QUEBEC CITY, P.Q. — In another tight confrontation, Quebec came out on the winning side in this game three by the score of 2-1.
With the score tied 1-1, Alexandre Grenier playing his first game of the series, blasted a shot that gave no chance to Gatineau netminder Maxime Clermont at 15:19 of third period for the game winning goal.
Gatineau seemed confident after opening the scoring, having a perfect record in playoffs (7-0) after scoring the first goal in a game. Slowly but surely, the team coached by Benoit Groulx, played a tight game trying to take advantage of their opponent’s mistakes.
Quebec on the other hand, made some adjustment that turned to their advantage at the end.
After successfully stopping Gatineau’s first power play following a penalty to Martin Lefebvre, Quebec saw the Olympiques score the first goal with Quebec forward Frederick Roy in the box for tripping.
Philippe Halley’s wrist shot beat Quebec goaltender Louis Domingue high on his right side at 11:12 in the opening period.
After a scoreless second period, where both goaltenders kept their team in the game especially, Clermont who made key saves against Ryan Bourque and Grenier, Quebec tied the score with only 1:19 gone in the third period.
Tomas Filippi who played a solid game for Patrick Roy’s team, wristed a shot that beat Clermont high on his left side.
Domingue, for his part, was spectacular in making two key saves in the third. First, he robbed Halley with a glove save and made a pad save later on, against Jean-Gabriel Pageau.
The key moment in this third game came with less than 11:00 minutes remaining in the third period. A face off won by Joe Dube in the Gatineau zone, against young 16-year-old Raphael Lafontaine, saw Alexandre Grenier get a chance to blast a shot that gave no chance to the veteran Gatineau goaltender for the game winner.
After losing first game of the series placing themselves in a tough situation, Quebec turned things around needing only 3:11 to change what appeared to be a Gatineau victory in game two into a Quebec win, 3-2.
Instead of going back home leading the series 2-0, Gatineau, entered game three in front of their fans, with series being tied 1-1. Confident after their first victory in that series Quebec came in Robert Guertin arena being ready for another epic battle in a building where it was never easy to play.
Working hard to make adjustments to the Gatineau defensive system (1-3-1), Quebec successfully found some breathing room and took advantage of it coming out with the victory in game three.
Both teams will be back for game four tonight in another promising confrontation.
The other QMJHL semi-final series
Saint John 5 vs. Lewiston 2 ( Saint John lead series 3-0)
Contact the author at: serge.poulin@prohockeynews.com
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