A perfect trip
ROUYN-NORANDA – The Gatineau Olympiques got the better of the Rouyn-Noranda Huskies in a shootout on Saturday night, to complete a perfect trip to Abitibi.
However, it was the home team who struck first when François-James Buteau put his team on the scoreboard with just over 5 minutes gone in the first period. However, Jérémie Minville gave the Olympiques a chance to go back to the locker room with the score tied when he fired a shot on the power play.
The Huskies struck quickly at the start of the second period. Andrei Loshko took advantage of an opportunity in the slot with only a minute left in the period.
Gatineau’s resilience was a turning point in the game. Alexander Gaudio completed a superb play to find the back of the net, while the Olympiques were on the power play. A second in the game.
The Olympiques stay alive
Benoit Desrosiers’ men started the third period strongly. They limited the Huskies’ chances on a 5-on-3 power play.
But that didn’t stop Martin Dagenais’ team from taking a two-goal lead.
But the Olympiques had not said their last word. Mathis Gauthier and Alexander Gaudio took advantage of their respective chances to send the game into overtime with two goals in the final minute.
The game went to a shootout. William Labranche and Joey Vetrano beat goalkeeper Kyle Hagen to send the Olympiques home with four points from a possible four.
Gaudio stands out
In the victory, Alexander Gaudio collected three points (2 goals and an assist), earning him the game’s second star.
Kian Hodgins was solid in the win, turning aside 34 of 38 shots.
The Olympiques play their next game in front of their fans on Wednesday at 7pm, when the Armada de Blainville Boisbriand visit the Slush Puppie Centre.
