In the middle of the Halloween weekend, the Chicoutimi Saguenéens scared off the Victoriaville Tigres with a 4-2 win on Saturday night at the Center Georges-Vézina.
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“Everyone pushed in the same direction. I think most players have brought their best game this season. With the rest, I really liked the way we behaved,” said Chicoutimi head coach Yanick Jean.
Deprived of several important elements, such as Maxim Massé, Zachary Roy and Emmanuel Vermette, the Blues relied on a restricted formation. Fabrice Fortin took care of producing offensively with a harvest of three points.
The Tigers quickly stormed Charles-Antoine Lavallée’s net. Following a penalty from Matteo Mann, Maxime Pellerin increased his total goals scored to 10 with a lively and precise shot.
That seemed to whip the locals, who started directing more pitches at Nathan Darveau.
Towards the end of the first period, Fabrice Fortin carried the puck from one end of the ice to the other before handing the puck to Vincent Fredette. The latter hastened to shoot to score his first goal of the campaign.
The Sags maintained the same intensity in the second period. Halfway through it, Darveau made a blunder that allowed the crowd favorites to tie the score. Fabrice Fortin recovered the puck before sending it to Andrei Loshko.
End of decisive period
A little later, Mathieu St-Onge’s first goal in the QMJHL brought the two teams back to square one. The young Quebec native beat Lavallée with another shot without warning.
Before returning to the locker room for the second intermission, Yanick Jean’s troupe made sure to take the lead. Marek Beaudoin moved the ropes after seeing the black object sneak between several players.
Fabrice Fortin got his third point of the day by scoring with a dry shot in the top corner at the start of the last period.
“It’s always good this kind of game. We were motivated and ready. We knew we were going to do everything to play the right way and win,” said the native of Saint-Félicien.
With a two-goal lead, the Saguenay representatives kept control of the game by closing the door to all opposing threats.
The Saguenéens will now visit the Remparts this Thursday at 7 p.m., at the Videotron Center.