GAUTHIER’S FIVE POINTS LEAD ROUSSEAU ROYAL TO ROUT OF NORTH STARS

SAULT STE. MARIE, Ont. – Julien Gauthier had five points, scoring three times and adding two assists, to lead the Rousseau Royal de Laval-Montréal to a 9-2 win over Sault Ste. Marie North Stars on Friday night and top spot in the preliminary round at the 2013 TELUS Cup.

The Rousseau Royal will face the Ottawa Jr. 67’s in Saturday’s late semifinal (6 p.m. ET), while the North Stars, who needed at least a tie to advance to the weekend, had their season come to an end.

Julien Nantel and Gaël-Mukéba Lubwele scored two goals apiece, and Massimo Carozza and Charles Gauthier added singles for Laval-Montréal (4-1), which became the third Quebec champion in the last four years to finish atop the preliminary round standings.

Nantel had two goals and two assists, Carozza finished with a goal and two helpers and Joël Giguère contributed four assists to the Rousseau Royal’s fourth consecutive win.

Jack MacLeod and Jaren Bellini had the goals for Sault Ste. Marie (2-2-1), which went winless in its last three after starting with back-to-back wins.

The North Stars became just the second team since the start of the six-team format in 1984 to finish the preliminary round with five points and not make the semifinals, joining the 1992 North Kamloops Lions.

Nantel and Carozza got Laval-Montréal off to a quick start, scoring in the first 9:57 for an early 2-0 lead. MacLeod responded on a Sault Ste. Marie power play, but Lubwele’s first of two goals restored the two-goal advantage after 20 minutes.

Goals from Lubwele and Julien Gauthier pushed the advantage to 5-1 after two periods, and although Bellini scored early in the third period, the final result was never in doubt.

The Rousseau Royal scored four times in less than eight minutes – two from Julien Gauthier, one from Charles Gauthier and one from Nantel – to close out their third blowout win in four days.

Alexandre Duckett went the distance for Laval-Montréal, making 28 saves, while both Kment brothers saw action for the North Stars. Brian got the start, but lasted just 9:57, giving up the first two goals before giving way to Jacob, who went the rest of the way.