Fitzpatrick and Titan shut out Armada in Game 2 victory
Playing in the second game of the 2018 Rogers President Cup Final on Saturday night, the Acadie-Bathurst Titan managed to even up the series at 1-1 thanks to a 4-0 win on the Blainville-Boisbriand Armada’s home ice.
After a scary collision that saw him miss some time to get a few stitches done on his forehead, Antoine Morand came back strong in the game to net two goals for the Titan. Noah Dobson and Ethan Crossman scored the other goals in the win, while Evan Fitzpatrick was unbeatable in net, stopping all 27 shots he faced.
After settling for a scoreless opening period highlighted by some solid body checks, the Titan got on the board first when Dobson fired a wrist shot from the top of the circle at the 3:30 mark of the second period.
We’d have to wait until just under two minutes were played in the final frame before Morand doubled the Acadie-Bathurst lead with a perfectly placed shot inside the post. Fast forward to the 17:12 mark of the third and he’d score his second of the night following a banked shot off the board that found its way into an empty net.
Crossman made it 4-0 with 24 seconds left in the game with a beautiful top corner shot that beat Émile Samson over the short side shoulder.
Despite his 17 saves, Samson suffered a regulation loss for the first time since December 10th of 2017, falling just one game short of tying the QMJHL record of 30 consecutive games without a regulation loss.
On the flip side, it was Fitzpatrick’s second shutout of the postseason, and the first time that the Armada has been held off the scoresheet in its current playoff run.
Both teams will now travel to Bathurst’s K.C. Irving Regional Centre before hitting the ice for Game 3 of the series on Tuesday night at 6:30 p.m ET / 7:30 p.m AT.
