QUEBEC CITY P.Q. — The Quebec Remparts continue to dominate the Telus Eastern Division with a comfortable 11 points lead (39 points in 27 games) over Chicoutimi for first place. Most teams would be satisfied with a record of 17-5-2-3 and first in their division, fourth in the overall standings, but for Patrick Roy it wasn’t the points in the standings that mattered more than the way the points were acquired.
With three wins in three games in their last road trip with teams in the Atlantic Division against Moncton (5-2) (October 29), Prince Edwards Island (4-3) (October 30) and Cape Breton (3-2) (November 1) things seemed promising. The Quebec head coach thought his team was going in right direction. His team played great hockey and his goaltenders made some great saves; the team was opportunistic scoring goals in key moments in games.
Looking forward to their next segment of three games in three nights on November 6-8 against Victoriaville, Gatineau and Montreal, it was an excellent opportunity for the Remparts head coach to see if his players continued to work with intensity for 60 minutes. Unfortunately the players didn’t answers the challenge losing all three games, two in front of their fans (4-3) against Victoriaville, (6-5) in a shootout with the tying goal scored at 15:47 of the third period against Gatineau and in Montreal (5-2) against the Junior.
“I don’t think it was a question of us panicking, we played with fire and it burned us. Players never believed they could come back in that game. We have to take it as a lesson that a game is 60 minutes a night,” Patrick Roy said after shootout loss against the Olympiques on last Saturday November 7 2009.
“It’s a fact, when the opponents defensemen came and pinched in our defensive zone we hade some difficulties. We played against Chicoutimi and when their defensemen were active inside our zone we were in trouble. Same thing against Rimouski and Victoriaville, we simply were bad. Tonight we were simply bad in our zone. It wasn’t any one player in particular, it’s all of our players. We need to learn to make the play that makes the difference, that’s what a winner is; we have to learn to make these plays.”
Quebec came back with two victories against Rimouski (6-3) November 14th, and (5-4) in Victoriaville on November 15 before being trounced (6-1) in Shawinigan against the Cataractes on November 20th. The team came back home on the 22nd defeating Montreal (5-2) in front of more than 11,500 happy fans.
Looking at the recent results it became clear that the team accumulates points against weaker teams but fall when it came time to face a challenge. That’s one thing that didn’t please Roy. The former Montreal and Colorado goaltender is recognized as great competitor, his ardent desire to win and face all challenges in front of him.
“We won games without competing, I don’t like to use the expression “paying the price” but we won without competing. When we took a 3-0 lead against Gatineau our players probably said to themselves that it would be an easy game. You saw what happened. I can be tough with them (players) but it should come from inside the team, I need to see my players come to play hard and give all they got for 60 minutes. Tonight we played in front of 14,003 fans, just that, was the dream of every player on the other side, but for us it seem correct.” Said the former Montreal and Colorado netminder.
When talking about his player’s performance the team lost their number one goaltender Peter Dalmas, who might need hip surgery and might be lost for the year. In his absence, Jean-Philippe Gagnon has played the majority of the games for Quebec. The team recalled Eric Bourdon to play the back up role. Captain Kelsey Tessier was affected by pneumonia, but veterans suchs as Marc-Olivier Vallerand, even if he is the teams top scorin leader, David Gilbert must play with more consistency. Mikhail Stefanovich, defenseman Peter Cusack, and Alexandre Neron are also expected to play with more consistency each time they step on the ice.
Going back to the Atlantic Division the Remparts will face Cape Breton on Thursday November 26, the Halifax Mossehead on Saturday and the Saint John Sea Dogs on Sunday. It will will be another excellent chance for the Remparts head coach to see if his players learned their lessons and play with consistency, character and intensity over 60 minutes.
Patrick Roy needs to know who are ready to go to war with him before the first period because even if statistically things look good on paper, it doesn’t always look as promising on the ice. If the Remparts continue to win several games, but go ahead and lose a few, if team can’t play the way Patrick Roy wants them to play, you can expect some transactions before the holidays.
Roy won’t accept players that won’t give 100 percent every time they step on the ice. Excuses are only good for losers, winners always find solution and as a winner you can count on Patrick Roy to find some before it’s too late.
Contact the author at: serge.poulin@prohockeynews.com
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