A much-needed victory
Gatineau – The Olympiques visited the Halifax Mooseheads on Thursday at the Slush Puppie Centre. A dominant performance from Alexis Loiseau’s men enabled the Gatineaus to put an end to their losing streak.
Visitors take the lead
In the first period, it was the Mooseheads who broke the ice. Amelio Santini took the disc in front of the net and beat Iain Wintle to give the visitors the lead. After that, each team took a penalty, but the score remained the same. Despite leading in shots on goal (10-5), the Olympiques went into the locker room with a one-goal deficit.
Olympiques dominate the second period
In the second period, the Olympiques strike back. Isaiah Parent handed the disc on a silver platter to Lukas Landry (5th), who rattled the strings and brought everyone back to square one. The Gatinois then continued to put pressure on the Mooseheads, with Mathis Rousseau getting the upper hand. Shortly afterwards, Owen Philips got to the other side and scored with a precise shot into the top corner. Alexis Loiseau’s men spent long minutes in opposition territory before ending the period, but were unable to equalize. Halifax advantage after 40 minutes.
Gatineau wins for the first time in 10 games
In the third period, Gatineau wasted no time. Justin Boisselle (6th) collected his own rebound and scored with a shot into the top corner. The Olympiques then get another opportunity on the power play, but the deadlock persists. As they had for most of the game, the Olympiques dominated and continued to multiply their chances in the offensive zone. Finally, Julien Paillé (6th) took advantage of the traffic in front of the net and fired a precise shot from the blue line over Mathis Gauthier’s head. The Olympiques lead with less than two minutes to go. Finally, Jacob Kaine (2nd) seals the deal with a gaping goal. This ended the Gatineau team’s 10-game losing streak and gave them their third win of the season. The Olympiques finished the game with 45 shots to Halifax’s 15.
Julien Paillé scored the winning goal to send his team off the ice smiling for the first time since October 17.
“It’s a relief. We worked hard, even though we came close to winning every game. Tonight, it paid off. I’m happy with the guys and what we did. We showed perseverance.
Head coach Alexis Loiseau shares his striker’s sentiment.
“It’s definitely going to be good for confidence,” stresses Loiseau. It’s positive to get past the barrier where we’re playing well and we’re close to winning, but not being able to finish games”.
The Olympiques will be back in action on Saturday (November 16) in Val-d’Or to take on the Foreurs at 4pm.
A text by Philippe Villeneuve
