The Foreurs look to keep their underdog run alive against the top-seeded Wildcats.
The QMJHL's second round is on hand, and the league has reseeded teams based on the league table for the quarterfinal round.
With that, the Jean-Rougeau Trophy champion Moncton Wildcats are facing the 13th-ranked Val-d'Or Foreurs, fresh off a solid upset over Drummondville in round one.
They'll be even bigger underdogs against the league's defending champs in Moncton, a powerhouse with plenty of talent up and down the roster.
Moncton's Alex Mercier and Val-d'Or's Jacob Gouchie get into a scrap after the whistle. (Photo: Brad Smith)What to expect from Moncton
The Wildcats made easy work of first round opponents Saint John, sweeping the Sea Dogs with only game two really being close on the scoreboard.
They host a remarkably deep roster on forward and defence, showing the quality of the scouting department and management's ability to use all the player acquisition tools at their disposal to build the team.
Seven different players sit above a point per game after the first round, including Gavin Cornforth's league-leading six goals as well as Tommy Bleyl and Caleb Desnoyers' six assists each.
That's really the key with this squad, where their top players can go head to head with anyone else in the league, while their depth chips in more than anyone else. And if you manage to keep them from scoring, their blue line is fantastic, and Rudy Guimond is one of the best goaltenders in the league.
They're a worthy top seed, and this group now sits at a ridiculous 20-2 combined record over the last two playoffs combined. It's an impressive task to even take one game in a series against Moncton, no less the four needed to knock them out.
What to expect from Val-d'Or
One of two lower seeds to win in the first round, the Foreurs' 4-1 series win over Drummondville was arguably the most shocking result from the opening set of series.
The impressive part of that series was the amount of players that stepped up on offence. Where Philippe Veilleux had been a one-man show for a large portion of the season, three players actually had more points than him against the Voltigeurs (though Veilleux still had five points of his own, including a big goal in the series clincher).
That being said, the way Alix Durocher, Maxime Coursol, Louis-Charles Plourde and Nathan Brisson were able to raise their games in the first round was big, and something that will obviously need to continue into the second round.
A big part of the offence is the power play, which clicked at a 31.6 percent rate against Drummondville. If they want to have any chance against Moncton, that number needs to hold steady against a pretty strong Wildcats penalty kill.
And, of course, goaltending has to be big if you're going to win in the postseason, particularly as the underdog. Emile Beaunoyer posted the third best save percentage in the first round, putting up a .930 mark in five games.
It's going to be very tough for this team to win this series. But the ingredients are in place to give it their best shot, and sometimes the team playing with house money can cause a surprise.
Schedule
Game one: Friday, April 10, 6 PM EDT @ Moncton
Game two: Saturday, April 11, 6 PM EDT @ Moncton
Game three: Tuesday, April 14, 7 PM EDT @ Val-d'Or
Game four: Wednesday, April 15, 7 PM EDT @ Val-d'Or
Game five*: Friday, April 17, 7 PM EDT @ Val-d'Or
Game six*: Monday, April 20, 6 PM EDT @ Moncton
Game seven*: Tuesday, April 21, 6 PM EDT @ Moncton
* = if necessary
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