Alexis Gendron scores hat trick in QMJHL championship

Alexis Gendron started the season in the AHL with the Lehigh Valley Phantoms after signing his entry-level contract in the summer. He was coming off a 55-goal, 81-point campaign between the Blainville-Boisbriand Armada and Gatineau Olympiques. Not even 20 years old at the time, Gendron looked like he could be a young asset to the Phantoms.

That didn't exactly happen. Gendron struggled at the AHL level which is not a surprise for a player of his age. He was in and out of the lineup, appearing in 17 games. He did register five goals and seven points, highlighted by a two-goal outing in late November against the Rochester Americans. Due to his age, Gendron was able to be loaned back to the QMJHL. That turned out to be the best decision for him.

Now with the Drummondville Voltigeurs, Gendron stepped back into juniors without missing a beat. In 16 regular season games, he posted 10 goals and 18 points. That included two goals in his first game back in the QMJHL. The talent has been there for Gendron and he's using that scoring ability to help lead the Voltigeurs. He has been a monster in the playoffs.

In 12 postseason games, Gendron has 11 goals and 16 points. He is three goals away from matching the total he posted last season. His 14 postseason goals were the most in the QMJHL. Gendron scored the overtime winner, his second goal of the game, to send the Voltigeurs to the championship.

He wasn't done there. The Voltigeurs began their series against the Baie-Comeau Drakkar on Thursday night. In what turned into a 5-0 shutout victory, the Voltigeurs really only needed the first goal of the game to come away with the victory. It was Gendron who scored that goal. And then he decided to add two more for good measure.

His postseason hat trick gave the Voltigeurs the edge in the opening game. They will be back at it this evening to try and take a 2-0 lead in the seven-game series. And we'll see what Gendron's encore performance will be.