BAIE-COMEAU | The Shawinigan Cataractes still had the Baie-Comeau Drakkar number, Saturday afternoon, when they won 5 to 1 on the ice of Center Gervais Auto.
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Victorious by way of a shutout (2-0) on Wednesday evening in Baie-Comeau, the skaters from the Mauricie region have done it again against their North Shore rivals, who are going through a really difficult sequence.
Victims of a fifth straight defeat, the ship’s Vikings had started the game well, but their indiscipline allowed the enemy to retreat to the locker room with a 1-0 lead after 20 minutes of play.
Trailing 2-1 after two periods, the Drakkar received another nasty penalty (double minor for high sticking) early in the final period and they never recovered.
The Swiss Lorenzo Canonica sounded the charge of the winners with a pair of goals, in two minutes of interval, to orchestrate this third triumph in a row for his team.
“The guys came out strong, but the lack of opportunism in attack made the difference. It’s true that the penalties were again very costly,” admitted Drakkar head coach Jean-François Grégoire.
Fatigue
Aware that there is a lot of fatigue within his crew, the pilot remains confident despite everything.
“It’s not easy right now. A few days off will do good. There are injured players who should be back and that should allow us to regroup and get through this,” he argued.
The captain of the Cats, William Veillette, was also an accomplice on two goals; defender Isaac Ménard and Alexis Bonefon (empty net) rounded out the winners’ tally against veteran Olivier Adam.
After being shut out by goalkeeper Rémi Delafontaine earlier this week, the Drakkar players again faced a cerberus in great shape in front of his net.
Recalled from Junior AAA and involved in his very first start of the season, Alexandre Marchand was brilliant in front of his cage with 31 saves. Only Nathan Baril (his fifth goal in his last seven games) managed to deceive his vigilance.
Holder of a painful record of 2-9 (thin harvest of six points in the standings) during the month of November, the Drakkar will be able to console themselves and recover during their next game, scheduled for December 1 against the Halifax Mooseheads.