(Drummondville) The Drakkar finished first in the general rankings of the Maritimes Quebec Junior Hockey League, but could be swept away in the final of the Gilles-Courteau trophy.
Ethan Gauthier scored a double and the Drummondville Voltigeurs easily took a 3-0 lead in the final on Monday, signing a 6-2 victory against the Baie-Comeau team.
Vsevolod Komarov, Sam Oliver, Lukas Landry and Justin Côté also hit the target in this victory.
Riley Mercer had never thrown a shutout in the Maritimes Quebec Junior Hockey League playoffs before this year. After recording two shutouts in a row at the start of this series, this time he stopped 17 pucks in the victory.
“Riley is doing an exceptional job,” said Drummondville Voltigeurs head coach Sylvain Favreau. The only thing you can ask from your goalkeeper is to give you a chance to win a match, and he has done that time and time again. »
Justin Poirier scored the Drakkar’s first goal in this series. Isaac Dufort also threaded the needle and Charles-Édward Gravel finished his evening of work with 24 saves.
“They played very, very well. They dominated us, admitted Drakkar head coach Jean-François Grégoire.
The fourth game will take place Tuesday at the Center Marcel-Dionne. If necessary, the series will move to the North Shore on Thursday, for a fifth game.
The Drakkar is participating in the final for the third time in its history, but has never won it. The Voltigeurs are participating for the fifth time and triumphed in 2009.
The club that wins will qualify for the Memorial Cup, which will take place from May 24 to June 2 in Saginaw.
The first goal again
As they did in the first match, the Voltigeurs started the match strong by scoring the first goal quickly in the game.
Komarov hit the target at 3:34 with a backhand shot from the center of the Drakkar zone. Gauthier passed Gravel at the same time.
The Drakkar got a power play opportunity halfway through the first period without managing to find the back of the net. Poirier sent two shots to the post during this sequence with an extra man.
“Today, players tried. Others, it was more difficult, said Grégoire. So it’s going to be about bringing everyone back together, and then we’ll talk about what’s next. We need to calm down certain players and try to help them first.
“Our puck management was difficult. [Ces deux poteaux] could have changed [le résultat]. We won’t know. But when it happens, you have to stay focused. It’s part of hockey. »
Oliver made the Drakkar pay for his lack of opportunism by doubling the lead of the local favorites a few moments later. Passing in front of Gravel, he recovered a throw return to bypass the goalkeeper and make the red light sparkle. It was his seventh of the series.
Gauthier made a one-timer just 92 seconds later to make it 3-0. It was his 12e playoffs.
Well placed in the slot, Landry accepted a pass from behind the net at 16:42 of the first and deceived Gravel’s vigilance. It was a 10e unanswered goal for the Voltigeurs in this series.
“What I can tell you is that I really liked our start, the way we started the match, our forecheck,” said Favreau. I liked the way we behaved in the first 10 minutes of the period, and then it continued. »
Côté was then left alone in front of Gravel at 7:58 of the second period and the Voltigeurs led 5-0.
Poirier finally put the Drakkar on the board at 16:41 of the second period, on a power play. It was 84e firing of the Drakkar in this series. Gauthier, with his second of the game, responded 85 seconds later.
Dufort reduced the gap in the third period, but the Drakkar will still face elimination on Tuesday.
Poirier was chased for 10 minutes at the end of the game.