Joliette Action

The Montreal-Est Rangers are a Junior ice hockey team from Montréal-Est, Quebec, Canada. They are a part of the Quebec Junior Hockey League.

History

2004-05 season

In 2004, the Joliette Action were formed after another team's rights were sold to the city.

Prior to the 2004-05 season, the Action were known as Les Éperviers de Contrecoeur. It is not known what year the Éperviers were founded.

Their first year in Joliette went well. The Action finished the season with a winning record.

2006 Royal Bank Cup run

The 2005-06 season finished with the Action finishing first in their league with 39 wins, 8 losses, and 4 overtime losses. The Action received a bye in the QJAAAHL's preliminary round and met up with the St. Lawrence Lions in the league quarter-final. The Action swept the Lions 4-games-to-none. In the league semi-final, the Action drew the Le Collège Français de Longueuil and defeated them 4-games-to-2 to move on to the league final. The Action then went on to win the NAPA Cup as QJAAAHL champions by defeating the Lafleche Titans 4-games-to-2 in the league final.

After winning the NAPA cup, the Joliette Action moved on to the Fred Page Cup championship in Pembroke, Ontario. The Fred Page Cup is the Eastern Canadian championship of the Canadian Junior A Hockey League and Hockey Canada. The championship is competed upon by a host city, the QJAAAHL champion and the champions of the Central Junior A Hockey League and the Maritime Junior A Hockey League. The tournament consists of a four team round robin, a semi-final and a one-game "take all" final. Game one of the round robin had the Action up against the tournament host Pembroke Lumber Kings. The Kings were a tournament favourite, and smoked the Action by a score of 8-1. In game two, the Action challenged the CJHL champion Hawkesbury Hawks. After regulation, the score was tied 1-1. The Action came out on top in double overtime taking the game by a score of 7-6. The third game had the Quebec champions up against the MJAHL champion Woodstock Slammers. For the second time, the Action and their opponents went into overtime tied 6-6. The Action won again, clinching a berth into the semi-final by defeating the Slammers in overtime, 7-1. In the semi-final, the Action met Hawkesbury yet again and defeated them 186-4. This set up a grudge match in the final between Pembroke and the l'Action. In the final, the underdog Action defeated the Lumber Kings 0-2 to earn their first trip to the Royal Bank Cup.

The Royal Bank Cup 2006 was hosted by Brampton, Ontario and the Streetsville Derbys of the Ontario Provincial Junior A Hockey League. Along with the Eastern champions Action, were the Central champion Fort William North Stars of the Superior International Junior Hockey League, Western champion Yorkton Terriers of the Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League, and the Pacific champion Burnaby Express of the British Columbia Hockey League. The tournament is a five team round robin, two semi-finals, and a one-game "take all" final. In game one, the Action took on the Yorkton Terriers. The Terriers proved to be the more dominant squad and defeated Joliette 4-1. The second game saw the Action playoff against the Fort William North Stars of Thunder Bay, Ontario. The North Stars rallied late against the Action and caught them on their heels, tying the game 3-3 and sending it into overtime. The Action, took to the defensive in overtime and lost this crucial game 4-3. With this loss, the Action would have to win their next two games if they wished to make the tournament's playoff round. The Action's desperation kicked in, and in game three they defeated the host Streetsville by a score of 4-1 to keep their hopes alive. The fourth and final game was against the Burnaby Express, led by a 16-year-old Kyle Turris. With a win, the Action would clinch a playoff spot, with a loss they would be eliminated. The game did not work out as planned. The Action lost 5-3 and Turris and his Express would go on to win the National Championship only a few days later.

2009

In the summer of 2009, the Action became the Joliette Traffic.

2011

In the summer of 2011, the Joliette Traffic moves to Montreal and became the Montreal-East Rangers

2019

The Rangers were acquired by John Struthers, Gianni Cantini, and Eric Rayment.
The goal of the new ownership is to build the best Junior A program in Quebec and in Canada by offering top-of-the-line facilities, high end staff members, and other resources needed for the players to reach the next level of their career. Whether it is Major Junior, Canadian or American Universities, or the professionals, the players will have what they need to succeed.
The Rangers program is built around the following slogan: "The Road to University Passes Through Junior Hockey".
In April 2020, the Rangers hosted their first ever "Rangers Junior Hockey Showcase" that gave the opportunity to elite Midget players to play in front of scout from American and Canadian teams and school.

Following the 2018-2019 season, Brandon Picard went on to play with the Concordia University Wisconsin Falcons in the NCAA III.

2020

Following the 2019-2020 season, Justin Boulet signed a pro contract to play in France with Evry Jets.

In April 2020, the Rangers made changes at the positions of General Manager and Head Coach. Eric Rayment, Vice President, Hockey Operations added the duties of GM of the Rangers. Patrick Bergeron was promoted from Associate Coach to Head Coach.

Season-by-season record

''Note: GP = Games Played, W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties, OTL = Overtime Losses, GF = Goals for, GA = Goals against''

External links

WebsiteFacebook page

{{Quebec Sports

Ligue de Hockey Junior AAA Quebec teams
Ice hockey teams in Montreal
Montréal-Est, Quebec