Remparts win Gilles-Courteau Trophy

HALIFAX - The Quebec Remparts are Gilles-Courteau Trophy champions.

Pier-Olivier Roy scored on a two-on-none with 58.5 seconds remaining in the third period to give the Remparts a 5-4 victory over the Halifax Mooseheads at Scotiabank Centre on Sunday, taking the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League championship series 4-2.

It's the first QMJHL championship for a Quebec City team since the old version of the Remparts in 1976.

The Remparts are Gilles-Courteau Trophy champions. pic.twitter.com/aYZT6LTMvg

— Jamie Tozer (@station_nation) May 21, 2023

Along with Roy, Evan Nause, James Malatesta, Zachary Bolduc and Kassim Gaudet scored for Quebec. William Rousseau made 21 saves in the victory.

Jack Martin, Alexandre Doucet, Josh Lawrence and Zachary L'Heureux scored for Halifax. Mathis Rousseau made 31 saves in the loss.

After a scoreless first period, goals from Martin and Doucet just over three minutes apart put Halifax up 2-0. A Nause goal at 11:14 got the Remparts back in it, making it 2-1.

Lawrence restored Halifax's two-goal lead at 15:24 only to have Malatesta score at 16:44, making it a 3-2 game heading into the third.

It was drama-filled third period with Bolduc tying it up at 5:18. Fast forward to 17:52, L'Heureux swept the puck under Rousseau to give Halifax a late 4-3 lead. But the Remparts would not go away. At 17:52, Gaudet absolutely ripped a shot upstairs on Rousseau - a shot that got stuck in the back of the net. That tied things at 4-4.

Then, with 58.5 seconds left, Roy finished off a two-on-none with Gaudet to make it a 5-4 final.

Malatesta, who finished the playoffs with five game-winning goals, was named playoff MVP.

The Remparts will now represent the QMJHL at the 2023 Memorial Cup in Kamloops, which begins Friday.

A few other notes...

• Former Sea Dogs forward Charles Savoie was a -1 in the victory.
• Josh Lawrence played in his final game of junior hockey. He had a goal, five shots and went 19/30 on faceoffs in the game.
• The Mooseheads were once again without captain Attilio Biasca and defenseman David Moravec. Biasca was listed on Halifax's original lineup sheet but did not take warmup.
• Jack Martin's goal was his first of the post-season and his first goal since Nov. 19 against Saint John.
• Referee Jonathan Langille left the game in the second period after taking a Cameron Whynot shot to the jaw area. He left a trail of blood on the ice as he skated to the Mooseheads bench. The game was delayed for a few minutes while he got repairs.
• Jordan Dumais' assist on Alexandre Doucet's goal was his third point of the series. He had been held pointless in the past two games.
• Along with current QMJHL commissioner Mario Cecchini, former commissioner Gilles Courteau took part in the trophy presentation. This is the first year the league's championship trophy has been named after Courteau.
• Attendance was 10,300, another sellout.
• The 50/50 winner took home $33,162.