The battle for the 16th and final spot in the Maritimes Quebec Junior Hockey League (QMJHL) standings, which provides access to the playoffs, will continue to be close. On Friday, the Quebec Remparts and Saint John Sea Dogs needed overtime to win a rare game between the two teams, 4-3.
It was the Red Devils who finally came out on top after coming from behind to score. Both teams now have the same number of ranking points at 42, but Saint John still has a game in hand.
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After the game, the hero of the game, Alexandre Desmarais, told how the Videotron Center crowd favorites gathered in the locker room during the second break while they were trailing 3-1.
“After eight straight losses, we knew we had to win one if we wanted to make the playoffs. It was really important for us to win today. “The motto was to give everything to win and that’s what we did,” said the man who joined the team midway through the season.
Double pack for Béland
The game's other star, Julien Béland, who scored two goals, including his 25th of the season, supported his teammate's comments.
“It's a win that was really, really important. It feels good to get one, especially at home. We had a very good start to the game, but we had two penalties that hurt us. After that, the pace dropped in the second half, then we had a good conversation and that allowed us to come back strong at the end of the encounter,” explained the Quebec native, who is playing his final season in the circuit.
Sea Dogs special units are in action
In the away camp, coach Travis Crickard acknowledged that the Remparts were better at five-on-five, but was pleased with the work of his special teams. These led to two of his team's three goals and also limited Quebec to a single goal on six power play opportunities.
“Our special teams were very good tonight. We took advantage of our chances on the power play, but in the five-on-five system they controlled the game from start to finish. “It seemed to be even stronger in the third period because we had little attacking intensity,” he summarized.
Fast
– Beauceville official Jean-Philippe Sylvain took charge of his final game in Quebec before retiring Saturday in Sherbrooke. In 20 years in the QMJHL, he played 684 regular season games and 119 playoff games.
– Following the meeting there was a musical performance by Trois Accords in the entrance hall of the Videotron Center. Many of the 11,756 spectators also stayed in their seats to watch the concert on the amphitheater's big screen.