The Olympiques fall to the Armada
Gatineau – The Gatineau Olympiques received a visit from the Blainville-Boisbriand Armada on Sunday at the Slush Puppie Centre. Although they managed to overcome a two-goal deficit, Alexis Loiseau’s men suffered a fifth consecutive setback in front of over 3,000 fans.
Visitors more opportunistic in first third
In the first period, the Olympiques controlled most of the play and fired a steady stream of shots at the opposing net. However, the visitors were more opportunistic than the hosts. With Gatineau on the power play, Vincent Desjardins found a way to break free and beat rookie Caleb Shuker to open the scoring. Less than six minutes later, Bo Damphousse slammed home a shot from the blue line to double his team’s lead. Despite leading in shots on goal, 10-6, the Olympiques went into the locker room with a two-goal deficit to overcome.
Isaiah Parent breaks the ice for Gatineau
In the second period, the Olympiques get two man-up opportunities, but can’t find the back of the net. The visitors then found themselves on the power play for the first time, with Caleb Shuker making numerous saves to keep his team in the game. Finally, Lukas Landry deftly passed the disc to Isaiah Parent (2nd) in front of the net, who beat Rémi Delafontaine to halve the deficit. The Olympiques dominate the final minutes of play, but the score remains the same after two thirds.
Olympiques suffer fifth straight setback
In the third period, Blainville-Boisbriand scored in the first minute of play, but the goal was disallowed after video review for offside. Lukas Landry then made another deft pass, this time to Jérémie Minville (6th), who rattled the strings with a shot from the slot. Young Shuker once again frustrated the visitors with a spectacular stick-end save moments later to keep the deadlock alive. However, Mateo Nobert restored the visitors’ lead on the power play. At the end of the period, Caleb Shuker loses his stick and Olivier Lemieux takes advantage to deflect the puck between his pads. The Olympiques then pulled their goalie to send an extra forward into the fray, but still lost 4-2.
The Olympiques finished the evening with a 0-in-5 record on the power play.
“We’re circling and passing around the box, but we’re not really getting a chance to score,” admits head coach Alexis Loiseau. “We’re taking momentum away from ourselves with the power play, which isn’t a good thing.”
Caleb Shuker made his first career start in the QMJHL. The rookie goaltender thrilled the crowd with several spectacular saves, while repelling 19 of the 23 shots he received.
“He kept us in the game,” says Loiseau. “For me, he was very solid. He made saves on A+ chances. I liked his level of competition and what he brought to the game.”
The Olympiques will head to Shawinigan to face the Cataractes on Monday (October 14) at Centre Gervais Auto.
*Text by Philippe Villeneuve