored by Montreal with 5 minutes left in the period. The Metros would double their lead early in the second period, but the Power would cut their lead to 1 late in the period. 40 seconds after Shawinigan’s goal, Montreal would score again to go up by 2 again and then early in the 3rd, they would add another goal to give themselves a 3-goal lead. The festival of goals would continue for Montreal midway through the period to go up by 4 and that score would hold and Montreal would tie the series at 1
Game 3: MTL 2 @ SHA 3 Midway through the 1st period, Shawinigan would open the scoring with an impressive tic-tac-toe play and then add another goal a few seconds after their first. 3 minutes later, Montreal would score their first goal of the game early in the 2nd and then tie the game at 2 goals apiece midway through the period. Early in the 3rd period, Shawinigan would take back the lead and would hold that lead to take a 2-1 series lead.
Game 4: MTL 1 @ SHA 0 Late in the 1st period, a Montreal defenseman would rifle a shot past Shawinigan’s goaltender to score the first and only goal of the game to tie the series at 2.
Game 5: SHA 0 @ MTL 2 Midway through the first period, it would be Montreal who would the first to score again and then double their lead a few minutes later. Shawinigan had no response for the second game in a row as Montreal took Game 5 and only needed one more win to take their first in franchise history.
Game 6: MTL 0 @ SHA 1 A late hit from Shawinigan’s Mario Francoeur in Game 5 would cost the Power as Francoeur was suspended by the league and would miss the rest of the final. The Power wouldn’t make the same mistakes as other teams had done in this crucial game 6 and would score the first goal with 2 minutes remaining in the 1st period. That would turn out to be the only goal of the game as the Power took home the victory and forced a Game 7 back in Montreal.
Game 7: SHA 1 @ MTL 2 (2OT) This game was do-or-die for both teams as they wrestled for the right to hold the Cartier Cup. The Power got a great start towards going back-to-back with a goal early in the 2nd period. Late in the period, the Metros would tie it up on the penalty kill and keep their chances alive. No goals would be scored in the 3rd period and this already tense Game 7 would need overtime. After 20 minutes of overtime, the two teams were still tied and we would need second overtime. Midway through the 2nd overtime, Montreal’s Henri Lacombe would find himself alone in front of the net and would lodge the puck behind Shawinigan’s goalie to give the Metros their first championship.
Last edited by Kingsfan11 (4/29/2021 12:14 am)
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1949 QAHL Offseason
Montreal says farewell to their captain
A few weeks after their victory in Game 7, the Montreal Metropolitans had some sad news to announce to the league. Their captain, Jacob King, had passed away after being in a coma caused by the hit that knocked him out of Game 1 of the semi-final against Drummondville. King was 33 at the time of his death.
King's jersey retired by Metros
A few days after the sudden passing of their captain Jacob King, the Montreal Metropolitans retired the number 12 that had been worn by King since their founding back in 1945. A banner was raised in the Montreal Coliseum to honor King
League to add games to schedule for 1950/51 season
After a meeting between owners in mid-August, the league announced that they would adopt a 72 game season for 1950/51.
Last edited by Kingsfan11 (5/01/2021 1:28 am)