Drummondville return home with win over Quebec

QUEBEC CITY, P.Q. — Trailing by one with less than three minutes gone in opening period, Drummondville replied with four unanswered goals winning 4-1 against Quebec Remparts. Morgan Adams-Moisan, with two goals one assist, was the best player on visiting side. Olivier Rodrigue who is consider one of the best goaltenders in the QMJHL and one of the best available goaltenders for next NHL draft made 19 saves out of Quebec 20 shots on goal.

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Quebec drew the first blood in Sunday afternoon game in Videotron center, the shot from Quebec defenseman Christian Huntley from the blue line has been redirected by Jesse Sutton beating Drummondville goaltender Olivier Rodrigue over his right shoulder 2:04 into the opening frame.

Drummondville replied 2:02 later on their first power play opportunity, following a penalty to Quebec right winger Pascal Laberge. Running at 17.6 percent scoring 38 goals-in-216 chances the Voltigeurs was one-in-two in first period. A great pass from Joe Veleno to Morgan Adams-Moisan, left no chance to Quebec goaltender Antoine Samuel. For Veleno he got a point in eight consecutive games.

Voltigeurs though they had regained the lead following a goal scored by Robert Lynch but the goal has been waved-off following referee Mark Muyleart review due to goalie interference. Voltigeurs right winger Nicolas Guaywas in Samuel goalie crease.

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Already going one-in-two with a man advantage, Drummondville regained the lead scoring on their third power play opportunities in the game. Connor Brumwell shot from the slot beat Quebec netminder on his right side with 26.8 seconds remaining. Olivier Garneau was in the penalty box for slashing.

Quebec got an excellent opportunity to tie the game with a five-on-three power play for 1:34 seconds following consecutive penalties to Dawson Mercer and Joe Veleno. Already going 0-in-2 with a man advantage after forty minutes of play Quebec didn’t took advantage of that opportunity and didn’t not have great scoring chances either.

Drummondville sealed their victory with two empty net goals in the last two minutes of the third period. Joe Veleno at 18:24 and the second in the game by Adams-Moisan at 19:17 prevented any chance Quebec might have to tie the game.

“We didn’t gave too many chances,” Drummondville head coach Dominique Ducharme said after the game near his team locker room. “Offensively we have more speed, better executions but it was a game away from home. We managed the game rightly.”

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“We need to have tight game sure, yes we have had game where we won with larger margin but we also won our part of tight game. We won in overtime, we won tight game and it is important because it is how playoff are, when we will play in playoff we know that is how the game will be played.” Continued the Gold medal head coach at the last World Junior Championship Ducharme referring to the game that was for most leaded 2-1 by the visiting team.

For Captain Matthew Boucher he recognized that even if the team played better than the game in Sherbrooke the day before it wasn’t the way the team needed to play to get a win.

“It was deceiving, we didn’t played great game yesterday, tonight we worked better, after the first two periods I think we were where we would like to be even if it was 2-1 for them, we needed to work better, execute better, it was the history of the game.”

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“We didn’t executed when it was time, pass aren’t on the tape, if we didn’t shoot enough on goal, we didn’t put traffic in front of the other netminder, it is hard to explain honestly. In junior hockey it is the basic we have hard time to find it presently.” Remparts captain Matthew Boucher said.

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For Quebec head coach Philippe Boucher he can’t explained how come his players came out the way they did. “I don’t know what to say, I think we competed more than yesterday’s game, we played very good team and we kept themmajority of the time but special unit made the difference. It was awful, we practice that all weeks. Sometimes you said if we had practice something else, if we put it aside or forgot it. We didn’t talked to each other, we didn’t executed, we didn’t work together, and I have hard time to explain it. We were like that two years ago when we were young when we emptied the team, the Brouillard year that was normal because we were young it was very hard like other team live it presently. But to live it with a group like that It is good to be positive, I often told them they are good but I would like to see them be able to make two consecutive passes on the tape.”

Quebec will return in action Wednesday hosting the Victoriaville Tigres.

Six other games were on QMJHL schedule on Sunday

Rimouski 3 vs. Acadie-Bathurst 4

Saint John 2 vs. Halifax 8

Gatineau 3 vs. Blainville-Boisbriand 8

Val-d’Or 1 vs. Rouyn-Noranda 10

Chicoutimi 3 vs. Baie-Comeau 2

Moncton 4 vs. Shawinigan 3 (overtime)

Contact the author at: serge.poulin@prohockeynews.com