Tigres complete comeback in overtime to take 2-1 series lead
Conor Frenette’s goal 7:03 into overtime capped a thrilling comeback in which the Victoriaville Tigres turned a 3-0 third period deficit into to a 4-3 victory over the Val-d’Or Foreurs in Game 3 of the 2021 President Cup Final presented by Rogers. With the win, the Tigres now lead the series two games to one.
Alex Beaucage led the charge offensively for Victoriaville with one goal and two assists, while Frenette ended his night with one of each. Benjamin Tardif and Mikhail Abramov each picked up two helpers in the contest while the Tigres’ other goals came from the sticks of Nicolas Daigle and Shawn Element.
The Foreurs were powered by goals from Maxim Cajkovic, Nathan Legare and Maxence Guenette while team captain Jakob Pelletier ended the game with two helpers.
The Foreurs parlayed a 14-7 first period shots advantage into a 1-0 lead. Cajkovic, streaking through the slot, accepted a centering pass and rifled a wrister past Nikolas Hurtubise for his tenth to open the scoring at 6:24.
Val-d’Or would score twice more during the middle frame and hold a 20-14 edge in shots through 40 minutes. Legare would put his club up by a pair at the 5:24 mark, banging home a rebound for his league-leading 13th of the playoffs. The Foreurs would make it 3-0 just 71 seconds later when Guenette’s wrist shot eluded Hurtubise on the blocker side for his third of the playoffs.
This would spell the end of the day for the Tigres netminder, who stopped 14 of 17 shots in 26:38 of action before being replaced by Fabio Iacobo. Head Coach Carl Mallette’s decision certainly paid off as Iacobo was perfect the rest of the way, turning all ten shots he faced to earn the win.
The Tigres, who outshot Val-d’Or 15-4 during the third stanza, cued their comeback at the 13:25 mark when Daigle beat Jonathan Lemieux with a backhander for his sixth of the postseason to make it 3-1.
It became just a one-goal game at 18:55 when Element cashed in on his own rebound for his tenth of the postseason. Beaucage would force overtime with just five seconds remaining in regulation, depositing a rebound from in tight for his second in as many games.
In overtime, it was Frenette’s sixth of the postseason that completed the Victoriaville comeback after the assistant captain redirected a point shot from Alexis Arsenault past Lemieux. Shots were 3-3 in the extra period and 32-27 in favor of the Tigres for the contest.
The series resumes on Tuesday with Game 4 at Quebec’s Videotron Center kicking off at 7pm ET/8pm AT. Tickets remain available for this game.
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