The Olympiques deliver quite a battle to the Mooseheads
Gatineau – The Olympiques hosted the mighty Halifax Mooseheads for their second game in as many days at the Slush Puppie Centre. A spectacular comeback by the hosts in the final minute of play put on quite a show for the 4164 fans in attendance, but the Mooseheads came away with two points.
Both teams knock on the door
Early in the game, Halifax took the lead. Mathieu Cataford opened the scoring after just over five minutes, deflecting Brady Schultz’s pass into the back of the net. Charles Boutin was then given a four-minute penalty for high sticking, but his team-mates got the job done and left nothing for their opponents. Finally, Jacob Kaine (6th) provided the reply for the home side, slipping the disc between Jack Milner’s pads.
Goalkeepers get the job done
In the second third, the Olympiques were buzzing in the offensive zone, but Milner shut the door on them. At the other end, Zach Pelletier also frustrated the Mooseheads on several occasions. However, after 16 scoreless minutes, Nolan Ling fumbled the puck at the opposing blue line, allowing Peter Reynolds to find himself on a breakaway, where he threaded the needle past Zach Pelletier and into the net. Even though the period seemed to be in Gatineau’s favor, it was Halifax who retreated to the dressing room with the lead.
Mooseheads take control
In the third period, Nathan Lévesque found himself behind the net, his preferred spot, and passed the disc to Alexander Gaudio (14th), who scored into an almost completely open net. The game didn’t stay scoreless for long, however, as Cade Moser found himself alone in the slot and beat Zach Pelletier with a powerful shot. Markus Vidicek then added to his team’s lead with a well-executed turnstile. With 46 seconds left in the third period, in a six-on-four situation, Justin Boisselle (16th) reduced the gap to one goal. Number 58 had not said his last word, as just 35 seconds later, Justin Boisselle (17th) tied the score. We head into overtime.
Gatineau unable to complete comeback
On a three-on-three, Jérémie Minville gets a golden chance to finish the game, but Jack Milner shuts him down. Moments later, Lou-Félix Denis sent a slap shot into the back of the net to give his team victory.
Despite the defeat, head coach Serge Beausoleil is satisfied with his team’s performance.
“The guys are fighters. They don’t give up,” says Serge Beausoleil. “The guys show a lot of character and they deal with difficult situations.
In the race for the playoffs, every point counts. So for the Olympiques, picking up one point out of two against the third-placed team in the overall standings is very important.
“It’s a very big point,” Beausoleil points out.
“Obviously, the guys are disappointed to have dropped the second one in the dressing room, but we practically had 40 shots on net and won the special units. I’m seeing a lot of positives, and we’re coming out of this grueling week with three points out of four after some big trips,” adds the Olympiques pilot.
The Olympiques’ next game is Wednesday (February 28) against the Chicoutimi Saguenéens at the Slush Puppie Centre.
A text by Philippe Villeneuve
