Shawinigan stumble against Val D’Or, Rouyn-Noranda and Gatineau
Daniel Renaud was expecting his players to play their best during the 3 game road trip with stops in Val d’Or, Rouyn-Noranda and Gatineau. Unfortunately, Shawinigan couldn’t match their opponents and suffered 3 losses. With those results, they now stand in 16th position, a few points ahead of the Saguenéens and the Sea Dogs for the last playoff spot.
The Foreurs strike in the third
During the first and the second period, the Cataractes managed to take over 30 shots on Etienne Montpetit’s net scoring twice.
In the first, Cameron Askew added another goal since his return in the lineup and, in the second, Antoine Demers completed the play initiated by Alex Plamondon to score his 8th of the season.
Scary scene near the end of the first when Mathieu Samson received a slapshot from teammate Alex DeGagné right in the mouth. He left the game and did not returned.
After 40 minutes of play, the game was tied at 2. On the other hand, the number of shots taken by the Cataractes clearly demonstrated that Shawinigan had the advantage with a total of 32 for the visitors and only 13 for the Foreurs.
But in the third, lack of concentration and execution cost Shawinigan the game. Early in the third, Vincent Senez surprised Montpetit from a sharp angle. From that point, the game completely changed and Val D’Or scored 4 times to earn the win. Late in the third, Vincent Senez scored his second of the game in a losing cause.
In the net, Lucas Fitzpatrick blocked 23 shots and was credited with the loss.
Rouyn-Noranda gets the upper hand
Despite scoring first, the Shawinigan Cataractes saw Samuel Harvey and the Huskies play inspired hockey to give Daniel Renaud’s team a second loss in a row. Mistakes in their own territory cost them big and the comeback never came.
Shawinigan came out firing from every angle in the first 20 minutes of play and fans started to think that their favorites had a chance of coming on top. At 18:26, Jérémy Manseau’s shot from the corner was tipped in front by Vasily Glotov to give Shawinigan the lead.
Unfortunately, it was the only moment of joy for them as the Huskies scored three unanswered goals on 34 shots to get the win.
Fans got to see some rough play in the third period when Vincent Senez was charged with a major penalty for a hit to the head.
Despite the loss, Mikhail Denisov did well making 31 saves.
Gatineau on top
Mathieu Bellemare and the Olympiques seemed to be on a mission against the Cataractes and they completely dominated the game with a 6-1 win. Only Gabriel Denis managed to get a shot past Bellemare during an early powerplay in the 3rd period. On that play, Samuel Asselin and Simon Benoit each got an assist.
What also caught the attention was a solid, and legal, hit on Gabriel Denis in the early moments of the game. Quickly, 20 year old veteran Cameron Askew came to engage the fight and defend his teammate. A move that was appreciated by the players.
Despite the loss, Mikhail Denisov made 30 saves.
