A lack of emotion sinks the Olympiques
Gatineau – The Olympiques received a visit from the Shawinigan Cataractes on Friday at the Slush Puppie Centre. Despite the presence of over 3,500 fans in the stands, the Olympiques lost 3-1.
Goalkeepers get the job done
In the first period, the Olympiques quickly found themselves on the power play, but couldn’t break the ice. Goalie Iain Wintle then stopped the Cataractes’ attack on several occasions. Despite another man-up opportunity for the Gatineaux, the deadlock persists and the two teams are tied at 5-5 on shots on goal.
Visitors strike twice
In the second period, Shawinigan were awarded their third penalty of the game, but Jacob Lachance opened the scoring for his side on a shorthanded goal. Immediately afterwards, the Gatineau team missed another opportunity to penalize their opponents for their lack of discipline. The Olympiques were then punished with 7 seconds left in the period, and the visitors didn’t wait until the start of the third to double their lead, when Jordan Tourigny scored with a shot on goal. The Olympiques returned to the dressing room with a two-goal deficit to make up.
Gatineau dominate
In the third period, the Olympiques are in control of the fire. They buzz in the offensive zone and multiply their scoring chances. Finally, Lukas Kral (1st) brought the Slush Puppie Centre crowd to its feet. The Olympiques’ new European player scored his first QMJHL goal in his very first game in front of the Gatineau fans. The gap was thus reduced to a single goal. In the last minute of play, Antoine Michaud found the back of the net and eliminated any hope of a comeback for the hosts. The Olympiques lost 3-1.
Over 3,500 fans were in attendance at the Slush Puppie Centre on Friday evening.
“I can’t understand why we’re going out without emotion,” says head coach Alexis Loiseau. “We have an incredible crowd, we have an incredible crowd. We’re lucky to have a lot of people in the stands despite our start to the season, but we don’t start the game on time. It’s a shame.
The Olympiques accumulated two points during their three-game trip.
“We saw some small advances in last week’s trip,” points out the head coach. “We felt like we were taking a step forward, but today we went back down two or three steps.”
The Olympiques will be back in action on Sunday (November 10) at 3 p.m. when they take on the Chicoutimi Saguenéens at Centre Slush Puppie.
*Text by Philippe Villeneuve
