2023-05-27 03:49:53
KAMLOOPS | The Quebec Remparts had predicted a storm at the start of the game once morest the Kamloops Blazers, and storm they had. But the tide quickly changed in favor of the Red Devils, who dominated the majority of the game to emerge with a convincing 8-3 victory over the host team, opening the curtain for the Memorial Cup tournament.
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In a tournament as short as this, a victory is worth gold for the Remparts, which ensure for all intents and purposes at least one participation in the tiebreaker match.
“We’re happy but we didn’t come here just to win the first game, admitted Nathan Gaucher. We look a little further but we are satisfied with the result today. It gives confidence, especially coming into a tournament like this, you never know what to expect. »
Storm
Roy had hammered home in recent days the importance of having a good start to the game in order to calm the “storm” of the first minutes for the Blazers, in front of their supporters.
And storm is probably the word that best describes what the Remparts went through from the start of the match, while the locals completely dominated the first moments. After the first seven minutes of play, it was 7-0 on shots for Kamloops, but the Remparts gave full meaning to the phrase that says it’s not quantity, but quality that counts.
With 7 min 24 s elapsed in the engagement, Justin Robidas went there with a good individual play to beat his roofer before handing over to James Malatesta who did not miss his chance. The most valuable player of the last playoffs thus scored his 15th goal in his 19th game since the start of the playoffs. The Blazers tied the game before the end of the engagement, thanks to Caedan Bankier, but the mission was accomplished.
“Going out 1-1 following the first period was a defining point in the game. We expected a big start from their side and we took three penalties. Going out 1-1 gave the guys a lot of confidence,” summed up Patrick Roy.
A convincing second
This confidence quickly carried over to the second, which the Remparts dominated from start to finish, scoring no less than four unanswered goals from Malatesta, his second, Nathan Gaucher, Théo Rochette and Kassim Gaudet.
Dayla Kuefler made it 5-2 before the end of the period, then Matthew Seminoff gave hope in the third with a power play goal.
The door then swung open as the Ramparts were once more driven off for four minutes when Malatesta accidentally hit an opponent in the face.
But it was rather Quebec who took advantage of it when Gaudet jumped on a bad throwback granted by Ernst following a shot by Robidas.
“We felt that they wanted to come back from behind. Justin took a good shot and when I saw her come in I was super happy. All the guys on the bench were congratulating me. It relieved us,” said Gaudet, who has now scored three goals and an assist in his last two games.
Too many penalties
Downside for the Remparts: they offered seven power play advantages to the Blazers, including two double-minors for high sticks.
“One thing is clear, we will have to come out of the penalty box. You can’t give seven power plays every night. We have to be better at controlling our sticks. Despite all that, I thought we did well on the penalty kill,” added Roy, noting William Rousseau’s big save in third, when his team was playing shorthanded and the score was 5. at 3.
The Remparts had emphasized the importance of countering defender Olen Zellweger in the days preceding the match. One thing is certain, with seven power plays, the Blazers defenseman was overused by coach Shaun Clouston but finished the game with a -3 differential and one assist.
“We played very well once morest him. He is a striker and he is very active offensively. It goes very low and at one point there were four of them down. It’s a great project, he has a lot of talent but I must admit that defensively, we did an excellent job once morest him. »
Malatesta throws flowers to Robidas
With three goals in the victory, James Malatesta was named player of the match. Since the start of the playoffs, he has scored 17 goals in 19 games.
“It’s not hard when I have a guy like Robidas giving me the same passes,” he said. We play well together. »
The no. 93 from the Remparts was indeed effective once more on Friday night, being an accomplice to Malatesta’s three goals in addition to being used in all facets of the game by Patrick Roy.
“His center plays big hockey,” Roy also noted when called to comment on Malatesta’s work. He does a really good job both offensively and defensively. James is playing with confidence at the moment but tonight our four lines played a strong game. »
The Remparts will enjoy two days off before their next game scheduled for Monday once morest the Seattle Thunderbirds.
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