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Lions lose in 6th overtime period
Game 6 in triple-A final goes Friday in Gatineau
John Meagher
The Gazette
Thursday, March 27, 2008
Louis Leblanc slides puck past goaltender. TIM SNOW, The Gazette
If the Lac St. Louis Lions felt a little tired Tuesday morning, it’s because they played six roller-coaster periods of hockey– or nearly two whole playoff games – the night before in Gatineau.
And their maroon and gold equipment bags probably felt a little heavier leaving Baribeau Arena following a heartbreaking 4-3 loss to the Gatineau Intrepide in Game 4 of the Quebec Midget Triple-A Hockey League’s CCM Divisional final.
Maxime Charette scored the OT winner for the Intrepide on the power play 33 seconds into the sixth overtime period.
It marked the fourth overtime win of playoffs for the Intrepide, who tied a league record for most playoff overtime wins (four) in one year, set by the Laval Regents and Charles Lemoyne Riverains in 1996.
The Intrepide also edged the Lions 5-4 in OT in the series opener on March 19.
Heading into pivotal Game 5 last night at the Dollard Civic Centre, the best-of-seven CCM Division final was tied at 2-2.
Monday’s marathon tilt was a bitter loss for the Lions, who led 3-1 late in the second period on goals by David Dupuis, Ken Matheson and Ryan Collier.
But Intrepide forward Steeven Jacques’ second goal of the game at 17:56 of the second period narrowed the Lions lead to one goal. Then, Gatineau’s Ryan Legacé tied the game at 3-3 at 15:44 of the final frame to force overtime.
The Lions were outshot 8-2 in the first overtime period, but held a 12-9 advantage in the fifth frame.
The Intrepide outshot the Lions 49-40 overall.
If this nail-biter of a series keeps up, the last team standing might emerge victorious.
Lions head coach Danny Dupont says the longer the series goes, the better his team’s chances for a successful outcome.
“I’m confident our guys can get the job done, the longer it goes, he said.
“But we know Gatineau is a good team, so we have to be at our best. We have to cut down on our mistakes – that’s what playoff hockey is all about.”
A victory on Monday would have put a hammerlock on the series for the Lions, who won Games 2 and 3.
On Saturday in Game 3, the Lions took a 2-1 series lead with a 5-3 win in front of 978 fans at the Dollard Civic Centre.
Dupuis had a pair of goals, while singles went to Yasin Cissé, Alexander Stephenson and Louis Leblanc.
Lions netminder Louis Boileau-Domingue made 27 saves to pick up his eighth win of the playoffs.
In Game 2 on Friday in Gatineau, the Lions fell behind 2-0 before scoring four consecutive goals in a 4-3 win. Leblanc, Nicholas Samoluk, Sean Connolly and Kyle Armstrong were the Lac St. Louis goal scorers.
Game 6 will be played tomorrow night (7:30) in Gatineau.
If a Game 7 is necessary, it will be played Sunday (7:30 p.m.) in Dollard.