A first playoff win for the Olympiques
GATINEAU – It was officially the start of the playoffs last night at the Slush Puppie Centre as the Saint John Sea Dogs visited for game #1 of the round of 16. Let’s get to the playoffs!
A great crowd
Many will have had memories of the old bobsled when the cries of “Go OL Go” were heard as soon as the National Anthem began. It was hard to hear the words as the 5000 fans were on fire! The Gatineau fans continued to prove that they are the best in the league with their energy and broke an attendance record dating back to the 80’s. “It was electric, we had a lot of energy.
“It was electric, we had chills, the guys were talking about it even after the game. The crowd just kept going, they gave us some juice going away. That’s what we need.” – Louis Robitaille, Gatineau Olympiques Head Coach
Dead, Dean, DEAN!!!
At the end of the first period, Tristan Luneau sends the ball to Cole Cormier who shoots on the rebound. Antonin Verreault collects the return of Cormier’s shot and sends the puck into the net to open the scoring!
At 13:46 of the second period, Captain Olivier Nadeau stepped in front of the net and collected the puck from Zach Dean’s shot and put it behind the goalie. Isaac Belliveau also got an assist on the second goal for the crowd favorites.
After two periods, Louis Robitaille’s team took advantage of a two goal lead to start the third period on the power play for another 20 seconds. Exactly 20 seconds into the third period, Isaac Belliveau sent the ball to Zach Dean who fired a perfect shot into the top corner to make it 3-0 Gatineau. Just 1:31 later, Vincent Maisonneuve sent a shot that hit the post but Zach Dean jumped on the puck and scored his 2nd of the game!
At 13:15 in the 3rd, Tristan Luneau sent a shot to Zach Dean who came in from the left side and directed a shot into the back of the net to complete the hat trick! The St. Louis Blues prospect receives a standing ovation from the crowd and it’s raining caps on the rink at the
Slush Puppie Center. Tristan Luneau also gets his third assist of the game on the sequence.
1:40 after Dean’s 3rd goal, Haakon Hänelt stunned the defense with his puck control before passing to Will Chisholm who was left alone in the slot. It’s now 6-1 in favor of the Gatineau team!
Gendron rewards the fans
With 54 seconds left, the Olympiques took advantage of a face-off in offensive territory that was won by Marcel Marcel. Alexis Gendron received the puck and sent a perfect shot into the corner of the net! Gendron’s goal in the last minute of the 3rd period was a well deserved reward for the Big Macs fans who were in a frenzy throughout the game.
Two games in less than 24 hours
The two teams will meet this afternoon at the Slush Puppie Centre at 4:00 pm for game 2 of the round of 16 series and then head to Saint John for games 3 and 4 (and 5 if necessary).
