Remparts take Game 1 of QMJHL final

It was a rough start to the Gilles Courteau Trophy final for the Halifax Mooseheads.

Justin Robidas scored a pair of goals to help the Quebec Remparts earn a 5-1 Game 1 victory over the Mooseheads in front of a packed house at Videotron Centre on Friday. Theo Rochette and Zachary Bolduc each had a goal and two assists while Pier-Olivier Roy also scored.

William Rousseau won the much hyped goaltending battle, making 26 saves in the win. Mathis Rossueau mad 28 stops in the loss.

The Mooseheads had difficulty creating quality chances, recoding just eight dangerous shots. Markus Vidicek scored Halifax's lone goal, which made it 3-1 in the second period at the time.

C’est l’heure de la finale de la #LHJMQ devant une salle comble au Centre Videotron! pic.twitter.com/sGsnh55m3A

— Guillaume Lepage (@GLepageLNH) May 12, 2023

Former Sea Dogs forward Charles Savoie had an assist, three shots and four hits in the win while Josh Lawrence had three shots and went 16/30 on faceoffs in the loss.

The Mooseheads were once again without the services of forward Jordan Dumais and defenseman Cameron Whynot due to injuries. Dumais has been practicing with the Moose and could play at some point in this series, according to reports.

The Remparts, meanwhile, were without defenseman Charle Truchon because of injury. D-man Vsevolod Komarov, a Buffalo Sabres prospect, got banged up in the second period after taking what appeared to be a routine hit along the boards. 

The good news for Halifax: losing a Game 1 hasn't proven to be a problem in these playoffs. The Moose lost Game 1 in both the second round against Moncton (a 4-1 loss) and third round against Sherbrooke (a 5-2 loss). Of course, they went on to win both of those series.

Some bad news for Halifax: the Remparts still haven't lost in these playoffs. Quebec is now a perfect 13-0.

Game 2 of this series takes place Saturday night at Videotron Centre.

A few other Friday night notes...

• Joe Veleno and Team Canada opened up the 2023 IIHF World Championship with a 6-0 victory over host Latvia. Veleno, playing on Canada's top line with Milan Lucic and Sammy Blais, had a goal and four shots in 15:58 of ice time. Canada returns to action on Sunday against Slovenia.
• Jakub Zboril and Team Czechia kicked off worlds with a 3-2 victory over Slovakia. All five goals were scored in the first period. Zboril, playing on Czechia's third defense pairing, had three shots in 10:36 of ice time. Czechia is back in action on Sunday against Kazakhstan.
• Ben Roode and the Yarmouth Mariners are off to an 0-1-1 start at the Centennial Cup following a 7-2 loss to the No. 1 ranked Brooks Bandits on Thursday and a 4-3 overtime loss to the Timmins Rock on Friday. Roode had an assist in both games. Yarmouth is back in action on Monday against the Ottawa Jr. Senators.
• The Terrebonne Cobras dropped their Centennial Cup opener on Friday, falling 2-1 to Ottawa in overtime. Nikolas Hurtubise got the start for the Cobras and made 24 saves in the loss. The Cobras face Timmins on Sunday.
• In the OHL, the London Knights shutout the Peterborough Petes 3-0 on Thursday to take a 1-0 series lead in the best-of-seven league final.
• In the WHL, the Winnipeg Ice defeated the Seattle Thunderbirds 3-2 in Game 1 of the league final. That game was played in front of 5,531 fans at Canada Life Centre, the home of the Winnipeg Jets.