Remparts versus Sags

Sunday afternoon the Chicoutimi Saguenéens visited Quebec for a QMJHL matinee. The first 2 periods saw the Sags score once each frame and stake a 2-0 lead, but the home squad came back with 2 in the third to force overtime. 

The 3-3 OT saw many chances, most by the Remparts, and at the 4:10 mark captain Matthew Boucher got a breakaway and scored to give Quebec the win!

The building and the home team did not have the same energy as Friday night and Chicoutimi took advantage of that. Goal #1 was one that Callum Booth should have stopped, hitting him on the blocker side and then into the net. Goal #2 was on a Sags powerplay brought about by a stupid penalty on the Quebec side, roughing at the end of a play. After that, Quebec killed a high sticking double minor and must have taken that momentum into the second intermission.

The third period started with a bang as captain Matthew Boucher scored just 1:06 in to cut the Sags lead in half. Then the most noticeable player of Friday night, Dmitry Buynitskiy, turned it on again. He was not in the same form through 2, but with the game on the line he produced the tying goal.

The 3-on-3 overtime was an exciting display and the captain struck again for the victory.

One player that did not factor in was Nicolas Roy for Chicoutimi. He did not play Sunday, nor Saturday when the Sags faced the Tigres, and he was out of the final QMJHL-Russia series game after scoring on Tuesday versus Russia. I assume he was injured in some way, but could not find a solid report. That Saturday game saw the Remparts Friday and Sunday opponents play each other and 2017 top-10 prospect Maxime Comtois scored twice as Victoriaville won 5-2.

The attendance at Centre Vidéotron was down to 9,865 from Friday’s 13,000+ but that is still a very healthy junior hockey number. We sat diagonally across the arena and were able to take in more of the venue, also getting there earlier to walk around. The banners on display of Remparts and past Quebec hockey history were fun to see.

This is the 20th anniversary season of this incarnation of Quebec hockey. The Remparts are having a good season and have a solid team. There is no designated superstar at this point, but a good team effort can carry them a long way.

I look forward to getting back to Quebec to see more hockey. I really enjoyed this visit and the week+ I spent for the 2008 World Championship. The winter mountain pass trip from Maine is the only negative, if it were all highway it would be a 3 hour trip.