QUEBEC CITY, P.Q. —Trailing 3-2 after forty minutes, undisciplined Drummondville saw Quebec score 6 goals in the third period, three by veteran defenseman Vincent Barnard in a 9-3 win over Drummondville. Five of Quebec nine goals were scored on eight power plays.
Beside Barnard (3 goals 1 assist), defenseman Martin Lefebvre (1 goal 3 assists), Jeremie Malouin (2 goals), Logan Shaw (1 goal 1 assist) and Gabriel Desjardins (1 goal 1 assist) contributed to Quebec third victory in the series.
In an interview on Drummondville radio station NRJ 92.1, Voltigeurs head coach Mario Duhamel agreed it was good being back home.
“The beauty here is we are back home we knew it wouldn’t be easy against Quebec, we did not performed the way we expected, but being back home players will certainly be motivate by our fans.”
“The fact is we are trailing 0- 2 in the series and the tonight game is the most important one. We don’t have to change anything in our system, it was mental, we need to be ready mentally, we need to be faster on the puck, have a better read of the pressure against us, be mentally ready to better execute the play.”
Drummondville played much better in the first period, trailing 4- 0 in first two games in Quebec the Voltigeurs opened the scoring with a man advantage. Being 0-for-2 on first two power plays, Alex Emond scored his first of the series pushing a rebound behind Quebec goalie Louis Domingue with Remparts center Jeremie Malouin in the box. Emond’s goal was scored with 6:44 remaining to the period.
Leading 2- 0 in the series Quebec coach seemed confident his team would not be over confident with the lead in the series.
“We shouldn’t relax,” Roy said. “Drummondville plays very well here in Marcel Dionne center they won two-third of their games we will have to be ready to begin the game. Their coach challenged them in the media so we will see if the players on the other side will catch the message. I expect to see them coming strong wanting to take control in the game.”
Before the first period ended, Quebec tied the game once all when Jeremie Malouin beat Drummondville goaltender Domenic Graham with a backhanded shot with 1:55 remaining. Drummondville dominates in shots on goal department 11-8.
Quebec took the lead for the first time on their second chance with a man advantage. Being guilty of interference Voltigeurs right winger Jerome Verrier took direction of penalty box giving Quebec their second power play opportunities.
Shaw surprised Drummondville netminder with a shot from the slot, a shot Voltigeurs goalie Graham would certainly like to see it back 4:15 into the second period.
Missing his shot on goal Alexandre Contois saw his teammates Malouin taking the rebound after the puck hit the board pushing it behind Voltigeurs goalie for his second of the game for Quebec third goal in the game with 11:07 to play in the period.
A 4:00 minutes penalty for high sticking to Quebec forward Shaw gave chance to Drummondville to reduce Quebec lead. A chance the Voltigeurs didn’t missed following a goal scored by Andre Bouvet-Morrissette at 11:55 of middle frame.
Injured late in first period, Graham came back in the second but wasn’t able to come back in the third and was replaced by Drummondville veteran Alexandre Veronneau to begin the third period.
Quebec welcomed Veronneau with 3 goals on 4 shots in the period, three of Quebec 5 goals in the third period being scored by Remparts defenseman Vincent Barnard in less than 4:00.
Redirecting the puck on net Barnard scored his first of the period at 2:55. Michael McNamee wrist shot beat Veronneau over his left shoulder at 4:26. Quebec veteran defenseman Barnard completed his hat trick with two one-timer from the blue line. His second goal came at 4:54 on a power play and his third goal at 6:50 also during a man advantage.
Beneficiary of a five-on-three power play Voltigeurs defenseman Raman Hrabarenka scored Drummondville third goal at 9:14. Quebec came back with two other goals, both with a man advantage to complete the offensive for the night. Gabriel Desjardins (10:57) and Martin Lefebvre (12:21) scored Quebec eighth and ninth goals of the game.
After the game on the NRJ 92.1 Drummondville radio the Voltigeurs head coach Duhamel said the final scored didn’t reflect the game, “Tonight guys came to the game pump up to play in front of our fans and we performed very well for forty minutes.”
“In the third, we didn’t need to re-write the scenario the lost of Domenic (Graham) was very hard on us Veronneau did his best but it was hard on us on final score because for me, tonight, the result didn’t represent the kind of game we played.
Both teams will be back in action, in Drummondville, for game 4 this Thursday.
Other first round series games on Tuesday night in QMJHL
Saint John 8 vs. Cape Breton 2 ( Saint John leading series 3-0)
Shawinigan 3 vs. Rouyn-Noranda 2 ( Shawinigan leading series 3-0)
Blainville-Boisbriand 8 vs. Gatineau 5 (Blainville-Boisbriand leading series 3-0)
Victoriaville 2 vs. Baie-Comeau 8 (Baie-Comeau leading series 3-0)
Halifax 5 vs. Moncton 4 (15:54 first overtime) ( Halifax wins series 4-0)
Rimouski 3 vs. Val-d’Or 2 (2:54 first overtime) ( Rimouski leading 3-0)
Chicoutimi 5 vs. Acadie-Bathurst 6 (17:06 first overtime) ( Chicoutimi leading 2-1)
Contact the author at: serge.poulin@prohockeynews.com
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