1953 QAHL Playoffs
 
Drummondville Defenders (2) vs Sherbrooke Miners (3)
The Defenders would be the first to score in the series when Lucas Beaudoin would send a slapshot under the Sherbrooke goalie’s blocker into the net with 4 minutes left in the 1st period of Game 1. Midway through the 2nd period, the Miners would tie the game at 1, but Drummondville would take back the lead a few minutes later. Sherbrooke would tie the game at 2 midway through the 3rd period, and the tie would hold until the end of regulation, and the teams would need overtime. It looked like we were heading towards a 2nd overtime with the two teams still tied late in the period, but the Miners would score with 3 minutes left and take a 1-0 series lead. Late in the 1st period of Game 2, the Defenders would open the scoring, and the Miners would reply with a goal of their own with 2 minutes left in the period. Early in the 2nd period, the Miners would take the lead and then add another one early in the 3rd and then another one a few minutes later to go up by 3. Barely 2 minutes later, that lead would be increased to 4 and would hold to the end of regulation time, and the Miners would take a 2-0 series lead. Sherbrooke would score the first goal in Game 3 in the last minute of the 1st period, and the Defenders would reply with a goal of their own with 5 minutes left in the 2nd period. Sherbrooke would retake the lead with barely 15 seconds to play. Still, Drummondville would equalize again in the 1st minute of the 3rd period. The tie would hold until the midway point of the period when Sherbrooke would take the lead once again. They would confirm their victory with an empty-netter with 9 seconds remaining to take a 3-0 lead in the series and push Drummondville to the brink of elimination. The Defenders would score the first goal with 6 minutes left in the 1st period of game 4, then add another one barely 2 minutes later to take a 2-0 lead. That lead would increase to 3-0 early in the 2nd period, but the Miners would reply with a goal of their own a few minutes later to cut the Drummondville lead down to 2. Sherbrooke would bring that lead down to 1 late in the period, but Drummondville would score again a few minutes later to get the score to 4-2 after 40 minutes of play. Early in the 3rd period, Drummondville would bring their lead back up to 3 again and then the Miners would score with a minute left in the period. However, it would not be enough, and Drummondville would avoid elimination, but they were still on the chopping block. 60 minutes would pass without a single goal in game 5 despite some great chances by both teams. This already crucial game for Drummondville would need extra time, but 20 minutes later, there still wasn’t a goal on the scoreboard. The two teams would need 2nd overtime. The Defenders would take a costly penalty early in the second period of overtime. The Miners would be quick to capitalize, as Sherbrooke‘s Mario Francoeur would score the winning goal barely 10 seconds later to send Drummondville home in 5 games.
 
Shawinigan Power (1) vs Trois-Rivières Loggers (4)
The first goal of the series would come early in the 2nd period when the Loggers would send a player on a breakaway and beat the goalie below the pads. A few minutes later, the regular-season champions would tie the game up with a slapshot off the crossbar. Once again, the Loggers would score early in the third period and looked to close it out. Still, with 3 minutes left, Shawinigan would tie it back up and send the teams into extra time. 6 minutes in, Shawinigan’s Mathieu Leblond would score the game-winning goal to get the Power up 1-0 in the series. It was a slow start in Game 2 as Trois-Rivières would score the first goal with 3 minutes left in the 2nd period. They would add a second goal almost midway through the 3rd period, but the Power would pull back within one goal a few minutes later. The Loggers would score again with 5 minutes left in the game and would hold on to tie the series at 1. Trois-Rivières would be the first to score in Game 3 when Stephane Morin beat the Defenders goaltender with a quick shot under the glove almost midway through the 1st period. That goal would end up being the only one of the game despite many stellar chances on both sides. The Loggers would hold on and take Game 3 to take the lead in the series. Trois-Rivières would be the first to score once again, this time barely 5 minutes into Game 4 and then would add a second goal late in the first period to go up by 2. The Power tried all they could, but they wouldn’t get anything past Brandon Trappier. Last year’s top goaltender showed why he deserved that award with a second shutout in a row. The Loggers would confirm their victory with an empty-netter and push the top-seeded Power to 1 loss away from elimination. 5 minutes into Game 5, the Loggers were back at it, with their first goal coming from Samuel Morin’s stick. For the first time since Game 2, the Power would send the puck past Brandon Trappier and tie the game at 1 apiece in the last minute of the 1st period. The Power would then take the lead late in the 2nd period and then add another in the dying seconds of the period to go up 3-1. Midway through the 3rd period, Trois-Rivières would cut the Shawinigan lead in half but weren’t able to score the equalizer, and the Power took game 5 to bring the series to 3-2. Back in front of their fans for Game 6, the Loggers hoped to finish off the Power. Still, Shawinigan would break the scoreless tie late in the 3rd period and then add an empty-netter to send the series to Game 7. The tension was at a significant level in Power Coliseum for this crucial Game 7. Indeed, the winner of this game would advance to take on Sherbrooke in the finals. The Loggers certainly understood the goal of this game: they would score barely a minute into the game and then add another goal midway through the 2nd period to go up by 2.  Late in the 2nd period, Trois-Rivières would increase that lead to 3. The Loggers would confirm their victory with a 4th goal late in the 3rd period and send the top-seeded Power home with a 4-0 victory and a dominant performance by Brandon Trappier, who picks up his 3rd shutout of the playoffs. The Power would once again fail to reach the finals as the top seed in the playoffs.


1953 Cartier Cup Finals Preview

For the second consecutive year, the 3 and 4 seeds meet in the finals. However, Sherbrooke is a bit more rested, having only needed 5 games to eliminate their 1st round opponent while the Loggers had to go to the limit to get rid of their opponent. That extra few days of rest might be enough for the Miners to take advantage and ruin Trois-Rivières' second straight finals appearance, but don't count out the Loggers, who could do some damage and also have a red hot goalie who has 3 shutouts over 7 games last round.
Prediction: SHE in 7
 

Last edited by Kingsfan11 (6/30/2021 3:04 am)

1953 QAHL Awards
 
Playoff MVP: Brandon Trappier (TRV)
The Loggers goaltender proved he deserved this award by getting 3 shutouts in the first round to help Trois-Rivières reach the finals and then making a few key saves in the last minutes of Game 7 of the finals to help his team lift their 1st championship.

MVP: Kevin Taillefer (DRU)
Despite playoff heartbreak, the Defenders captain picks up his first MVP award after scoring 63 points in 72 games for Drummondville to help them to the 2nd seed in the playoffs.

Rookie of the Year: Charles-Anthony Lebrun (QUE)
Lebrun getting this award is pretty much the only bright light in an otherwise forgettable season for the Explorers. The 20-year-old left-winger was a great addition to a depleted roster and, despite his 23 points in 62 games, looks to be a key part of Quebec’s offence moving forward.

Defenseman of the Year: Thierry Marois (SHA)
Marois was one reason why Shawinigan finished 1st in the league for the 2nd year in a row. He finished his 7th season with Shawinigan with 63 points in 66 games but missed the playoffs due to an injury he suffered late in the season.

Goaltender of the Year: Laurent Tisseyre (SHA)
Tisseyre was another one of the reasons Shawinigan repeated as regular-season champions. He helped  Shawinigan reach the top of the standings with 43 wins in 62 starts, picking up 5 shutouts along the way. But, unfortunately, that wasn’t enough to save them from elimination at the hands of the eventual champions.

Last edited by Kingsfan11 (6/30/2021 12:50 am)

Big fan of Victoriaville's uni and colors, I think the number font could use some work though

1953/54 QAHL Regular Season
 
Northern Conference
 
As predicted, Trois-Rivières was a great team this season, amassing 50 wins and 105 points to take first place in the conference and the entire league behind the outstanding play of last year’s playoff MVP Brandon Trappier in the net. Coming in second place in the conference and surprisingly making the playoffs as the 3rd seed in Victoriaville. They had a great team, which is rare for expansion teams, but it helped them make the playoffs in their first season. Quebec improved this season and would finish only 4 points away from a playoff spot, so they probably need one more piece to get back to the playoffs next year. Shawinigan finishing last in the conference is a surprise considering that they were back-to-back regular-season champions. It was ultimately injuries to some core players that derailed the Power's season and caused them to tumble to the bottom of the newly-formed conference.
 
Southern Conference

Montreal is back in the playoffs this year as their young stars pushed them to not only the playoffs but the top spot in the conference. They will be facing the new team in Victoriaville in the playoffs. Behind Montreal is Sherbrooke, who has barely made the playoffs off the back of solid goaltending, but it should be a challenge for them against the Loggers. Drummondville was in the playoff race all season but ultimately fell short after a string of defeats in the last few weeks and will miss the playoffs for the first time since 1946. It was a season to forget for Laval, who finished last in the league and conference due to many injuries and poor goaltending all season.


1954 Playoff Preview

Trois-Rivières Loggers (1) vs Sherbrooke Miners (4)
All Time Playoff Series: 1-0 SHE 
This series won't be a close one because the Loggers have an elite goaltender, and they finished almost 30 points in front of the Miners in the standings. Despite that, I don't think it'll be a sweep because Sherbrooke's goalie is also a great goaltender and could steal some games 
Prediction: TRV in 6

Montreal Metropolitans (2) vs Victoriaville Patriots (3)
All-Time Playoff Series: 0-0 
This series is very much a mystery because, on the one hand, Montreal has been really dominant this year thanks to their young stars on offence. Still, Victoriaville has some weapons of their own, and their defence has been very good at neutralizing opposing players all season. In the end, I think Montreal’s experience in the playoffs will help them prevail, but watch out for the Patriots in the next few years. 
Prediction: MTL in 7

Last edited by Kingsfan11 (7/22/2021 12:33 am)

1954 QAHL Semi-Finals
 
Trois-Rivières Loggers (1) vs Sherbrooke Miners (4)
The first playoff game as defending champs for Trois-Rivières started slowly as they would score the first goal early in the 3rd period. They would add a second midway through the period, and despite a Sherbrooke goal late in the period, they would hold on to take a 1-0 series lead. Sherbrooke would score early in the 1st period of Game 2 to take their first lead of the series, then would add another one almost midway through the 2nd period. That would be their last goal as Trois-Rivières would score 3 goals in the 2nd period and 2 goals in the 3rd period to take a 2-0 series lead with a 5-2 victory. Midway through the first period of Game 3, the Loggers would open the score and then add another goal midway through the 3rd period to shutout the Miners and push them to the brink of elimination. Sherbrooke would open the scoring barely 20 seconds into Game 4, but the Loggers would tie it up a few minutes later with their own goal. Trois-Rivières would score again two minutes later to allow themselves to sweep the series, but the Miners would tie the game at 2 midway through the period. The 2-2 tie would stand until late in the 3rd period when Sherbrooke would score to take the lead. Still, Trois-Rivières would send the game to overtime with a goal in the last minute of regulation. Early in the overtime period, Sherbrooke’s Marc-Antoine Laframboise would score to keep the Miners alive and send the series back to Trois-Rivières for Game 5. The Loggers wanted to eliminate the Miners at home in Game 5, and they took the first step in doing so with a goal early in the 1st period. Sherbrooke didn’t want to go home, so they would score the equalizer late in the second period and then take the lead midway through the 3rd period. The lead held, and Sherbrooke would force a Game 6 with a 2-1 win. Early in the 1st period of Game 6, the Miners would score and hoped to keep the lead to force a game 7 and then took another step at doing so by scoring again a few minutes later. Early in the 3rd, Trois-Rivières would cut the Sherbrooke lead in half and then tie the game at 2 midway through the period. The tie would hold until the end of regulation, and the two teams would need overtime for the second time in the series. 3 minutes into overtime, a Loggers forward found the back of the net on an excellent cross-crease pass to send Sherbrooke home in 6 games.

Montreal Metropolitans (2) vs Victoriaville Patriots (3)

Montreal was clearly ready to outclass Victoriaville in the 1st game of their semi-final matchup. They would score 3 unanswered goals in barely 4 minutes to start the game. Victoriaville would reduce the Montreal lead to two midway through the 1st. Still, the Metros would bring it back up to three barely a minute later. The Patriots would score early in the second period, but Montreal would reply with their own goal a minute later. The Metros would then push their lead to 6-2 midway through the 2nd period, but Victoriaville would score two minutes later to bring the score to 6-3. Montreal would score the last goal of the game midway through the third to take Game 1 by a score of 7-3. Montreal would open the scoring early in Game 2 with a goal from defenseman Austin Wilson, but Victoriaville would tie the game at 1 early in the second period. Late in the 2nd period, Victoriaville would take their first lead of the playoffs with a goal by center Carl Blanche, but the Metros would tie it at 2 with their own goal early in the third period. Barely a minute after Montreal’s equalizer, Victoriaville would retake the lead and add another goal midway through the period to win Game 2 and tie the series at 1 apiece. The Patriots would come out firing in Game 3 as they would score 3 goals in 14 minutes to start the game. The score would remain 3-0 until Montreal scored 3 straight goals early in the 3rd period to tie the game at 3 and force overtime. 4 minutes into overtime, Victoriaville’s Charles Houle would lodge the puck behind the Metros goalie to give Victoriaville the lead in the series. Midway through the first period of Game 4, the Metros would score the game's first goal and then add another one barely a minute later. Montreal would upgrade their lead to 3 with a goal midway through the 2nd period, but Victoriaville would cut the lead down to 2 late in the period. Barely a minute later, the lead was 3 again thanks to Montreal’s Dylan Tanguay, and then it would be the lead was 4 goals thanks to Maxime Mercier. That lead would hold to the final horn, and the Metros would tie the series at 2 with an astounding 5-1 victory. The first and only goal of Game 5 would only be scored early in the 3rd period by Victoriaville, who would take a 3-2 lead in the series and had a chance at eliminating the Metros at home in Game 6. Midway through the 2nd period of Game 6, Victoriaville would score the first goal and hoped to qualify for the finals and took a significant step in doing so when they doubled their lead late in the period. Montreal hadn’t said their last word and would score barely 30 seconds after Victoriaville’s second goal to cut the lead in half, but unfortunately weren’t able to equalize and Victoriaville was off to the Cartier Cup Finals in their inaugural season.

Last edited by Kingsfan11 (7/22/2021 12:38 am)