QUEBEC CITY P.Q. — A hat trick by Cedric Lalonde-McNicoll led Shawinigan to their second win of the best-of-seven semifinal series against Quebec. After splitting first two games in Quebec, the Cataractes offered up a strong performance in front of their fans at the Bionest Center winning Game 3. Shawinigan dominated the first period 17- 7 in the shots on goal department giving every indication to their opponent that the game won’t be easy in their own building. After a scoreless first period, Shawinigan scored the first two goals of the game in the second period. A two-on-one break led to the first Cataracte’s goal. Pierre-Alexandre Vandall made a great pass to Cedric Lalonde-McNicoll, who saw his shot beat Quebec netminder Charles Lavigne top shelf giving Shawinigan a 1-0 lead at 5:46. A penalty to John Audy-Marshessault gave a five-on-four power play opportunity to Shawinigan. Philippe Paradis slide the puck between Lavigne’s pads at 14:06 for the Cataractes’ two goal lead. Following the goal, Mashessault was sent to dressing room by Quebec Head Coach Patrick Roy who seemed unhappy by what happened on the ice. The Remparts right winger came back in the third period to play with Julien Corriveau and Sebastien Trudeau on what was considered Quebec’s fourth line. Before Shawinigan scored their two goals in the second period, Referee Marc Muylert allowed a penalty shot to Cedric Lalaond-McNicoll (at 1:26 of second period), a Colorado prospect, after Quebec captain Keven Marshall hooked him preventing the Cataractes center of an excellent scoring opportunity. McNicoll lost control of the puck before getting the chance to shoot on Lavigne. McNicoll came back later on in the period with his ninth goal of playoff series, his second of the game, gave Shawinigan a 3-0 lead at 4:38 of the third period. The Avalanche prospect completed his hat trick with an empty net goal after Roy pulled Lavigne to replace him with Jonathan Roy, who was sent into the game following McNicoll’s second goal of the night. McNicoll third goal was scored while his team was shorthanded. Benjamin Breault got the only Quebec goal of the night with the man advantage when his shot beat Shawinigan netminder Timo Pielmeier at 14:41 of third period. Shots on goal: Quebec 21 Shawinigan 48 Power plays: Quebec 1-8 Shawinigan 1-6 Three Stars of the game: 1-Cedric Lalonde-McNicoll (Sha.) 2-Pierre-Alexandre Vandall (Sha.) 3- Mathieu Bolduc (Sha.) Elsewhere in the QMJHL. In Rimouski, the Drummonville Voltigeurs took a 3-0 lead in the QMJHL’s other semifinal against the Rimouski Oceanics with a 6-4 win. The Oceanics opened the scoring with only 1:14 gone in the opening period on a goal by Jordan Caron. Logan McMillan and Patrice Cormier had the assists on the goal. The Voltigeurs replied with their first two goals in the game just inside the 4:31 mark. Yannick Riendeau scored his 17th goal of the playoffs, tied the score 1-1 while unassisted at 9:23. Drummondville came back with another unassisted goal score by defenseman Patrick Prokop at 13:54. Contrary to the previous two games in the series, the 10 goals scored in the game was the only game were a team scored with the man advantage which turned out to be Rimouski’s fourth goal of the game by Keven Veilleux during a penalty to Mike Hoffman of Drummondville at 10:32. Four goals were scored in the second period, two by each team. With the score 2-1 Voltigeurs, the Oceanics came back with the first goal of the second period, tying the score at 2-2. Luca Cunti’s goal came at 12:40. Drummondville regained the lead at 3-2 with Gabriel Dumont’s fifth goal of the playoffs at 15:06, but Rimouski came back 38 seconds later to tie the score at 3-3 at the 15:44 mark. With 42 seconds remaining in the period, the Voltigeurs get on the scoreboard again with their fourth goal of the night to take a one goal lead 4-3 when Marc-Olivier Vachon got the goal with the help of Dumont and Christopher DiDominico at 19:18. Guy Boucher’s team regained their two goals lead for the second time in the game when Ryan McKiernan scored his first goal of the playoffs 8:19 into the third period. Rimouski’s Keven Veilleux cut Drummondville lead in half with his 7th of the playoff at 11:05, but an empty net goal by Voltigeurs right winger Benoit Levesque at 19:04 sealed the fate of the Oceanic who now trail the series 3-0 and will face elimination on Wednesday in front of their fans. Shots on goals: Drummondville 28 Rimouski 23 Power plays: Drummondville 0-2 Rimouski 1-3 Three Stars of the game: 1-Gabriel Dumont (Dru.) 2-Jordan Caron (Rim.) 3- Patrice Cormier (Rim.) Contact the author at: serge.poulin@prohockeynews.com
You must be logged in to post a comment.