(Elmont, New York) Patrick Roy spent thousands of hours in the Remparts coach traveling the bumpy roads of the province. More than 200 Quebec fans returned the favor by piling into four vehicles early Thursday morning to go encourage the Islanders coach against the Canadian.
“Am I surprised, no. The people of Quebec have always been passionate about hockey,” Casseau reacted in the minutes following his 3-2 victory against the Habs. “No, I’m not surprised. I have a lot of admiration for the passion we have for hockey as Quebecers. »
The Press went up at 5 a.m. Thursday with the band of “crinqués” who left from Quebec to encourage Roy. The trip is quick: departure Thursday at dawn, match against the Canadian in the evening at the UBS Arena, then return Friday to Quebec just after midnight.
The idea for this ten-hour drive – let’s say eleven, thanks to traffic – to Elmont near New York came from FM93 hosts.
“We launched the idea on the air two days after the announcement of Roy’s hiring,” explains host Jérôme Landry, seated in the first passenger seat of one of the four coaches leaving Quebec, just after having crossed the Saint-Bernard-de-Lacolle border crossing on Thursday morning.
We filled four coaches, but in truth we could have filled ten, if we hadn’t had difficulty finding drivers and vehicles.
Radio host Jérôme Landry
Radio hosts from the capital had already organized the famous Nordiques Nation trips at the turn of the 2010s. The goal was then to show that the people of Quebec love hockey to the point… of taking endless bus trips .
This time, with the hope of seeing the Nordiques at their lowest, the trip was mainly aimed at encouraging Patrick Roy. The people of Quebec claim Casseau as much as those of Montreal.
PHOTO FRANÇOIS ROY, THE PRESS
Patrick Roy in the moments following his victory against the Canadian on Thursday evening, at the home of the New York Islanders.
“In my head, Patrick is the former coach of the Remparts, the former of the Gouverneurs de Sainte-Foy, and he is the former goalie of the Colorado Avalanche,” says Jérôme Landry. “In my head, that’s it. I forgot a bit there, he says, smirking. Patrick is a guy from Quebec, who gave a lot to Quebec. »
It’s true that Roy was born in Quebec, then led the Remparts for 15 seasons.
“Of course, like many Nordic fans, we hated him for a while, around 1993! », admits Mathieu Boutin, who made the long journey to New York with his 12-year-old son, Alex.
“But he recovered well, he brought two Memorial Cups to Quebec,” says the man wearing a Nordiques cap. And last year, he brought a whole atmosphere to the Videotron Center. It’s the least we can do to support him. »
The merry band overwhelmingly supported the Islanders. “There we take for all the teams, except the Canadian! », summarizes Florent Gobeil, 80 years old, who had worn his beautiful period jacket for the trip, powder blue and stamped with the Nordiques logo.
Roy and his Islanders finally won at the last minute, clinging to their chances of participating in the playoffs.
It won’t bring back the Nordiques. But for the 200 hockey fans in the capital, it was a glimpse: this is the taste of victory in the National League.
For the oldest among them, old enough to have known the time of the Nords, it was a reminder; sweet or bitter, it depends.