Saturday, February 7, 2009

Live glog: Montreal at Gatineau

1st period recap: In a QMJHL Western Division game of interest, Montreal leads Gatineau 2-1 after one. T.J. Brennan and Luke Adam have assists for the Juniors, while Paul Byron made a nice pass to create the only goal for the 'Piques. First-place Gatineau has streaked their way to a 9-1 record over their last ten games, while Montreal has seen better times with only three wins in the same set. Working along the right side, Adam threw the puck towards the front of the net where it was put home by Jeremy Gouchie to give the Juniors a 1-0 lead at 8:09. Brennan was also on the ice for the goal. Just :38 later on the same shift, Brennan moved the puck to Matt Fillier who in turn sent Angelo Esposito on a break to make it 2-0. Gatineau would strike on the power play at 13:18. Skating down the right side, Byron neatly slid the puck to a cutting J.P. Chabot for the Olympiques tally. The power play helper gives Byron an even 80 points on the year. Byron continues to display his speed at both ends. He stole a puck at his blueline late in the period, causing T.J. Brennan to engage in a footrace from his right point. Brennan showed his wheels as he tried to seal the speedy forward off, but Byron was able to cut in front and make a move to the left. Jake Allen (STL) stayed with him, and mad a save to keep the score 2-1. Adam has been good on the boards and down low early. His best opportunity came around the 5:00 mark when he just missed a wraparound attempt. 2nd period Gatineau would rally for five goals in the second after losing a teammate due to high hit from T.J. Brennan. At 8:14, Brennan received a match penalty after charging in from the point to finish off a sandwiching check on Craig England along the left boards. The hit came up high from the front, and in effect saw Brennan target the chest when driving through the check. It could not be determined whether or not Brennan left his feet from the viewing angle. England was down on his back for nearly ten minutes before being stabilized and taken off the ice on a stretcher. Brennan's night ends at +2 with an assist and 5 PIM. Gatineau tied the game on the ensuing power play when a Tye McGinn dump-in took a funny bounce and made its way to the crease, where Yoan Pinette nudged it past Allen. Still short-handed just 1:02 later, Nick Layton blasted an Esposito feed from the high slot to put the Juniors back ahead, 3-2. Gatineau would simply pour it on for the rest of the period. McGinn struck at 15:05, tipping a Stephen Delisle point shot past Allen to tie the game 3-3. At 16:29, Christian Ouellet-Martel connected on a backhand to give Gatineau their first lead of the game. The Olympiques would hit again on the power play for a 5-3 lead when Chabot notched his second of the season on a tip down low. Byron was credited with a secondary assist. Chabot's goal was his 29th, tying him with Byron for the team lead. With Luke Adam in the penalty box, Delisle would make it 6-3 when he pounced on a loose puck amidst traffic right in front of Montreal's net. At times, Adam has looked strong on the puck entering the zone, but the Juniors have been rattled by the barrage. On the other side, Byron showed some slick stick handling and puck control, creating a few scoring opportunities while on the power play. Quick acceleration makes him tough to handle when in the offensive zone. 3rd period Montreal is trying to claw back in it, as a crashing Philippe Fontaine potted a goal at 5:02 to cut the Piques lead to two. Alex Wall would then bring the Juniors back within one at 13:35, breaking in to make a quick deke after taking a Guillaume Asselin pass from the right boards. 6-5 Gatineau. After a Jeremy Gouchie penalty, Josh McQuade would lift a rebound over Allen to make it 7-5. Byron collected his third assist of the afternoon after getting the puck from the corner the point at 15:59. Final score: Gatineau 7, Montreal 5 Byron: 3 power play assists, -2, 3 SOG Adam: 1 assist, 2 PIM, 1 SOG Brennan: 1 assist, 5 PIM, +2, DQ in 2nd period