Rimouski Océanic assistant coach Alexis Loiseau expects more attacking performance from the team’s veterans returning from a trip of two losses in as many days to Chicoutimi and Quebec, where the team only scored three goals.
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Loiseau is well placed to speak about the importance of 19- and 20-year veterans to a junior squad, having amassed 96 points as a 20-year-old and added 26 points in 20 playoff games in 2014-15. His offensive performance had exploded in the ratings at 19 after two less consistent seasons.
“Our 16- and 17-year-olds give us good hockey, but we don’t expect the same consistency from the younger players over a long season. It’s usually the third and fourth graders who have to show that consistency, which we don’t always see this season. guys know it. They work hard. These are players that we have developed and that we like,” commented Alexis Loiseau on the eve of a home game against Chicoutimi Sags.
On Friday, ahead of the two away games, head coach Serge Beausoleil said he expected more from his 20-year-old players. Patrick LeBlanc collected an assist while Luka Verreault and William Dumoulin were ruled out.
A defender leads the scorers
If we analyze the ranking of Océanic’s scorers, we note that despite the presence of three 20-year-old forwards, 19-year-old defender Frédéric Brunet is at the top with 17 points ahead of 17-year-old forward Alexandre Blais (14 points , including 5 assists in a game last week).
“If a 17-year-old scores five points in a game, we take that, but we know it’s not going to happen in every game,” said Alexis Loiseau, who mainly works with forwards and is responsible for the numerical advantage.
The power game has been producing more for a few weeks.
“We finally have a more stable first unit that is successful,” said Alexis Loiseau of the quintet of Brunet, Blais, William Dumoulin, Jan Sprynar and Maël St-Denis. It is this unit that scored the only goal for the Océanic in Quebec on Sunday.
- On Monday night, the Océanic will look to avenge Saturday’s 3-2 defeat by the Sags in Chicoutimi.