The Remparts have taken a first step towards their goal and they have done it brilliantly. Patrick Roy’s men dominated the Halifax Mooseheads in Game 1 of the Gilles-Courteau Trophy Finals, winning 5-1 in a packed Videotron Center.
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Quebec has now won its 13 playoff games and its last 21, including the eight wins that complete the regular schedule.
And they were in control for most of that first duel, although the Mooseheads nearly silenced the imposing and vociferous crowd of 18,259 spectators at the Videotron center from the opening moments of the game, but Alexandre Doucet was unable to stop the controlling the puck, who ended up finishing in front of him when William Rousseau’s net went empty.
And, as they have been since the start of the playoffs, the Remparts paid their opponent’s lack of opportunism with a goal when Justin Robidas defeated Mathis Rousseau with a precision shot from the top right.
“We were a bit nervous at the beginning of the game, maybe because we hadn’t played for a while. When Robi scored the first goal, it all calmed down a little and we then took our course and the audience joined in. She gave our team a lot of energy, she was loud and I find that intimidating for an opponent, I have no doubt about that. »
Because although they had been talking about it and preparing for it all week, the excitement surrounding the first game of the finals was difficult to contain at first.
“At first we were a bit nervous. It’s stressful playing in front of an audience like this, so there were butterflies before we started. “We mastered it well and came back well and were resilient to the end,” acknowledged Robidas.
After Robidas’ goal, Remparts effectively took control of the game and Théo Rochette used a shot from behind to level the score 2-0 before the end of the match. At the end of the quarter, Zachary L’Heureux hit Zachary Bolduc with a stick before charging at him, giving the Remparts an opportunity to start the second period on the power play.
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He replies with the muzzle of his cannon
After the break, Bolduc found the best way to make L’Heureux pay for his indiscipline: a goal in the first minute. His shot from the blue line escaped Mathis Rousseau’s sights before going into the net.
“If they keep doing little dirty tricks like that, we’re going to make them pay with our numerical advantage, that’s all,” Nathan Gaucher said.
Quebec never looked back after that and despite a goal from Markus Vidicek that cut the lead to 3-1, they muzzled the Halifax forwards for most of the game.
“I put myself in their shoes and it must have been frustrating offensively because we played very well defensively and Rousseau made the saves when it was time,” analyzed Théo Rochette, who had one goal and two assists in the game scored
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As for the Mooseheads, Sylvain Favreau had a very simple explanation for his team’s false start: they just didn’t work.
“To win you have to work and I didn’t see that with my team for 6 minutes. We had a good chance to score from the start of the game but then we let it slide. Our level of competition must be higher. It goes beyond X and O. Tonight the Remparts wanted her more than we did. »
“It was probably our worst playoff game so far,” added L’Heureux. It’s happening and we need to turn the tide. […] They came out strong and played a good game. Thank you, but it’s far from over. »
In fact, it’s far from over. In the semifinals, the Mooseheads also got away in the first game of the series against the Phoenix and then in the second before going on to six-game victories.
“I told the guys before I left to start preparing for tomorrow. [samedi], mentioned Patrick Roy. As for the others, Sherbrooke thought it was in the bag after the first game. On the other hand, they will be resilient and will work. We must therefore arrive with the same mindset and state of mind. »
Komarov on the sidelines
While the Remparts won the first game of the finals convincingly, they could have lost a large part in this match.
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Defender Vsevolod Komarov was hit by Braeden MacPhee in the second half and left the game, accompanied by his teammates, visibly plagued by a leg injury.
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“When I saw MacPhee get off his bench and do a swerve, we all knew it was going to be weird. It was at breaking point. Also, I purposely didn’t go to the doctor because I knew you were going to ask me that question and I didn’t want to answer it. So I have no idea what’s going on,” said Patrick Roy, true to his habit of not disclosing the injury status in the playoffs.
The Remparts were already missing another key element of their defensive brigade: Charle Truchon, injured at the end of game four of the series against Gatineau Olympiques.
Jordan Dumais, the QMJHL’s most valuable player last season, skated Friday morning but did not attend the game.
He was injured in the second game of the semi-final series against the Sherbrooke Phoenix. Defender Cam Whynot was also absent.
In fact, thanks to the 50/50 ratio, one lucky backer walked away $110,166 richer.
The second game will take place at the Videotron Center on Saturday evening. The 18,259 tickets for this meeting have also all been sold.