The Remparts lost home advantage on ice Saturday night when they gave “die.” Gameagainst the Mooseheads (it’s Patrick Roy saying it) who lost the second game 6 to 3 and played in front of a second full house in a row at the Videotron Centre. But Roy also reiterated at the end of the confrontation that his squad wants to play the same trick on their rivals by winning a game or even two of this QMJHL finals in Halifax.
The first two games didn’t result in as close a match as expected between these two powers that had dominated the tournament during the regular season. Are games number 1 and 2 a harbinger of the continuation of the series?
The Rousseaus do not dominate as expected
One thing remains certain: a Rousseau, the Wilhelm of the Remparts or the Mathis of the Mooseheads, will have their name engraved on the Gilles-Courteau trophy at the end of this finale.
So far, however, we haven’t seen the expected battle on the net between two teams, between two goalkeepers who not only share the same last name but have also put in an impressive performance in their first three series.
Photo Didier Desbusschere
The doorman at des Remparts would no doubt like to revisit certain shots he gave way on Saturday. Ditto for the Mooseheads who suffered a 5-1 defeat on Friday.
Will the two goalkeepers find their way back to Halifax or will they continue to offer high-scoring games against such fearsome attacks? Especially since we still don’t know when the Mooseheads will face Jordan Dumais again, the league’s top scorer this season.
The battle of the special forces
Patrick Roy last week highlighted the Mooseheads’ efficiency on the power play and said he hopes that series will be played five-a-side before the start of the finals.
In the end, the “Red Devils” allowed three of seven goals in the first two games, one of which ended up in the penalty box.
Quebec, on the other hand, scored two of their eight power-play goals on Friday and Saturday. But the Remparts do even better, boasting a 27.7% success rate with one player advantage since the start of this streak (vs. 23.7% for the Mooseheads).
Photo Didier Desbusschere
On one side or the other it will therefore be necessary to watch out for indiscipline, which moreover partially harmed the Remparts in the second meeting.
The resilience of the Mooseheads is not a myth
The Mooseheads had lost their first game to the Moncton Wildcats, then their first two to the Sherbrooke Phoenix, both at their home stadium.
While it’s not clear on the Halifax side why we tend to start the series on our heels, one thing is certain: players now have the confidence to bounce back.
They proved that once again on Saturday in Quebec, losing their first meeting and trailing 2-0 in the opening stages in front of some 18,259 vociferous supporters from the opposing team. But again they found the key to return.
Before this resilience, the Remparts were wary. However, their head coach pointed out on Saturday that the 6-3 defeat was mainly due to a poor second half.
Alexandre Doucet’s goal, which reduced the deficit to 2-1 in the last moments of the first half, hurt a lot.
Photo Didier Desbusschere
“The next game we’re going to play there doesn’t start on Tuesday. He started in the third third, emphasized Patrick Roy. At that point we started preparing for this game. We wanted to break their momentum. I think we played really well in the third half.
It rattles (and it brews) on the ice
The Remparts and the Mooseheads may only have faced each other twice in the regular season, but it wasn’t long before tensions between the two teams escalated. There was a lot of talking (and stirring) on the ice at the Videotron Center on Saturday.
The Mooseheads players also received some penalties for “indiscipline” in the first period.
“These were penalties because we were aggressive, because we wanted to look them in the face,” stressed Alexandre Doucet, who scored four points, including two goals, in the second game. They scored on the power play but that didn’t change our opinion on the bench.
Photo Didier Desbusschere
The Red Devils driver doesn’t think the Mooseheads bothered his players. “Unfortunately, I didn’t see any of that,” he said on Saturday. I didn’t see a team that was very, very physically active. It’s always the same for them anyway. After the whistles, there were a few more [d’accrochages] than in the other game. But it’s normal, we let them do it, so they took advantage of it.
The first two games in quotes
Patrick Roy on the Remparts’ efforts on Saturday:
“We didn’t play a good game. What their coach accused his players of [de ne pas avoir travaillé assez fort, vendredi]it was our turn.”
Alexandre Doucet, author of Four Points for the Mooseheads, Saturday:
“It was three online series where we escape the first game. We come out a bit weak in the first few games, but then we recover and show character. It tells us that even if we fall behind in the series or in a game, it’s never over. It’s good for confidence.”
The Remparts’ Zachary Bolduc on the team’s 21-game winning streak that ended on Saturday:
“The winning streak we had just gave us confidence, I think. It’s not a defeat like this that will rob us of victory.”
Patrick Roy on two games on two nights and the impact on the show:
“I think as a league we’re a bit like dinosaurs. In the sense that we don’t have to constantly play two games in two days. The show would be better if we alternated between a game day and a day off.
Mooseheads’ Zachary L’Heureux on the confidence that drives his club:
“We’re glad we got our job done. [en gagnant un match à Québec], but it’s far from over. We return home with the advantage of playing in front of our fans who will be loud and behind us. We will want to continue our momentum.”