1951/52 QAHL Regular Season
 
The battle for the 4 playoff spots was very tight this season, with the 4 playoff teams finishing within 1 point of each other. Shawinigan would return to the playoffs after a 1-year absence, finishing in 1st place. Drummondville would finish in 2nd place and hope to redeem themselves after the stunning loss they suffered in the finals last year and take home their 3rd title. Facing them and finishing in 3rd is Trois-Rivières, who actually improved this season and want to finally win a playoff series for the first time in franchise history. Finally, the last spot in the playoffs was clinched by the defending champions in Montreal, who hope to cause another surprise this year with an even lower seed than last year. Just outside the playoffs and in 5th place, we find the Sherbrooke Miners, who, despite an infusion of youth to the team, weren’t able to qualify for the playoffs for the 2nd year in a row. Unsurprisingly, Laval missed the playoffs, but they did not finish last. Indeed, the team finished 6th out of 7 teams in their inaugural season. In the last place, we find Quebec, who didn’t get the needed results out of their new players and completely collapsed this season after being stunned by Montreal in last year’s semi-finals.



Playoff Preview

Shawinigan Power (1) vs Montreal Metropolitans (4) 
All-time playoff head-to-head: 1-0 MTL

The last time these two faced off in the playoffs was in the 1949 Cartier Cup finals, where the Metros and the Power went all the way to 7 games. The two teams are very close to each other in talent as despite being in 4th, the Metros are only 3 points back from the Power. With that said, the youth infusion that Shawinigan did in the offseason will help them in this series against a Montreal team that is a bit depleted from losing a few players to the expansion team in Laval. However, I wouldn't count the defending champions out as they still some good talent on their roster and are capable of causing an upset like they did last year.
Prediction: SHA in 7

Drummondville Defenders (2) vs Trois-Rivières Loggers (3)
All-time playoff head-to-head: 1-0 DRU

In this series, the big question is whether the Loggers can finally get to the finals, being the only team in the first 6 teams that has not reached the finals yet. That will be tested in this series as they face off with a Drummondville team that hungry for another championship after a devastating loss in last year's finals. I do think that the Drummondville offence will be too much for the Loggers to contain once again like it did in last year's semi-final series between those two teams. 
Prediction: DRU in 5

Last edited by Kingsfan11 (6/15/2021 3:41 pm)

1952 Cartier Cup Finals
 
Game 1: MTL 4 @ TRV 2 Halfway through the first period of the game, the Loggers would open the finals score, then add another one in the dying seconds of the period to take a 2-goal lead. The Loggers fought hard to keep their lead, but early in the third period, Montreal would score to bring down the Loggers lead to one and score the tying goal midway through the period. The tie would hold until Montreal would score to take the lead with 3 minutes left in the game. The Metros would then confirm their victory with a goal in the game's dying seconds to take a 1-0 series lead.

Game 2: MTL 3 @ TRV 0 The Metros would score the first goal with 5 minutes left in the 1st period; they would add another goal to go up by 2 in the last minute. Despite many attempts by both teams to score a goal in the 2nd period, neither would score until halfway through the 3rd when Montreal would add another goal onto their lead and cruise to a 3-0 shutout to go up 2-0 in the series.

Game 3: TRV 1 @ MTL 3 The two teams would battle very fiercely to score the first goal, so fiercely that the first goal would come from Montreal’s Damien Grenier almost midway through the 2nd period. The fierce battle continued until the Loggers would tie the game in the first minute of the 3rd period, but a few minutes later, the Metros would retake the lead with a goal of their own. They would then add another one a minute past the period's midway point to take a 2-goal lead. That score would hold until the final buzzer, and the defending champions were a single win away from becoming the first team in league history to win back-to-back championships.

Game 4: TRV 2 @ MTL 4 This was crucial for the Loggers as their survival was on the line. Despite that, Montreal would score the first goal of the game midway through the 1st period. The tying goal from the Loggers would come a few minutes later, but the Metros would retake the lead early in the 2nd period. Montreal would add another goal to their lead late in the period and found themselves 20 minutes away from their 2nd consecutive title, but the Loggers weren’t dead yet as they scored a goal early in the 3rd period to cut the deficit to one goal. The Metros would once again take a 2-goal lead midway through the period, but this time, Trois-Rivières had no response as Montreal held on and swept the Loggers to win their 3rd championship.



Montreal makes history as they become the first team in league history to win back-to-back championships and become the 1st 4-seed to win the championship. They would parade the trophy in front of their loyal fans that came to see Game 4 in Montreal.


This concludes the 1951/52 QAHL season. Comments are appreciated as usual.

Last edited by Kingsfan11 (6/15/2021 3:37 pm)

1952 Offseason part 1
A few weeks after Montreal took home their 3rd championship, the league announced that it would start giving out 5 awards after each season, with the first awards being given this season. Awards would be given out for MVP, Playoffs MVP, Rookie of the Year, Defenseman of the Year and Goalie of the Year.

A few days after that announcement, another announcement was made to announce the award winners. The list went as follows: 

MVP: Lucas Beaudoin (DRU)  
Playoffs MVP: Maxime Mercier (MTL) 
Rookie of the Year: Matt Hunt (MTL)
Defenseman of the Year: Charles Poulin (TRV)
Goaltender of the Year: Brandon Trappier (TRV)

Last edited by Kingsfan11 (6/15/2021 3:35 pm)

1952 Offseason pt. 3

1952/53 QAHL Season Preview

The Drummondville Defenders made very few changes to their team in the offseason and looked to do better in the playoffs than they have over the past couple of years. Another team that did not make many changes this offseason is Montreal, who, after winning their second title in a row, look to win it all again this year. This year, the main challenger to those two teams looks to be Trois-Rivières, who have brought in even more young talent and could pose a serious threat this season. Once again, Shawinigan and Sherbrooke are mysteries as they try to rebuild their teams and get back to contender spots. The Miners look to be the better of the two teams, having brought in some new coaching staff to help with the failures of the old one. Laval has improved their roster this offseason but remains a few pieces away from making a push for a playoff spot. The Explorers find themselves in a tough spot between rebuilding or making a push for the playoffs, but they are expected to miss the playoffs.  

Power Rankings

1. Montreal
2. Drummondville
3. Trois-Rivières
4. Sherbrooke
5. Shawinigan
6. Laval
7. Quebec

This concludes the offseason, the 1952/53 QAHL season is up next. 

Last edited by Kingsfan11 (6/15/2021 3:33 pm)

1952/53 QAHL Regular Season

This year, the playoff teams weren’t as close to each other as they were last year. Finishing 1st for the second year in a row was Shawinigan, who finished way ahead of everybody else and hoped to do some damage in this year’s playoffs. Drummondville also finished in the same position as they did last year, and, like the Power, they want to make it back to the final after last year’s playoff heartbreak. Sherbrooke is back in the playoffs due to their young players playing very well to propulse them into a playoff spot, and a match-up against a Drummondville team that many around the league have said are the favourites to win it all. Taking 4th and the last spot in the playoff is the Loggers, who want to make it back to the final, but they’ll have to take down a very dominant Shawinigan team first. It seems the magic has finally run out for Montreal, who barely misses the playoffs after back-to-back championships and looks forward to next year to get back to the playoffs. It is only the 2nd time in league history that the Metros will not be in the playoffs. It was a good sophomore season for Laval, who managed to get within 10 points of the playoffs, but still need some pieces to make a real playoff push. Finally, in a distant 7th place, we find Quebec, which has decided to rebuild their franchise after another catastrophic season.


Playoff Preview

Shawinigan Power (1) vs Trois-Rivières Loggers (4)
Playoff Head-to-Head: 1-0 SHA

This series should probably be a slam dunk for the Power, but they learned last year that being in the first place doesn't guarantee a series win. The Loggers are a good team, so they won't go down without a fight, but Shawinigan's dominance will be too much for them.
Prediction: SHA in 5

Drummondville Defenders (2) vs Sherbrooke Miners (3)
Playoff Head-to-Head: 0-0

This series pits the favourite to win the title against a team back in the playoffs after missing them for the last 2 years. Sherbrooke is good, but unfortunately for them, the Defenders are a better team. Drummondville's stellar offence will probably end up being Sherbrooke's downfall in this series due to their inability to contain Drummondville's star players in the regular-season meetings between the two teams.
Prediction: DRU in 6



 

Last edited by Kingsfan11 (6/15/2021 3:32 pm)