The Carleton Place Canadians hoist the Bogart Cup for the fourth straight year, and are hoping to make it four straight Fred Page Cup wins (and trips to the RBC Cup). (Robert Lefebvre/IceLevel)     

The Carleton Place Canadians have succeeded at winning their fourth consecutive Bogart Cup. Now, the team looks ahead to the Fred Page Cup, which commences today in Terrebonne.

The Canadians have dominated this tournament as well over the last four years, and although they have yet to win an RBC Cup, every hockey team west of the Ottawa Valley knows the road to the national championship runs through Carleton Place.

This year, the Canadians will face the Collège Français de Longueuil, the Terrebonne Cobras and the Truro Bearcats.

QJAHL Ices Two Powerhouses

Every junior hockey fan across Canada is used to seeing a few teams dominate the league every year, but the Terrebonne Cobras and the Collège Français de Longueuil have done something special this year in the Quebec Jr. A league. Each team scored more than 300 goals and allowed fewer than 150 goals this season. That’s a 150-plus goal differential for each team (+160 for Collège Français, +166 for the Cobras). It’s fitting that both teams have the chance to compete at the Fred Page Cup. 

To nobody’s surprise, the teams faced off against each other the QJAHL finals. Since Terrebonne are hosting the Fred Page Cup, advancing to the final meant that Collège Français would automatically participate as well. Still, the finals were a heated affair—a battle the Cobras won.

Both teams feature goaltenders with save percentages in the .900s and goals-against averages below 3.00—the only goaltenders in the high-scoring QJAHL to do so in either statistical category. 

Collège Français is led offensively by Vincent Chapleau, a 19-year-old centre who has had trouble sticking around in the QMJHL, but has a home in Longueuil between stints at the next level. With 109 points (43 goals, 66 assists), he is easily having the best year of his career.

Meanwhile, the most noteworthy player for the Cobras is Jonathan Fillion, a 20-year-old playmaking defenceman who has also seen sparse playing time in the QMJHL. He had 73 assists and 103 points this year.

The QJAHL teams will be hard to stop.

Bearcats face Canadians for Second Time

I’m not sure what a Bearcat is, but the Canadians will reacquaint themselves with the elusive hybrid when they face Truro at the Fred Page Cup. The Canadians faced off against the Bearcats at the Fred Page Cup in 2014, their first trip to the tourney. Although the Bearcats failed to win a game, each of its matches were close, one-goal affairs.

This year, the Bearcats enter the tournament as an underdog of sorts. Although their 35-13 record is nothing to sneeze at, they didn’t lead the MHL the way Carleton Place or either of the QJAHL teams did. The Bearcats finished third behind the Pictou County Weeks Crushers and the Miramichi Timberwolves. However, the Crushers were upset by Amherst in the first round. Truro defeated Amherst in the second round before moving on to defeat Miramichi in a thrilling seven-game final.

The Canadians might not be as star-studded as past teams, but they compete hard and have character to spare. Check in often as they battle for the right to represent Carleton Place at the national championships.