The Blizzard du Séminaire Saint-François won the Men’s National U18 Championship thanks to a double from Marc-Olivier Roy, Sunday afternoon at Stade LP Gaucher.
The Capitale-Nationale club took the measure of the Gauls of Saint-Hyacinthe 3-2 and thus became the first Quebec formation to lift the title since 2001. It is a sweet revenge for the Blizzard who bent their spine against the Gauls in the Champions Cup final.
Noah McKinnon scored the other goal for the winners. Raphaël Précourt was imperial and repelled 42 shots, including one from close range with five minutes remaining, to confirm the club title.
Roy, who hadn’t scored a hit since the start of the tournament, proved to be the hero of the game by scoring the winning goal. He scored his first goal on a breakaway to give his team a 2-1 lead and then netted the winner a minute 46 seconds later with a shot from a face-off circle.
The Gauls were able to count in their ranks the two players tipped to be the first two picks of the next QMJHL draft in Caleb Desnoyers and Émile Guité.
Guité, who was voted Player of the Tournament, flashed the red light during the game. Dominic Pilote also hit the target on the home side. Rémi Cloutier stopped 28 shots.
This was the third Canadian championship final between two Quebec clubs.