Remparts versus Tigres

Friday night the Victoriaville Tigres came to Quebec City to play the Remparts in QMJHL action. It was an entertaining game that ended in a 3-2 Tigres victory. 

The top prospect in the game was Maxime Comtois of Victoriaville, rated in the top-10 for the 2017 NHL draft. 

He was deployed in all situations, seeing time at even strength, on the power play, and the penalty kill. He had 1 assist, 1 hit, and was even in +/-. He was on for the first Quebec goal for a minus as the last man in front of the shooter, an unsuccessful penalty kill for the Remparts 2nd goal, and had an assist on the game tying goal in the second period. Overall he had a good night and played a good portion of the game. Nothing spectacular, but showed good size and movement and is clearly a key cog for the Tigres.



On the Quebec side, they played a good game and entertained with their offense and physical play. Particularly impressive was Dmitry Buynitskiy, a right winger out of Belarus in his first QMJHL season. Literally every time he was on the ice he was creating offense and most shifts advanced the puck into the O zone. He is 19 and was just picked by Quebec this offseason, but he is worth watching based on his play in this game. He only has 13 points in 23 games so far, but he is getting adjusted to major junior after seeing 24 games of USHL action last year with Madison.

Goalie Callum Booth is the highest drafted Remparts player and he had a decent night. He should have stopped the first Victoriaville goal, a wrister to the blocker side, but he had 29 saves on 32 shots for a solid night of work.

The game ended with a fracas at center ice and some fights broke out. The coaches chirped back and forth a bit, but most players stayed out of the fray. All in all a fun game to watch.

Quebec coach Philippe Boucher has postgame words with the other bench

The new Quebec arena is a very nice modern facility and saw a crowd of 13,217 attend on Friday. The balcony was about half full, which I could not even ‘see’ those seats online when I bought mine, so I am not sure how they sell them, but the locals must know. The Centre Videotron is spacious and has a nice feel. The upper level is more steeply sloped than a typical NHL arena, so I imagine the sightlines are quite good, though each row has a rail in front of it for safety which might impede the view depending on height.

Sunday I will be back at the rink to see Quebec take on Chicoutimi. I am looking forward to seeing Nicloas Roy skate for the Sags, currently 7th in QMJHL scoring with 30 points in 17 games, and seeing if Buynitskiy keeps it up from Friday for the Remparts.