The CHL Player of the Week for the week ending Feb. 10, 2002 is goaltender Jean-Francois Racine of the Drummondville Voltigeurs of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League.
Racine turned in brilliant performances in two games this week, allowing just one goal while stopping 65 of the 66 shots he faced for a save percentage of .985 as Drummondville won both of its games this past week. His goals against average for the week was 0.50.
On Friday, Racine made 30 saves as the Voltigeurs edged the Rimouski Oceanic 4-1. Then on Sunday he posted the seventh shutout of his career, stopping all 35 shots he faced, as Drummondville edged the Baie-Comeau Drakkar 1-0.
Racine was also selected as the QMJHL Defensive Player of the Week. He takes the CHL Player of the Week honours over the other league nominees, including Philippe Lacasse of the Hull Olympiques, the QMJHL Offensive Player of the Week, Jason Spezza of the Belleville Bulls, the OHL’s Player of the Week and Joffrey Lupul of the Medicine Hat Tigers, the Husky WHL Player of the Week.
The CHL Player of the Week is selected from among the three leagues’ nominees and announced in Tuesday’s editions of the CHL Daily News. The CHL Player of the Month for January will be announced in Wednesday’s CHL Daily News.
WESTERN HOCKEY LEAGUE
There are three games in the WHL on Tuesday night. Kootenay is at Kelowna, Portland plays at Medicine Hat and Vancouver is in Moose Jaw.
There were no games in the WHL on Monday night.
The Husky WHL Player of the Week is forward Joffrey Lupul of the Medicine Hat Tigers. Lupul earned the honour by picking up three goals and seven assists for 10 points in three games.
Lupul’s big week started Feb. 5 when he had one goal and three assists in a 6-3 win over the visiting Lethbridge Hurricanes. On Feb. 8, he then scored one goal in a 5-2 loss to the Moose Jaw Warriors.
Then on Feb. 10, Lupul had a five-point game against the Hurricanes in Lethbridge, scoring once and adding four assists in a 7-4 Medicine Hat victory.
The 18-year-old Edmonton, Alberta native is eligible for the 2002 NHL Entry Draft.
ONTARIO HOCKEY LEAGUE
There are two games in the OHL on Tuesday night. Belleville plays at Kingston and Sault Ste. Marie is in Sudbury.
On Monday night in the OHL, the Erie Otters defeated the Toronto St. Michael ‘s Majors 5-3 in a re-scheduled game.
At Toronto, Mike Rice scored a pair of goals for the winners while Adam Munroe made 21 saves in goal for the Otters. Matt Ellis had one goal and three assists for the Majors, who lost for just the fourth time at home this season.
The OHL Player of the Week for the week ending Feb. 10 is forward Jason Spezza of the Belleville Bulls.
Spezza played just one game this past week but what a game it was. On Feb. 9, he had an eight-point game, figuring in on all of his team’s goals as the Bulls crushed the London Knights 8-2.
Spezza’s three goals and five assists tied the Belleville team record for points in one game with three other players. In just 10 games since coming to Belleville in a trade from Windsor, the number two overall pick of the Ottawa Senators in June’s NHL Draft has 11 goals and 20 assists for 31 points.
It’s the second time in four weeks the 18-year-old Etobicoke native has won OHL Player of the Week honours. He was also the CHL Player of the Week Jan. 29.
QUEBEC MAJOR JUNIOR HOCKEY LEAGUE
There are four games in the QMJHL on Tuesday night. Shawinigan (4) plays in Drummondville, Chicoutimi is at Moncton, Baie-Comeau plays at Montreal and Quebec visits Val-d’Or.
There was one game in the QMJHL on Monday night. The Acadie-Bathurst Titan (1) continued their slump as they dropped a 3-0 decision to Rouyn-Noranda.
The loss was the fifth in a row for the Titan, who barely held on to their number one ranking this past week. Jean-Francois Nogues made 33 saves in goal to pick up the shutout for the Titan while Mathieu Bastien had one goal and one assist. Adam Russo had to make just 17 saves for the losers as the Titan out-shot the Huskies 33-20.
The Quebec Major Junior Hockey League’s Defensive Player of the Week is also the Canadian Hockey League’s Player of the Week for the week ending Feb. 10.
Jean-Francois Racine of the Drummondville Voltigeurs of the QMJHL took both honours this week after turning in two superb performances in a row, helping his team to a pair of victories.
Racine stopped 65 of the 66 shots he faced in his two outings for a save percentage for the week of .985 and a goals against average of 0.50. On Feb. 8 he made 30 saves in a 4-1 win over the Rimouski Oceanic and followed that performance up by posting his seventh career shutout on Feb. 10, when the Voltigeurs blanked the Rouyn-Noranda Huskies 1-0.
Racine made 35 saves in the shutout victory. He has played in 49 of his team ‘s 56 games to date.
The QMJHL Offensive Player of the Week is forward Philippe Lacasse of the Hull Olympiques.
Lacasse scored five goals and added four assists for nine points in just two games this past week. Lacasse was the CHL’s Player of the Week Nov. 27.
On Feb. 8 against the Acadie-Bathurst Titan, Lacasse had one goal and one assist in a 3-2 overtime win for Hull. The next night against the Rouyn-Noranda Huskies, Lacasse turned in a seven-point game, four goals and three assists, during an 8-2 Hull victory.
Lacasse now has 101 points, which puts him fourth in QMJHL scoring. He also has 250 points in his QMJHL career.
For complete QMJHL statistics and standings, visit the official QMJHL site.
**CORRECTION - In Monday’s CHL Daily News, it was stated that the Guelph Storm were in the Bank of Montreal MasterCard Top 10 rankings for the first time this season. The Storm are in fact on the Top 10 list for the fifth time this season, the last time in December.**
