Foreurs score three unanswered to tie 2021 President Cup Final
The Val-d’Or Foreurs rebounded from their first postseason defeat in fine style on Saturday afternoon, defeating the Victoriaville Tigres 4-1 in Game 2 of the 2021 President Cup Final presented by Rogers.
An excited crowd of 1816 fans took in the match at Quebec’s Videotron Centre, the first spectators at a QMJHL game in the province since March of 2020.
Maxim Cajkovic, with a pair, Jeremy Michel and Samuel Poulin provided the offense for the Foreurs. Jakob Pelletier, who would be named the game’s first star, added a pair of helpers. Alex Beaucage scored the lone Tigres marker.
After a scoreless first period that saw the Tigres enjoy a 9-4 shots advantage, Cajkovic would break the deadlock with a one-timer blast on a Foreurs powerplay that eluded Victoriaville goaltender Nikolas Hurtubise to give Val-d’Or a 1-0 lead 11:37 into the second.
The Tigres would claw back on a powerplay of their own at the 17:19 mark when Alex Beaucage connected on a wrister, his seventh goal of the postseason, that eluded Foreurs netminder Jonathan Lemieux.
A perfectly executed rush by Val-d’Or less than a minute later would send them to the dressing room with the lead after 40 minutes as Cajkovic provided the finishing touch on a perfect backhand feed from Pelletier for his ninth playoff tally. The Foreurs would enjoy a 14-4 edge in shots during the second period.
In the third, Michel, alone in the slot, converted a centering pass from Jacob Gaucher for his third goal of the playoffs at 16:01. Poulin would complete the scoring just 45 seconds later with his 11th of the postseason, finding the back of the thanks to a shot from behind the goal line.
Lemieux made 21 saves for his tenth postseason victory while Hurtubise turned aside 25 shots in the loss.
The two teams return to action tomorrow afternoon at 3PM ET/4PM AT for Game 3 of this best-of-seven final. Tickets remain available for this game.
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