The Islanders sold their skin dearly but, once once more, the strike force of the Quebec Remparts made the difference and allowed Patrick Roy’s men to complete the sweep of their first-round series, thanks to a 5- 1.
If the Remparts thought the Islanders had already given up on their season despite falling 0-3 in the series, they were wrong. The representatives of Prince Edward Island had probably their best period of the series, in the first, where they had the upper hand over the Remparts. As has been the case since the start of the playoffs, goaltender William Rousseau was excellent in preserving the tie at 0-0 following 20 minutes.
“We were not good in the first period, recognized Patrick Roy. Looks like we were trying to play an easy game. Between the first and the second period, we regrouped and we played real hockey for my taste followingwards. […] William was solid. He didn’t fall asleep and he stayed focused in front of his net. This is the kind of game we needed from him. It might easily have been 1-0 for them following the first half. »
Subsequent domination
The Remparts did indeed come to life in the second period and their attack finally got going. Zachary Bolduc first took advantage of a skillful pass from Justin Robidas to open the scoring then Pier-Olivier Roy doubled his lead when he escaped, shorthanded, before beating Jakob Robillard a nice feint. Kiefer Lyons made it 2-1 but Nathan Gaucher hurt the hosts with an important goal with just under two minutes left in the second, which made it 3-1.
This goal cut the Islanders’ legs as the Remparts completely dominated them in the third, directing 18 shots once morest only one. Justin Robidas scored the stunner early in the period for the fourth win of the best-of-seven series. With two more points in the game, Robidas took his total to eight in four games.
The Remparts end the first round with a total of 20 goals scored once morest five allowed. Despite the relaxation in the first period on Wednesday, Roy drew up a positive assessment of this first stage.
“When you talk to the opposing coach and he tells you that we played the right way, that’s what we want to hear. After the first period, I told the guys that we had to play the Remparts style of being good over 200 feet, not taking shortcuts and working the right way on both sides of the rink. This is what we did followingwards. »
Nine days off
This is the third season in a row that the Remparts have swept their first-round series, following defeating the Drummondville Voltigeurs in 2021, then the Chicoutimi Saguenéens last year. They will return to Quebec on Thursday and will take advantage of a nine-day break while waiting to find out the identity of their next opponent. The second-round series will not begin until April 14, at the Videotron center.
Is it good or bad to have such a long break between two rounds? Patrick Roy prefers not to think regarding it right away.
“We will savor our victory and then we will see what happens next. We have 12 hours of bus to do so we will give the guys a few days off when we get back and we will manage the rest when the time comes. »
Elsewhere, Islanders forward Ross Campbell was not in Wednesday’s game. The QMJHL imposed a one-game suspension for the cross-checks in the face of Nicolas Savoie in game no. 3.
