Lumberjacks - Voodoos Playoff Series Preview
The third Northern Ontario Junior Hockey League playoff series to commence begins Friday night at Claude Larose Recreation Centre as the No. 2 Hearst Lumberjacks host the No. 7 Powassan Voodoos in a 7 p.m. start.
No strangers to meeting each other in the postseason, this marks the fourth straight year, and fifth time since 2019, the two clubs will have tangled in the playoffs.
Powassan came away victorious in each of their past two togethers, taking it five in 2024, then in six in 2023.
It was Hearst that took the other pair of series, with a six-game triumph in 2022 and had a sweep back in 2019.
As for this latest affair, here’s a glance at the best-of-seven match-up between the Lumberjacks and Voodoos:
SEASON RECORDS
LUMBERJACKS: 39-11-1-1 (2nd overall)
VOODOOS: 22-25-0-5 (7th overall)
HEAD COACHES
LUMBERJACKS: Marc-Alain Bégin
VOODOOS: Peter Goulet
HEAD-TO-HEAD: Hearst swept the season-set against Powassan going 4-0.
Two of those contests were decided in overtime.
The Lumberjacks also outscored the Voodoos 22-15 along the way in their four meetings.
RESULTS
Nov. 15: @ Powassan (4-3 Lumberjacks – OT)
Jan. 11: @ Hearst (5-4 Lumberjacks – OT)
Feb. 16: @ Hearst (7-4 Lumberjacks)
Feb. 21: @ Powassan (6-4 Lumberjacks)
SERIES SCHEDULE
NOJHL quarter-final
No. 2 Hearst Lumberjacks vs. No. 7 Powassan Voodoos
Best-of-seven series
Game 1: Friday, March 21 @ Hearst 7 p.m. (Claude Larose Recreation Centre)
Game 2: Saturday, March 22 @ Hearst 7 p.m. (Claude Larose Recreation Centre)
Game 3: Monday, March 24 @ Powassan 7 p.m. (Powassan Sportsplex)
Game 4: Tuesday, March 25 @ Powassan 7 p.m. (Powassan Sportsplex)
Game 5*: Friday, March 28 @ Hearst 7 p.m. (Claude Larose Recreation Centre)
Game 6*: Sunday, March 30 @ Powassan 7 p.m. (Powassan Sportsplex)
Game 7*: Tuesday, April 1 @ Hearst 7 p.m. (Claude Larose Recreation Centre)
*-if necessary
THE LUMBERJACKS: A well-balanced attack saw Hearst lead the NOJHL in goals scored during the 2024-25 campaign with 258. … They also placed five players in the Top 10 in league scoring and seven in the Top 15. … Tabbed 18th nationally in the final CJHL Rankings – Fuelled by Gatorade, the Lumberjacks were second in the NOJHL standings on 80 points and a record of 39-11-1-1. … They were 20-6-0-0 at home and 19-5-1-1 as the visitors, which was the second-best total in the league… They sat sixth in goals-allowed at 161. … Finishing in third spot in power play success (23.4%), Hearst were second on the penalty kill (83.4%). … The Lumberjacks led the league in shorthanded goals (14) and tied for fifth in man advantage markers (44).
FORWARDS: Boasting plenty of firepower up front, Hearst had three players who racked up 60-plus points on the campaign. … Leading that group was veteran Mathieu Comeau, who had 67 points, including the second-highest assist total in the entire league at 43. … Pacing the squad in goals with 29, which was fifth-best in the NOJHL, Tyler Patterson collected 65 points to finish second on the squad. … Aiden Kalin had 62 points, featuring 25 tallies. … That trio ended up fifth, sixth and eighth in league scoring respectively. … Joining them tied for 10th were DonHeaven Veilleux and Henry Ouellet, who had 57 points each. … They also had Liam Boswell sharing 15th in NOJHL numbers with 53 points. … All six, along with fellow forward Bronson Babyak (47 PTS), averaged a point-per-game, or higher, on the season.
DEFENCE: Guided on the back-end by their captain Adam Shillinglaw, his efforts saw him lead the club in offensive production by defencemen in goals (21); assists (35) and points (56). … Those were all personal single-season highs. … His tally and point totals also paced all league rearguards, as did his four game-winning markers. … Hearst also got some solid contributions from fellow D-men William Pâquet (27PTS); Jean-Pierre Audras (23PTS) and Brayden Hindman (22PTS), who was acquired in early January from Iroquois Falls.
GOALTENDERS: Leading the NOJHL in wins, Lumberjacks rookie netminder Alexandre Boivin had 22 victories to his credit in his initial Jr. A campaign. … He went 22-6-1-1 overall. … Boivin was sixth in the league in goals-against average (2.95) and was fourth in save percentage (.911). … He also shared third place in shutouts (2) and played the second-most minutes of any goalkeeper (1,852). … The club’s other goaltender, Owen Bonthuis, went 15-5-0-0 in 20 appearances. … He finished 10th in GAA (3.05) and 14th in SV% (.895).
THE VOODOOS: No strangers to playoff success, Powassan will look to duplicate past postseason runs this go around. … Such as advancing all the way to the NOJHL Final, which they did last year. … That was highlighted by an impressive six victories in overtime. … Finishing under .500 for the first time since joining the league back in 2014-15, the Voodoos ended up seventh in the standings this season, going 22-25-0-5. … They were eighth overall on home ice (13-11-0-2) and seventh on the road (9-14-0-3). … Powassan finished sixth overall on the power play (20.9%) and sat a respectable fourth on the penalty kill (81.3%). … They were ninth in man advantage markers scored (40) and tied for sixth in shorthanded tallies notched (6).
FORWARDS: Despite being limited to just 37 games this season, Cayden Kowal impressed as over a point-per-game player when he was in the line-up. … Kowal led the Voodoos in goals (22) and tied for the team-lead in points (42). … He also topped the club in game-winning markers (3). … Joining Kowal with the team-scoring lead was Justin Rousseau. … The versatile centre notched a dozen markers and dished out 30 assists, which paced the squad in that category. … Five of his goals came on the power play, which tied him for the most with Powassan. … Caden Dubreuil chipped in with 37 points, including 20 tallies, while Jack Nolan had 30. … The duo of Caleb Dawson and Owen Kahl were 20-plus point producers.
DEFENCE: After being acquired by the Voodoos in early October, Marcus Krats immediately stepped in to stabilize their blueline. … Krats led their defence in goals (8); assists (18); points (26) and power play points (12). … His five man-advantage markers tied for the overall team lead. … Team captain Jackson Smith chipped in with 16 points on a trio of tallies and 13 helpers. … They also got contributions offensively on the back-end from Dawson Coleman and Lucas de Caluwe, who picked up 11 points apiece.
GOALTENDERS: Goaltender Austin Seibel faced plenty of rubber during the course of the campaign, making a NOJHL-high 1,043 saves. … His 1,145 shots faced were also the most in the league. … In all, Seibel had a record of 10-15-5-0 with a 3.47 goals-against average. … His save percentage of .911 tied him for fourth among all netminders. … Meanwhile, Tyson Wilcox went 10-9-0-0 in 21 appearances while sporting a 3.36 GAA and a .917 SV%. … Among qualified goaltenders, the save mark of Wilcox was third-best in the NOJHL.
UP NEXT: The winner of this series will advance to the NOJHL semifinals, which are slated to be contested from April 3-15.
BROADCASTERS
LUMBERJACKS: Denis J. Puska
VOODOOS: Kortney Kenney; Matthew Sookram; Harrison Clements & Ben Sargent
WHERE TO WATCH: All NOJHL playoff games can be streamed online via FLOHockey.tv.
