Even though they didn’t play their best game of the season, the Sherbrooke Phoenix defeated the Quebec Remparts 2-1 on Friday night in front of 12,056 spectators.
The game, which started a good fifteen minutes late due to pre-game ceremonies honoring Remparts equipment manager Stéphane Savard for his 1,000th career game as well as several missing people, got off to a very slow start.
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The sequence of events did little to quicken the pace, as a disturbing scene occurred just over six minutes before the end of the first battle.
Slovakian Phoenix striker Frantisek Dej was caught in a post by goalkeeper Mathys Routhier as he ran backwards and landed headfirst in the boards. He had to be taken off the ice on a stretcher.
Fortunately, the worst appears to have been avoided as he escaped with “a good concussion,” according to Phoenix coach Gilles Bouchard.
The challenge of concentration
Under these circumstances it is difficult for all remaining players on both sides to stay focused.
“We have keywords in the team, we try to live in the present moment as much as possible. When the game started again, I told the boys that we have to focus on what we have to do and stay strong together,” said Bouchard.
Among the local favorites, Éric Veilleux stressed that the most important thing is to ensure the health of the affected player. “As a coach, you don’t necessarily think about your team in a situation like this. You just want the little guy to be happy. It’s not fun to watch. I hope he’s okay.”
Digital advantage at work
While Gilles Bouchard was relieved to see that his team had “found a way to win” even if they “didn’t deserve this game”, Éric Veilleux, on the Remparts side, gritted his teeth when he saw his team’s performance Team watching on the power grid playing.
“I don’t know if it’s me asking too much, but we lacked skill on the power play. We tried to be a little too fancy. “It’s like we’re waiting to see the goalie and be alone in front of him before we shoot the puck,” he complained, citing, among other things, a five-minute numerical superiority after a serious penalty against Phoenix captain Christophe Rondeau Betting game a Remparts player.
Fast
- Charles-Olivier Villeneuve was the sole scorer for the Remparts, while Olivier Dubois and Jakub Hujer scored for Sherbrooke.
- Before the game, the Remparts held a moment of silence in memory of referee Sylvain Cloutier, Videotron Center concessions director Benoit Gaulin and Cowboys Fringants singer Karl Tremblay. The Cowboys Fringants music played throughout the game at the Videotron Center.