After suffering three straight losses at home, the Quebec Remparts found their way to victory in front of their fans on Tuesday night, winning 3-1 against one of the best teams on the Cecchini circuit, the Voltigeurs from Drummondville.
If the first minutes of the game went more in the visitors’ favor, the Red Devils were the first to score in the middle of the first third. 16-year-old rookie Xavier Lebel, well positioned in the slot, deflected a shot from Pier-Olivier Cloutier and scored his fourth goal in as many games.
• Also read: The Remparts offer themselves a great victory
• Also read: ALS: Radio presenter Mario Hudon dies
The number 9 wearer smiled after the meeting and said he was “relieved” that he had found his style of play in training camp. It was this style of play that allowed him to earn a place in the team.
Before the end of the first period, Antoine Michaud took advantage of a numerical advantage to double his team’s lead. Then, with just six tenths of a second left in the second period, Daniel Agostino made it 3-0.
Miller was given a shutout
It wasn’t until the very end of the game, with 1:42 left on the clock, that the Voltigeurs finally managed to score through Slovakia’s Peter Repcik, giving goaltender Quentin Miller his first shutout of the season.
With 28 saves on 29 shots, the Canadian youth player from Montreal once again played a key role in his team’s victory. “He saved us a little bit by making big saves,” Lebel noted.
Veilleux happy, Favreau less so
Of the coaches, Remparts’ Eric Veilleux was the most satisfied with his team’s performance.
“Apart from the first five minutes where we didn’t seem to really know what to expect, it was one of those games where our structure and our identity were what we wanted for most of the game,” he mentioned, adding a caveat regarding zone entries in the numerical advantage.
In the away dressing room, Sylvain Favreau said he appreciated the start of the game for his charges. However, he was less pleased with the high number of penalties his players received.
“After two periods of the game we had already had five minor penalties. It’s difficult to win games when you’re in the penalty box. We have set ourselves the goal of having three fewer penalties per game. “Tonight we didn’t reach it and paid ‘cash’,” he said.
In the notebook…
– After missing 13 games due to a reactivation of the mononucleosis virus, Remparts striker Mikaël Huchette returned to the game.
– Before the meeting, the Remparts paid tribute to former radio presenter Mario Hudon. He died on Monday and was initially supposed to take over the ceremonial puck drop himself before the game. His wife, two children and two grandchildren were present. Before the players entered, a video was also aired raising awareness of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), the disease he suffered from.
Tribute to Mario Hudon before the game #Vaultigeurs/#Pinns. A video produced by the ALS Society of Quebec was also shown before the players entered, and a minute’s silence was held after the ceremonial puck drop. pic.twitter.com/L7wqM1tzgO
— Benjamin Aubert (@BenjaminAubert) November 22, 2023