The Olympiques collapse at the end
Gatineau – The Olympiques visited the Sherbrooke Phoenix on Friday at the Slush Puppie Centre. Despite a strong performance for the majority of the game, a collapse in the final minutes left Alexis Loiseau’s men with just one point in the standings.
An opening in the Olympiques’ favour
In the first half, tempers flared. The players from each team hit each other with numerous body checks. The goalkeepers, meanwhile, were not tested much. Finally, it was the Olympiques who opened the scoring. Isaiah Parent (6th) shoots the puck past the visitors’ goalie and slips between his pads. At the end of the period, Maxim Dubé is given a five-minute penalty and ejected from the game for tipping an opposing player. Nathan St-Pierre and the Olympiques held firm until the end of the first third, spending almost half the penalty period without conceding a goal. Alexis Loiseau’s men retreat to the dressing room with a one-goal lead.
The locals add to their lead!
In the second period, the Gatineau special units took the final minutes of the major penalty and maintained their lead. The two teams then exchange scoring opportunities. Just over 12 minutes into the period, the Olympiques get their first power-play opportunity of the game and take advantage of it. Lukas Kral handed the disc to Julien Paillé (12th) on a silver platter, who completed the scoring in a virtually empty net and doubled the home team’s lead. Moments later, Isaiah Parent (7th) pounced on a loose puck to score his second of the game. The Olympiques with a three-goal lead after 40 minutes of play.
Gatineau collapses at the end of the period
At the start of the third period, the Phoenix spent long minutes in Gatineau territory, but Nathan St-Pierre made numerous saves. Each team then traded power-play opportunities, but no one could find the back of the net. However, with a sixth forward on the ice for the visitors, the Olympiques collapse. Olivier Dubois, Hugo Primeau and Lewis Gendron all scored in the final minutes to tie the game. Off to overtime.
In overtime, St-Pierre and Feldbergs were on top of each other in front of their respective cages. However, it would take a shootout to determine a winner. Mavrick Lachance scored for Sherbrooke, while all three Olympiques forwards sent to the rink were unable to find the back of the net. The home side lost 4-3.
Head coach Alexis Loiseau had trouble explaining his men’s end to the game.
“It’s hard to explain. Up to that point, we’d played a pretty solid game. It’s a shame, it’s a very disappointing end to the game.
Still, he believes that a lack of experience in a situation like this played a role.
“These are things that players don’t necessarily experience every game. We haven’t experienced that very often this season, a situation where we have the lead at the end of the game and the opposing team pulls their goalkeeper. It’s disappointing, but we’ll have to learn from it and turn the page pretty quickly tonight”.
The Olympiques will be back in action on Saturday, December 14, at the Slush Puppie Centre to take on the Blainville-Boisbriand Armada, starting at 4 p.m.
*Text by Philippe Villeneuve
