Wildcats jump out to QMJHL Final lead with 5-2 win
The Wildcats jumped into a 3-1 first period lead and never looked back, defeating the Chicoutimi Sagueneens 5-2 before 6,200 fans at Avenir Centre to take a 1-0 lead in the QMJHL Finals for the Gilles-Courteau Trophy.
The game’s First Star, Caleb Desnoyers, opened the scoring just 20 seconds into the game, followed by powerplay goals from Niko Tournas and Gabe Smith, both assisted by Desnoyers, for a 3-1 lead after one period.
Chicoutimi’s Christophe Berthelot cut the lead to 3-2 after two periods.
In the third, the Cats employed strong team defense and padded the lead with empty net goals from Preston Lounsbury and Gabe Smith — his second of the night to ice — the win in the Series opener.
Rudy Guimond was solid with 26 saves, Lucas Beckman made 31 stops for the Sags.
THREE STARS:
⭐️ #18 CALEB DESNOYERS (1G, 2A)
⭐️⭐️ Lucas Beckman CHI (31 saves)
⭐️⭐️⭐️ #16 TOMMY BLEYL
Game 2 in the Q Final unfolds Saturday night at 7pm. Join Marty Kingston and Aiden Glendenning with all the exciting action on FloHockey TV and Wildcats Radio INSPIRE 105.1 FM Moncton-Dieppe-Riverview.
[BOX SCORE]
Article by Marty Kingston
Photo: Daniel St. Louis
