Game day preview: Remparts vs. Petes — May 30
The equation is pretty simple tonight for the Peterborough Petes in their final round-robin game of the 2023 Memorial Cup presented by Kia against the Quebec Remparts.
With a win tonight, the Petes will guarantee themselves a spot in Thursday’s tiebreaker game against either Kamloops or Seattle.
“We need to try and bring our game,” said Petes associate coach Andrew Verner. “We haven’t really brought it [so far]. Throughout the season we’ve had these dips and never done anything easily.”
The Petes lost its first two games of the tournament against Seattle and Kamloops and were outscored 16-5 in the process. But a win tonight against a club that has already secured a spot in Sunday’s final will keep the Petes’ season alive.
“We didn’t have the easiest route in the playoffs and faced a lot of adversity,” Konnor Smith said. “That helped us and ultimately it will help us again tonight.
“Our backs are up against the wall and we’re going to go out there and do everything we can.”
Avery Hayes converts on the power play for @PetesOHLhockey! #MemorialCup pic.twitter.com/ZxJ8PYt0C3
— Canadian Hockey League (@CHLHockey) May 28, 2023
In a way, it’s fitting for the Petes to be in a must-win situation. Despite some big-name acquisitions throughout the season such as Owen Beck (MTL), Avery Hayes, Brennan Othmann (NYR) and Gavin White (DAL), Peterborough finished the regular season fourth in the Eastern Conference with just 74 points. But in the playoffs, they swept Sudbury, eliminated the top-ranked 67’s, took down North Bay in Game 7 and then beat London in six games to win their 10th J. Ross Robertson Cup.
So, with that being said, experience in pressure games is certainly something the Petes have dealt with this year.
“We’ve done everything the hard way this year and this is no different,” Beck said. “We need to do what we’ve been doing all season and come out of a tough situation and that’s what we’re going to look to do tonight.”
On the other hand, the Remparts can play pressure free this evening after going 2-0-0 to secure a spot in the Memorial Cup final for the first time since 2006.
Wins over Kamloops and Seattle mean Quebec, in theory, have nothing to play for this evening but don’t tell head coach Patrick Roy that.
THEO ROCHETTE GWG 😤 #MemorialCup pic.twitter.com/e0rSmgKW61
— Canadian Hockey League (@CHLHockey) May 30, 2023
Roy confirmed that he will field a near full lineup and that William Rousseau will start in goal.
“We had two guys that got hurt in the last game, [Charles] Savoie and Darcy,” Roy said. “All year we’ve been playing hard and we came here to do well in all of our games so we’re certainly going to try and play a good game tonight and hopefully we can come out with a win.”
The Remparts beat Kamloops 8-3 on opening night behind a James Malatesta hat-trick (CBJ) while captain Theo Rochette had a pair of goals Monday in a 3-1 win over Seattle. Quebec has won 25 of its last 27 games and continuing that momentum was crucial in Roy’s mind.
“Last night when I went to bed I thought ‘what the heck am I gonna say to our guys?’” Roy said. “This is a very special group. It’s a group that is very resilient and has a lot of pride and all year they’ve played hard and that was the message this morning. We need to come out and play a strong game.
“We’re here on a mission and we need to continue to do it.”
Zachary Bolduc (STL) and Rochette each have four points in the tournament while Rousseau’s 2.00 GAA and 9.39 save percentage leads the tournament.
“He was amazing [again last night],” Malatesta said of Rousseau’s 35-save performance against Seattle. “We played well defensively but when we made little mistakes he was there to back us up.
“The whole year, the whole playoffs, he’s been a big part of our success.”