QMJHL: the Falls in the final

We couldn’t have expected anything other than a dramatic final yesterday between Remparts and Cataractes and that’s exactly what happened. A goal by former Red Devil Pierrick Dubé with 47.7 seconds left in the third period allowed the Cataractes to join the Charlottetown Islanders in the President’s Cup final.

Dubé capitalized on a penalty imposed on Vsevolod Komarov with 1min 9s remaining in the match to score his second of the match and give his team a 4-3 lead. He then completed his hat-trick into an empty goal to cement his team’s 5-3 win.

However, the Remparts had taken a 3-1 lead in the second half thanks in particular to two unanswered goals from Conor Frenette, but the Cataractes came from behind thanks to a goal from Martin Has late in the second and another from ‘Isaac Ménard. at the beginning of the third period.

“Last year I lost in the semi-finals here and now to win and get to the final with this group is an incredible feeling,” Dubé mentioned. It’s special to do it with this group. We were staying behind after two and we showed character again. »

Head coach Daniel Renaud took his hat off to the character of his team.

“Never, a month ago, would I have thought that we were in this mental stage. It has been our Achilles heel for much of the season. Our way of reacting to adversity. Our group, our leaders first, has matured and grown a lot mentally. »

bitter defeat

In the field of the Remparts, Patrick Roy digested the defeat badly. Not because of the game of his team, but about the call of official Olivier Gouin.

“Losing as we lost is disappointing. We worked hard all season, we worked hard and I’m proud of our players who gave themselves body and soul. No team deserves to lose like this.

“It’s a lack of judgment, period. It’s disappointing. I see our players with their eyes in the water and ending a season like this when [les officiels] they had the whistle in their pocket the whole game. No one has the right to lose the same. I’ve been doing this for a long time, but this one goes into the body very stiff. »

ruined advance

Despite the energy of the huge crowd, the Remparts got off to a slow start which allowed the Cataractes to take the lead through Dubé.

Patrick Roy’s men picked up the pace somewhat in the second half of the match and took advantage of a numerical advantage to tie the game.

Seconds after Théo Rochette hit the post, Xavier Filion capitalized on a comeback to sow hysteria in a Videotron cross we hadn’t heard this loud in a while.

During the holiday season, Patrick Roy acquired Conor Frenette from the Victoriaville Tigers to add his experience as last year’s President’s Cup champion to his locker room.

Discreet so far in the playoffs, the 20-year-old forward yesterday agreed with his coach in the most important game of the season. Loaned to the center of the third row for the match, Frenette scored two unanswered goals in the second half, the first of which fell short to give the Remparts a two-goal lead, which Martin Has reduced before the end of the engagement.

Isaac Ménard then brought everyone to the match point at the start of the third, taking advantage of a defensive scramble to escape and beat William Rousseau on his right side.

In addition, the Remparts goalkeeper shone again yesterday, making some spectacular saves, notably over Mavrik Bourque in the second half.

Despite everything, the Trois-Rivières goalkeeper blamed himself for the third goal of the Cataractes.

“I want to make the difference. At 3-1, I would have liked to close the door and I know I could have. The third goal should have come out of my net but that is part of the game. I will learn from this. It was the first time I He was in a final fight.

Yesterday’s loss also ended the careers of the Remparts’ three 20-year-olds, Frenette, Louis Crevier, and Fabio Iacobo.

“I was injured for a long time when I arrived but I saw a team grow, players grow and people grow. I am proud of them. Pat has said many times that we have a special group and it was a pleasure working with them to finish my youth career,” said Frenette, who plans to join the Patriotes de la Université du Québec à Trois-Rivières next season. Unless there is a professional offer.

Final Cats – Islanders

For its part, Cataractes will face Charlottetown Islanders in the grand finale starting on Saturday. The two teams have met twice this season, each winning a game.

Also, Charlottetown will be without Montreal Canadiens forward and prospect Xavier Simoneau for Game 1 of the Finals. The QMJHL announced yesterday that he had been suspended for one game for giving Xavier Parent a tape during game no. 4 in the series against Sherbrooke Phoenix on Monday night.

On the Walls side, the shortage continues. The organization has not won the President Cup since the 1975-1976 season, that is, for 46 years. They have only reached the final twice in the 25 years since their revival in 1997.