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Sunday, April 30, 2023

Phoenix, Remparts both go up 2-0

HALIFAX - The Sherbrooke Phoenix and Quebec Remparts have grabbed 2-0 series leads in their respective Giles Courteau Trophy semifinal playoff matchups.

Tyson Hinds scored at 8:45 of overtime to give the Phoenix a 3-2 win over the Halifax Mooseheads on Sunday afternoon at Scotiabank Centre. Sherbrooke took Game 1 of the series 5-2 on Saturday night.

It was all Phoenix in the first period, taking a 2-0 lead and outshooting the Mooseheads 17-3. But Halifax found their groove in the second period and, although they didn't score, looked much more like the offensively gifted Mooseheads we are used to seeing.

Mathieu Cataford got Halifax within one at 7:43 of the third. Then, with goaltender Mathis Rousseau on the bench, former Saint John Sea Dogs forward Josh Lawrence made a great feed down low to Alexandre Doucet who redirected the puck past Olivier Adam, tying the game with 8.5 seconds remaining in regulation time.
The Phoenix had the better of the chances in overtime and secured the win with Hinds' goal. Hinds, a member of Team Canada at this year's world junior tournament in Halifax, knows all about winning in overtime at Scotiabank Centre.

The series now shifts to Sherbrooke for Games 3 and 4. There are certainly some concerns over the health of the Mooseheads who went with 11 forwards and seven defensemen due to captain Attilio Biasca missing the game with an illness. QMJHL scoring champion Jordan Dumais, meanwhile, left the game in the second period with an upper body injury and did not return.

Then there is Lawrence, who took a beating courtesy of slashes and hits all game long. Early in overtime, Lawrence went down with a leg injury and limped off the ice. The Fredericton native left the bench for a short time before returning later in the extra frame.

Also (and not as concerning), Zachary L'Heureux was seen drinking mustard on the bench which apparently helps with leg cramping.


In Quebec City, the Remparts needed overtime to defeat the Gatineau Olympiques 4-3. Former Sea Dog Cam MacDonald opened the scoring but the Remparts netted the next three. Riley Kidney then scored twice in the third period to send the match into overtime.

Kassim Gaudet scored at 16:02 of overtime to give the Remparts the win and a 2-0 series lead.
Like the Mooseheads, there are some injury concerns for the Remparts. Games 3 and 4 will be played in Gatineau.
Some other things...

  • Josh Lawrence took 32 of Halifax's 62 faceoffs on Sunday.
  • The Mooseheads will certainly hope that Attilio Biasca's absence with an illness will be an isolated incident. Lawrence spoke with the Telegraph-Journal (paywall) about the health issues the Sea Dogs faced in the first round of last year's playoffs.
  • Cam MacDonald had a goal and an assist in the Gatineau loss. For Quebec, Charles Savoie had one shot and three hits.
  • The Remparts had 17,911 fans a Videotron Centre on Sunday, setting a new QMJHL playoff attendance record. Friday's game had a crowd of 17,416, which was just short of the record of 17,860 that was set in 1983 at the Montreal Forum.
  • In the OHL playoffs, London leads Sarnia 2-0 while Peterborough and North Bay are tied 1-1.
  • The season is over for Charlie Coyle, Jakub Zboril and the Boston Bruins after dropping their first round playoff series against the Florida Panthers, losing Game 7 in overtime on Sunday. This means no former Sea Dogs player will win the Stanley Cup this year.
  • Gerard Gallant, Mike Kelly, Jim Midgley and the New York Rangers face Nathan Belliveau and the New Jersey Devils in Game 7 of their first round series on Monday night.
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