Zach Dean gives Olympiques 17th straight win!
GATINEAU – The Olympiques were in action last night in their second game in as many nights against the Chicoutimi Saguenéens after an 8-2 victory that saw the Olympiques’ winning streak rise to 16 games. Louis Robitaille’s men were looking for their 17th consecutive win.
Verreault opens the scoring!
At 5:35 of the first period, Marcel Marcel sent a pass shot to Antonin Verreault who was left completely alone in front of the net. Verreault controls the puck and beats the goalie to make it 1-0 Gatineau.
At the end of the first period, Riley Kidney enters the offensive territory and pushes the puck behind the opposing defense while at the same time, Alexis Gendron cuts in front of the net and retrieves the puck. Gendron found himself alone and finished the sequence with a feint that beat the opposing goalie. The Philadelphia Flyers’ prospect collects his 49th goal of the season and doubles the lead to 2-0.
At the beginning of the third period, Olivier Boutin received a perfect pass from Alexis Gendron and fired a shot that found the back of the net to give his team the lead 26 seconds after the Saguenéens had tied the game.
Overtime…
The Olympiques’ winning streak was on the line, but Louis Robitaille’s men took advantage of a power play to start the overtime period.
With just over a minute left in the period, Riley Kidney and Tristan Luneau exchanged pucks and moved the opposing defense, allowing Zach Dean to get on the right side and shoot a perfect shot on the rebound that found the top of the net. The ‘Piques would go on to win their 17th straight game in front of a crowd of over 4000 fans.
With three points tonight, Tristan Luneau moves into fourth place for most points in a season by an Olympiques defenseman. With 72 points, Luneau could set a franchise record for points by a defenseman, a record that belongs to Jiri Fischer with 78 points. The Olympiques’ #8 says that his individual success is not possible without his teammates and that he is focused on how he can help the team win. Two other Olympics are approaching impressive plateaus in terms of statistics: Alexis Gendron is one goal away from the 50 plateau this season and Riley Kidney is two points away from reaching 100 points for the 2nd consecutive season.
Titans clash to come
The Sherbrooke Phoenix will be at the Slush Puppie Centre on Sunday, March 12 at 3:00 p.m. in a match-up that will see the two teams at the top of the QMJHL’s Western Conference battle for first place. Only one point separates the two teams in the standings, this will be one not to be missed!
