Shawinigan wins without playing their best hockey

QUEBEC CITY, P.Q. — The Shawinigan Cataractes were in Quebec to visit

the Remparts Friday. They left the ice with a 5-1 win despite not playing their best hockey.
 
“I liked our third period,” said Shawinigan head coach Eric Veilleux after the game. “I don’t think we gave too many scoring chances but to say that we are satisfied with the game it would be a lie, honestly. In the first two periods the puck shouldn’t bounce our way. We used to play north south last week and we played better, tonight we made little pass east west that didn’t work, that isn’t our style.”
 
Shawinigan opened the scoring taking a 2-0 lead inside the first 5:58 on their first three shots on Quebec veteran goaltender Louis Domingue. Kept out of the scoring sheet in his last 33 games, Vincent Arseneau was the first to break the ice for the visitor 3:32 into the opening period with a shot that went between the pads.
 
Maximilien LeSieur doubled Shawinigan lead with a backhanded shot that beat Domingue between his pads. After being beaten twice on first three Cataractes shots on goal, Quebec head coach Patrick Roy decided to pull his starting netminder sending in Francois Brassard.
 
“No but we should come out of this game with our head high, the team played well,” Domingue said. “We should put this game aside and think about tomorrow if we want to play a better game.”
 
Martin Lefebvre reduced Shawinigan’s lead with Quebec’s first goal 7:51 into the first period but the visitor regained their two goal lead 5:02 later on a goal by Montreal prospect Michael Bournival against Brassard.
 
Back between the pipes to begin the second period, Domingue’s play seemed to have a great effect on his teammates playing better hockey in second half of the game forcing Shawinigan goalie Gabriel Girard to make a save stopping Quebec center Gabriel Desjardins on a breakaway with his right pad.
 
Kirill Kabanov 13:38 and Frederick Gaudreau 15:56 completed the scoring for Shawinigan.
 
For Quebec head coach even if his team played without several important players, Vincent Barnard, Philippe Archambeault Mkkhail Grigorenko, Patrick Walsh and Nick Sorensen, Adam Erne who began the game left being sick, the goaltenders should be better.
 
“We should admit that our goaltenders didn’t play up to the expectations,” Roy said after the game.
 
“Four out of five goals the puck went through them so we need to see our netminders to play the way they did in first half of the season no doubt about it. Overall I have to say that I’m not disappointed we never give up we worked well, we did lots of good things. I expected the third to betougher because we played only with three lines we lost Erne unable to continue too sick, but I have to say Fortier (Maxime) played good at forward (usually playing on defense). It was clear we missed some players to be able to do better.”
 
Quebec won’t have time to ruminate the loss too long hosting the Drummondville Voltigeurs on Saturday.
 
Seven other games were on schedule in the QMJHL on Friday night
Cape Breton 4 vs. Halifax 3
Moncton 4 vs. Acadie-Bathurst 7
Victoriaville 5 vs. Drummondville 4
Prince Edward Island 1 vs. Baie- Comeau 6
Rimouski 3 vs. Chicoutimi 1
Blainville-Boisbriand 4 vs. Gatineau 2
Rouyn-Noranda 2 vs. Val-d’Or 3 (overtime)
  Contact the author at: serge.poulin@prohockeynews.com