Saguenéens reclaim top spot, Voltigeurs push into top tier.
Week 24 of QMJHL action is here with two games taking place on Wednesday:
Gatineau at Val-d'Or - 7 PM EST
Drummondville at Victoriaville - 7 PM EST
Here's a look at this week's power rankings update:
Tier One - Contenders
1. x - Chicoutimi Saguenéens (40-8-5) (Prev. 2)
2. x - Moncton Wildcats (40-9-4) (Prev. 1)
3. x - Blainville-Boisbriand Armada (34-14-6) (Prev. 3)
4. x - Drummondville Voltigeurs (34-15-6) (Prev. 4)
Finally, a new team joins the big three, as Drummondville's consistently good play has seen them stray away from the pack of tier two teams, and keep up with a very strong Armada side.
While Blainville and Drummondville are probably a half tier behind the top two at this point, it's fair to have these four as the true contenders in the league.
Moncton, after going 0-1-1 last week, dropping both in a weekend set against Charlottetown, have lost the top spot, in part thanks to Chicoutimi going 3-0. Being the top seed throughout the entire playoffs seems pretty enticing, and for now the Sags have the advantage.
Tier Two - Pretenders
5. x - Rouyn-Noranda Huskies (31-16-7) (Prev. 5)
6. x - Newfoundland Regiment (33-19-2) (Prev. 7)
7. x - Shawinigan Cataractes (31-18-6) (Prev. 6)
The pretenders tier has gotten smaller, as teams on both ends of the tier have gone on streaks in one direction or the other. Now, just three teams remain as true possibilities to knock off a contender, and they all sit at the 68-69 point mark.
Newfoundland, in particular, have looked very good of late, and are definitely looking to try and make a run to a conference final or further.
Tier Three - Hopefuls
8. x - Cape Breton Eagles (26-19-10) (Prev. 8)
9. x - Quebec Remparts (28-21-4) (Prev. 9)
10. x - Charlottetown Islanders (26-20-8) (Prev. 10)
11. Val-d'Or Foreurs (25-23-6) (Prev. 11)
12. Sherbrooke Phoenix (25-24-5) (Prev. 12)
13. Halifax Mooseheads (24-25-6) (Prev. 13)
Three teams in this tier have now officially clinched a playoff spot, but aren't trending towards making any real noise in the playoffs.
In particular, Cape Breton clinched their spot in the past week, but are on a 3-4-3 stretch in their last 10. Charlottetown had a good weekend, beating Moncton twice, but will need to show more consistency before truly moving up the rankings.
Tier Four - Rebuilders
14. Victoriaville Tigres (21-27-5) (Prev. 14)
15. Saint John Sea Dogs (20-30-5) (Prev. 15)
16. Gatineau Olympiques (17-32-5) (Prev. 17)
17. Rimouski Océanic (18-35-1) (Prev. 16)
18. Baie-Comeau Drakkar (12-37-6) (Prev. 18)
Victoriaville and Saint John continue to show a bit of fight and fun with their young talent, but there is some serious dread for fans of the bottom two teams in the bottom tier.
Rimouski, honestly, could be last. The Océanic are on a dismal 16-game losing streak, not having won a game since January 9. They have lost every single game in this stretch in regulation, by multiple goals. Their goal differential these past 16 games is -68, or an average of -4.25 per game.
Making matters worse, this weekend's games are against the Armada and Saguenéens, so it's unlikely the Océanic's fortunes will turn around before the calendar shifts to March.
Luckily, Baie-Comeau have been bad all season, and are on a 1-9 stretch of their own, so the last spot remains in the hands of the Drakkar... for now.
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