Wildcats double down in double OT to claim 2-0 series lead
Vincent Collard’s goal at the 2:34 mark of the second overtime period put a back-and-forth game two of the 2025 Gilles-Courteau Trophy Final to and end and earned the Moncton Wildcats a 2-0 series lead over the Rimouski Océanic.
Collard, the fourth-year veteran, collected the puck at the edge of the crease during an extended scramble in front of Rimouski netminder William Lacelle and shovelled home the winner before a raucous crowd of 6729 at Moncton’s Avenir Center.
Julius Sumpf, Markus Vidicek and Juraj Pekarcik also scored for Moncton, while Caleb Desnoyers and Etienne Morin chipped in with three assists each. Jack Martin, Mathieu Cataford and Jonathan Fauchon replied for the Océanic. Martin and Fauchon would also add an assist to their nights. Moncton’s Rudy Guimond, with 28 saves, and Rimouski’s Lacelle, with 42 stops, made their Final debuts between the pipes and both were stellar, earning first and third star honors, respectively.
This was the first QMJHL Final game to reach double overtime since the Victoriaville Tigres clinched the title in game six of the 2021 championship round over the Val-d’Or Foreurs.
Though the shots were one-sided for the home team early on, the Océanic continued to gain momentum to take a 2-1 lead to the dressing room after 20 minutes. The Cats got on the board first thanks to a nifty three-way passing play at 7:03. Morin fed the puck down low to Desnoyers who delivered a perfect cross-crease pass past a sprawling Lacelle to Sumpf, who guided it into the yawning cage for his ninth of the postseason. The Océanic tied things up at the 11:21 mark. After a miscue by the Wildcats in their own end, Fauchon picked up a loose puck, circled behind the net and provided a centering feed for a pinching Martin who cashed in from the slot with his third of the playoffs. Rimouski would take its first lead of the series with 38 seconds remaining in the period when Eriks Mateiko centered a pass to Cataford, who deflected the puck past Guimond for his sixth of the postseason. Moncton held a 13-7 shots advantage in the period.
The Wildcats held a territorial edge as well as a 14-5 decision on the shot clock in the second period that saw them score the lone goal of the frame. Moncton would draw even on the power play at 9:51 when Pekarcik featured a pass towards the blue paint to Vidicek, who collected his fifth of the postseason and his second goal in as many games.
The teams would trade goals in the third period. The Cats regained the lead at the 5:03 mark on a highlight reel snipe. Pekarcik danced into the offensive zone, undressed an Océanic defender and ripped a wrister over the pad of Lacelle for his eighth of the playoffs. Then, with 2:40 remaining, Lacelle pulled for an extra attacker and a Wildcats penalty having just expired, Fauchon scored his fourth of the postseason and first in 11 games to tie things up yet again, cashing in on a cross-ice feed from Jacob Mathieu over Guimond’s glove side shoulder. Rimouski enjoyed a 10-6 advantage in shots in the period.
The first overtime period would prove to be the first scoreless frame of the Final. This would only build upon the dramatics which culminated in Collard’s game-winner. Over the period and change of extra time, the Wildcats led on the shot clock 13-9, including 3-0 in the brief fifth period. With the victory, Guimond ran his incredible record in the Cats crease to a perfect 24-0.
The scene now shifts to Rimouski and a slight break in the action before game three of this best-of-seven championship series. Catch all the action live on Wednesday night at 7PM ET/8PM AT via TSN, RDS and CHL TV.
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