Mantha, Guindon and Laflamme named the TELUS three stars of the week

Press Release

Anthony Mantha, Louis-Philip Guindon and Jean-Christophe Laflamme were named today the TELUS three stars of the week for the period extending from February 25th to March 3rd, 2013.

This week’s highest honour goes to the talented forward of the Val-d’Or Foreurs, Anthony Mantha who earns the TELUS first star with six points in three games. The Foreurs accumulated 5 points out of a possible 6 in the standings. Last Tuesday, in the latest chapter in the Battle of Abitibi, Anthony Mantha had two assists, including one on the game-winning goal, to lead his team to a 4-3 win over their rivals in Rouyn-Noranda. This solid performance earned him the second star of the game. While the PEI Rocket was in town on Friday night, Manthaoffered another stunning performance with a goal and an assist on the tying goal that crowned a brilliantcomeback. Mario Durocher’s team finally got the best of the Rocket in this crazy 6-5 overtime win. Finally, fans at air Creebec center were spoiled with an incredible show last Saturday as the powerful Halifax Mooseheadswere the visitors. Despite a difficult start where the Mooseheads took a 3-0 lead, Val-d’Or, led by the inspired play of Anthony Mantha, bounced back. Unfortunately for him and his teammates, it was too little too late andthey had to admit defeat in a 4-3 shootout loss. Nevertheless, his two-point performance earned Mantha the second star of the game. Anthony Mantha is the best sniper in the QMJHL with an impressive total of 47 goals.He is perceived by many as a potential first round pick in the upcoming NHL Entry Draft.

This week’s TELUS second star goes to Drummondville Voltigeurs netminder Louis-Philip Guindon. In three games, he made 82 saves while posting a solid 1.94 goal-against-average and .932 save percentage. He was named the third star of the game while the Chicoutimi Saguenéens were the visitors at the Marcel Dionne center last Thursday. His 29 saves helped the Voltigeurs registered a convincing 6-0 win. It was the second shutout in a row for Guindon and his third in four games. It’s finally the Quebec Remparts who managed to end his streak of 143m44s without allowing a goal, although they still managed to escape the Colisée Pepsi with a 2-1 victory.Finally, in a 6-5 overtime win over the Sherbrooke Phoenix, Guindon stepped up with a performance of 26 saves. He registered his 24th win of the season, but more importantly, it allowed the Voltigeurs to register the franchise’s 1000th regular season win.

The TELUS third star goes to Sherbrooke Phoenix forward Jean-Christophe Laflamme. In three games, he recorded four goals and two assists, helping the Phoenix register 5 points out of a possible 6 in the standings. While Sherbrooke was visiting Rimouski on Wednesday, Laflamme gave his coach an extraordinary performance with two goals in a 2-1 overtime win. He was named the second star of the game. He added two assists in a 5-2 win over the visiting Armada and recorded two other goals in a hard-fought battle in Drummondville. The Voltigeurs finally edged Sherbrooke in overtime by a score of 6-5. Their strong showing this week enabled Sherbrooke to clinch a playoff spot in their first season.

 (Nathan can be reached at nathanfournier@mainehockeyjournal.com)