The Olympiques show no mercy against the Sea Dogs
Gatineau – The Olympiques took advantage of a team playing a 3rd game in as many days to put on quite an offensive show for the 3600 fans at the Slush Puppie Centre. The second trio of Lévesque, Gaudio and Boisselle shone on Sunday afternoon, while Mathis Gauthier played his first game against the team he spent the first half of his season with.
Gatineau takes the lead just before the bell
The first third was certainly not the most exciting part of the game. The two teams exchanged scoring opportunities, but their respective goalkeepers shut the door. It took 19 minutes and 56 seconds to see the first goal of the game, when Nathan Lévesque (16th) intercepted a Sea-Dogs cross-ice pass at his own blue line and headed in on a breakaway. The hands of No. 11 beat goalkeeper Patrick Leaver and sent the Olympiques back to the locker room with a lead.
The Olympiques explode offensively
In the second period, the Sea-Dogs’ fatigue began to show on the ice, and Gatineau took full advantage. The Olympiques score 3 goals in just over two minutes, and make the fans of the Slush Puppie center. Sander Wold (6th) beats Leaver with a powerful shot from the slot, Nathan Lévesque (17th) scores his second of the game by redirecting the disc into the top corner, and Jérémie Minville (26th) takes advantage of a throw-in to give his team a 4-0 lead. Justin Boisselle (8th) joined the fray in the final minute with a precise slap shot that found the back of the net. Gatineau leaves with a 5-goal lead.
The Olympiques leave with two points
Justin Robinson takes over from Patrick Leaver in front of the net to start the third period. Halfway through the period, Eriks Mateiko spoils Zach Pelletier’s power-play shutout. Moments later, Justin Boisselle (9th) scored his second of the game, completing a perfect pass from Mathis Gauthier with a man advantage. Finally, with just under a second left in the game, William Labranche (10th) added a seventh.
This was Mathis Gauthier’s first game against his former team. The 20-year-old defenseman could be seen having a few altercations with his former teammates, which he says was simply in the spirit of competition.
“I don’t think it was arguments, it was more like little love notes. Once I get on the ice, I have no friends. I think I showed that on the ice tonight.
Gauthier, traded to Gatineau on January 2, couldn’t find the back of the net against his former team, but did pick up an assist.
“It’s always fun to score against your old team, but it’s not necessarily what I was looking for. The win is more important than my personal stats.
In a post-game interview with 104.7 Outaouais’ Yannick St-Denis, Nathan Lévesque talked about a speech by head coach Benoit Desrosiers during the first intermission. Gatineau scored 4 goals in the second period.
“My speech was simple. I just reminded them who they were. When you step out of an identity, you become an ordinary team. When we play in our identity, we’re very hard to play against, no matter who we’re playing against.”
Zach Pelletier earned the game’s third star, stopping 22 of 23 shots. Despite the offensive support, his coach emphasized his fine performance: “He made some key saves. When I say a team win, I mean everyone. That’s how you have success, and we proved it tonight.
The Olympiques’ next game is Wednesday (January 31) against the Québec Remparts at Centre Vidéotron.
Text by Philippe Villeneuve
