Sherbrooke Phoenix
| Sherbrooke Phoenix | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| City | Sherbrooke, Quebec |
| League | Quebec Major Junior Hockey League |
| Conference | Telus |
| Division | Telus West |
| Founded | 2012–13 |
| Home arena | Palais des Sports Léopold-Drolet |
| Colours |
Navy blue, baby blue, and beige |
| General manager | Jocelyn Thibault |
| Head coach | Stéphane Julien |
| Website | http://www.hockeyphoenix.ca/ |
The Sherbrooke Phoenix is a major junior ice hockey team based in Sherbrooke, Quebec, that plays in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League (QMJHL). The team plays its home games at the Palais des Sports Léopold-Drolet.
The franchise was granted as a replacement for the Lewiston Maineiacs, which folded at the end of the 2010–11 QMJHL season. On May 31, 2011, the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League held a conference call to prepare an offer to purchase the team from Mark Just for 3.5 million dollars. Ironically enough, the dissolved Maineiacs franchise were the Sherbrooke Castors prior to relocating to Lewiston, Maine prior to the start of the 2003–04 QMJHL season. The Phoenix marks the city's third attempt at a QMJHL franchise. On May 22, 2012, the Phoenix named former Champlain College Cougars head coach Judes Vallée the franchise's first head coach.
The Phoenix made their inaugural draft selection in the QMJHL Bantam Draft, selecting Daniel Audette with the franchise's first ever draft pick. Audette is the son of former Buffalo Sabres forward Donald Audette. The Phoenix filled out their roster in an expansion draft. The Phoenix played the franchise's inaugural game against the Victoriaville Tigres on September 7, 2012, defeating the Tigres 4-2 in Victoriaville. Jeremie Beaudry scored the franchise's first regular season goal, while Daniel Audette recorded the first regular season assist. Beaudry's stay in Sherbrooke was however short lived as he was traded to the Quebec Remparts three months later. On January 13, 2013, the Phoenix recorded the franchise's first ever shutout against the two time league champion Saint John Sea Dogs. The Phoenix finished their inaugural season with a 21-38-3-6 record, which was good enough for 15th place in the QMJHL, which allowed them to make the playoffs for the first time. The excitement, however was short-lived as the team was swept out in the first round by the second seeded Baie-Comeau Drakkar, being outscored 27-7 in the series. Michael McNamee scored the Phoenix franchise's first ever playoff goal, while Brandon Lesway and Denis Kamaev recorded the first playoff assists in franchise history. One of the most notable moments of the teams first playoff appearance is when Russian right winger Sergay Cocksov got ejected 5 seconds into the first playoff game. Cocksov received a ten-minute major penalty for hit to the head, a two-minute minor for interference, and ended up receiving a 30-game suspension for his hit off the opening face-off.
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