The Remparts have sold the 36,000 tickets offered at the Videotron Center for the first two games of the QMJHL final in just six hours, Friday. If Patrick Roy did not say he was surprised by the enthusiasm of Quebec City fans on Saturday, he nevertheless described as “magical” what his team is going through this spring.
“I admire what people are doing for us right now,” said the head coach of the Red Devils, after training his troop.
Roy does not remember having experienced such a fever for the Remparts since his debut behind the team bench, almost 20 years ago.
“The year of the Memorial Cup [en 2006], there was really a very strong energy, he pointed out. But then, if I meet people in the street and they ask me if I think we’re going to win, they want to know what’s next… That’s the fun to see the reaction of the public.
Like in the NHL
When configured for a hockey game, the Videotron Center can accommodate 18,259 spectators.
This means that even before knowing the identity of the other finalist team – the Halifax Mooseheads and the Sherbrooke Phœnix were tied 2-2 in their series on Friday, when they went on sale – the Remparts will have pulverized the old mark for a QMJHL playoff game.
In 1983, the Verdun Junior, which was then playing its matches at the Montreal Forum, had sold 17,860 tickets for the first game of the final against the Chevaliers de Longueuil.
“But I shouldn’t even be surprised because we’ve always had a fantastic audience and people supporting us,” added the head coach.
“It’s going to be a National League atmosphere,” pointed out striker Zachary Bolduc, who is obviously being asked for tickets by his relatives.
“We’ve been working for two years, getting bored, getting up and it’s fun to know that Quebec is behind us,” he smiled.
Tiredness? Roy doesn’t believe it
And Bolduc also assured that he and his teammates are focused on giving the fans the show they deserve, Friday and Saturday night, when the league final begins.
“All the boys also, we are here. We are all in the same place mentally and we all want the same thing. We are ready to tackle the challenge ahead.”
In fact, several players gathered on Saturday afternoon to watch the fifth game of their next opponents, which the Mooseheads won 5-0.
If the Remparts, victorious in four games of each of their series this spring, again take advantage of a few days of rest to heal their wounds, they do not necessarily see a good eye that the one between Halifax and Sherbrooke is longer.
The famous “fatigue” factor, Patrick Roy does not believe in it, especially not at this stage of the season. “You’re going to the final. You have all the energy, the adrenaline is there,” commented the head coach about his next rivals.
The pilot of the “Red Devils” cited the example of the Florida Panthers who, after signing an “emotional” victory at the expense of the Boston Bruins in a seventh game, in the first round of the NHL playoffs, immediately won their first two games against the Toronto Maple Leafs.
“When you get to the playoffs, the byes, the game streaks, that’s not a factor anymore,” he said. The factor is, “Hey, you’ve got a game to play. Hence the concept of staying in the moment.”
Two very different teams
Patrick Roy praised the “resilience” of his players throughout the series against the Olympiques. He also finds that the Mooseheads showed it against the Phoenix: “I’m surprised by the result, given that Sherbrooke won the first two games. It’s always found it very difficult to win in Sherbrooke, so hats off to Halifax for finding a way to win there.
The head coach assured that training while waiting to know the identity of their next opponents has not had an impact on the preparation of his team. His goal is to keep his players focused. He recalls that they know the two clubs well, which they faced at the end of the season.
“We know that we are going to face a very good formation. They are very different: Halifax is more of a team of skills, while Sherbrooke is more of a physical team, noted Roy. It’s going to be a different series, depending on who you’re up against. But it remains that we will play against a team which, again, has four good lines, three good pairs of defenders and a good goalkeeper.
▶ Injured in the second game of the series against the Gatineau Olympiques, the cornerstone of the Remparts’ defence, Nicolas Savoie, skated alone on Saturday, before the team’s practice. Charle Truchon and Thomas Darcy skipped their turn, like forward Daniel Agostino. Patrick Roy had no details to give about their state of health. The “Red Devils had training off on Sunday.”