2022 President Cup Final | Game 5 Recap
The Shawinigan Cataractes, the oldest franchise in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League, has won the first President Cup of its history.
Pierrick Dubé’s goal 41 seconds into the overtime period was the difference-maker that allowed the Cataractes to put an end to their 53-year wait without a title.
Dubé was nothing short of spectacular on Saturday, racking up two goals and an assist in the win, while the other Shawinigan goals came from captain Mavrik Bourque and Olivier Nadeau. On the Charlottetown side, rookie Jakub Brabenec led the way with a two-goal outing of his own, while defenseman William Trudeau was credited with the Islanders other marker.
Charlottetown netminder Francesco Lapenna turned aside 21 shots in the game, including some clutch saves in the third frame, but ended up with the overtime loss regardless. For the Cataractes, goaltender Antoine Coulombe was pulled at the 35:20 mark after coughing up three goals on 22 shots, making way for Charles-Antoine Lavallée’s 14-save shutout performance in the remaining 25 minutes of play.
The Islanders, as they got accustomed to doing in this series, heavily outshot the Cataractes in the opening frame. But despite Charlottetown’s 17-9 advantage in shots on goal, it was Shawinigan that got off to a quick start by netting the game’s opening goal just 74 seconds after the initial puck drop. Bourgault circled behind the Islanders net, fed the puck to Beaudoin in the high slot and the latter saw his shot ricochet off Bourque’s leg before bouncing in behind Lapenna.
The Islanders had to wait until the 10:43 mark of the first before tying things up at 1-1. While standing in his usual spot in front of the net on the power play, Brabenec was able to track down a loose puck along the goal line that he batted in for his fourth of the postseason.
Charlottetown came storming out of the gate in the second frame with Jim Hulton’s troops quickly jumping to a 3-1 lead in the opening five minutes of the period. Trudeau first scored his seventh of the playoffs when his blast from the point was going straight for Antoine Coulombe’s head before the goaltender threw his arms up to protect himself, was unable to catch the puck, and saw it trickle in behind him at 4:27.
The Isles struck again just 53 seconds later when Brabenec fired home his second of the game by picking up his own rebound from in close after redirecting a perfect centering pass from Lukas Cormier. That’s when Shawinigan bench boss Daniel Renaud decided he had seen enough and pulled starting goaltender Coulombe in favor of Lavallée.
The move definitely paid dividends as the Cataractes failed to cough up another goal the rest of the way and managed to score the period’s only other marker. With Charlottetown playing shorthanded, Dubé fired a point shot that hit Nadeau in the stomach before landing at his feet in the slot. The forward immediately took control of the puck and spun around before sliding it past Lapenna to make it a 3-2 game with 7:10 remaining in the frame.
Both teams traded great scoring chances in the opening half of the third period, but Lavallée and Lapenna held down the fort for their respective squads. The Cataractes persistence eventually paid off and they were able to tie the game at 3-3 when Dubé’s precise shot from the high slot beat Lapenna over the glove with 9:22 left on the game clock.
The Islanders weathered the storm the rest of regulation, including some unreal saves by defenseman Noah Laaouan and Lapenna, to force an overtime period.
Charlottetown held a 36-24 advantage in shots prior to the start of the extra frame, but the Cataractes were the ones to win it when Dubé found the back of the net on their only shot in overtime. On top of taking home it’s first President Cup title, Shawinigan also established a new QMJHL record in Game 5 by winning a seventh overtime game in a single postseason run.
Charlottetown’s Patrick Guay finishes as the playoffs’ top scorer with 28 points (13G-15A) in 15 games, three points ahead of Shawinigan’s Mavrik Bourque and his 25 (9G-16A) in 16 games played.
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