The smiles were wide around the Quebec Remparts locker room on Saturday evening. After suffering four consecutive losses at the start of the season, the team had just recorded its second victory in as many days by winning 3-2 in a shootout against the Val-d’Or Foreurs.
The Foreurs, who were trying to recover following their defeat the day before against the Red Devils, opened the scoring through Mathis Ouellet during a double numerical advantage midway through the first period. Then the Remparts responded through Andrew Gweon a few moments later when he jumped on a puck dropped in the defensive zone by Zachaël Turgeon.
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During the second period, the visitors once again took the lead on the power play thanks to a goal from Mont-Joli native Nathan Drapeau. However, they faced more than twenty shots during the third period, when veteran Zachary Marquis-Laflamme tied the game and forced an overtime period. This was no match and Vsevolod Kamarov sealed the outcome of the match during the 5th wave of shootouts.
“I liked our first two periods, but we still have a young group. We have to learn to finish our matches. Without saying that we played on our heels in the 3rd period, we were certainly not the aggressors,” analyzed Foreurs coach Maxime DesRuisseaux after the match.
Trust
In the Remparts camp, forward Mikaël Huchette and head coach Éric Veilleux noted that the two victories of the weekend would be good for the team’s confidence.
“To have gone for the two matches against a team which had not lost [avant de nous rencontrer]for confidence, it’s fun”, mentioned Huchette in particular, affirming that the fact that “everyone had been at their task” had made the difference.
The Saint-Hyacinthe native also highlighted the work of goalkeeper Quentin Miller who made 29 saves, including several crucial ones in overtime. These praises were also shared by Éric Veilleux. “He showed last year that he was a good goalkeeper. He got drafted. Today he proved what the National League saw about him. He is building an identity and confidence, which is a very good sign.”
Discipline to find
The next challenge for the Red Devils, however, will be to find a way to frequent the penalty box less regularly. After granting six numerical superiorities to their opponent the day before, they offered seven on Saturday afternoon.
“We’re going to have to tackle this. There are a lot of new players starting. I won’t start blaming anyone, our numerical disadvantage and our goalkeepers are doing well, but it’s not the best way to approach a match,” argued Veilleux without being able to explain the indiscipline of his team. troop. “If I knew it, after six [désavantages numériques] yesterday, we wouldn’t have caught seven today. Like the players, we have tomorrow off. We’ll think of something…”
The Remparts will return to action on Thursday when they face the Phoenix in Sherbrooke.