The Océanic hits a wall in Shawinigan

À DAY

RIMOUSKI | The Rimouski Oceanic must admit defeat 5 to 2 by the Shawinigan Cataractes who were very tough Friday night in Mauricie .

William Dumoulin and Mathis Gauthier scored in the loss for the Océanic. Nathan Étier led the Cats offense with two goals. The others being the work of William Veillette, Evan Courtois and Lou-Félix Denis.

The Océanic took time to get going and the Cataractes took the opportunity to open the scoring on a bad visitor coverage on a defensive zone face-off.

Nathan Éthier took the opportunity to push a loose puck past Océanic goalkeeper Patrik Hamrla into the back of the net. William Dumoulin greeted his return to the game by creating the tie 1-1 at the end of the first period with a leaping shot that deceived the vigilance of Cataractes goalkeeper Rémi Delafontaine. 

“We played a match far below our capabilities. You still have to give credit to the opponent. As intense as our workouts were this week, we were flattonight [Friday]. We have to put that behind us quickly,” analyzed Océanic head coach Serge Beausoleil.

Costly breakaways

The Cataractes have started the second period in lion. They took the opportunity to score two goals on breakaways. The first by Captain William Veillette and the second by Evan Courtois. 

The Océanic then applied more forechecks to regain some momentum. Mathis Gauthier thus reduced the gap to one goal. 

The defender supported the attack and he scored from the circle of the enclave, well fed by rookie Lyam Jacques.

Numerous injuries

Étier doubled the Cataractes lead early in the third period and redirected Loïc Usereau's low shot between the pads of Patrik Hamrla for his second goal of the game. He had been left alone in front of the Océanic goal. At the end of the game, Lou-Félix Denis brought the score to 5 to 2.

In the loss, the Océanic could count on the returns to play of William Dumoulin and Mathis Gauthier. Jude Campbell, Xavier Filion and Luke Coughlin are all still injured, but they are closing in on a return to play. , Charles-Olivier Villeneuve, Bett Yuzik and Daniel Agostino, as well as 20-year-old goaltender Antoine Coulombe.

The Océanic will host the Bathurst Titan on Sunday afternoon for the traditional doggies