The CHL Top Prospects Game gave Nathan Gaucher wings. Fresh from Kitchener, he played the heroes on Friday by scoring with 4.9 seconds left in the third to give the Quebec Remparts a 3-2 victory over the Gatineau Olympiques.
All this, while his three teammates with Team White during Wednesday’s game, defenders Noah Warren and Tristan Luneau as well as forward Antonin Verreault were playing in the enemy camp.
At the very end of the match, Gaucher accepted Xavier Filion’s pass before overtaking Evgenii Kashnikov and beating Emerik Despatie between the mitt and the pad.
“To make your team win like that with 4 seconds, it was a good feeling “, he mentioned, all smiles.
After scoring a goal in a 3-1 win at Kitchener on Wednesday, that other goal could do some good for the No. 91, who had recently admitted that his offensive production was not living up to his expectations.
“He is on a good streak. He is an important player in the team. Every time I talk to people, I say it’s a train. He is a very physical player who cuts the net and moreover, that’s how he scored his goal. »
LIVELY ATMOSPHERE
There was a crowd on Friday at the Videotron Center for country night and the Remparts pleased the 10,779 cowboys and cowgirls who came.
The Remparts had organized a thematic evening at the end of which Matt Lang offered a concert in the entrance hall of the amphitheater.
It was the second game in a row presented in front of more than 10,000 spectators at the Videotron Center after last Sunday’s 11,207.
“There are no words for that. It seems, honestly. The fans are our sixth player and that gives us the energy to get a big goal like that at the end of the game. »
On the ice rink, the show was animated.
The Remparts had taken a 2-0 lead thanks to Louis Crevier and Zachary Bolduc, but they let the Olympiques come back with two unanswered goals in the third, those of Zach Dean and Mathieu Bizier.
“We gave up two goals, but we stayed calm and focused. Filion made a very nice pass to Nate who scored an important goal. It’s the kind of goal that brings a lot of confidence and shows that if we play with calm and confidence, we’ll be able to finish our games well,” analyzed Roy.
DESPATIE AND NOT GASCON
Moreover, Louis Robitaille waited until noon on Friday to make his decision on whether to send Ève Gascon in front of his team’s net. Finally, he chose to trust Despatie who had however experienced some problems in the last games.
And the latter did not do badly, facing a barrage of 32 shots.
“He was very good tonight. This is new for Emerik. He arrived here at 16 and hadn’t played Midget AAA, so he hadn’t lived with the No. 1 position. Last year we only played about 30 games. It’s an additional pressure for him and like the team, he learns, sometimes the hard way, but it’s learning,” analyzed Robitaille.
For her part, Gascon was presented on the giant screen and was warmly applauded by the 10,779 supporters who were present at the Videotron Center on Friday for the country evening.
Moreover, Noah Warren did not finish the meeting as a preventive measure. He was hit hard by Zachary Bolduc in the first period and the Olympiques were awaiting a diagnosis after the game.
The two teams will cross swords again on Saturday afternoon, 4 p.m., at the Videotron Center.