Team Marchand came away from Day 3 of the QMJHL Cup with its first victory, a 5-3 triumph over Team Dobson on Saturday afternoon at the Centre d’excellence Sports Rousseau, in Boisbriand, QC.
Eight different goal scorers finished on the scoresheet in this game. Ian Lovett, Dylan Pelletier and Rowan Walsh scored for Team Dobson, while Jacob Hartlin, Anthony Hurley, Zakary Savoie, Jaxon Somers and Daniel Walters led Team Marchand to its win.
In nets, goaltender Jordan Rittenberg had to make crucial saves on the 28 shots he faced to earn the victory, while his counterpart Jake Poirier faced 37 shots in the losing effort.
Team Marchand was unable to capitalize on two power play opportunities early in the first period. However, the black-and-yellow team opened the scoring on a shorthanded play, when Hartlin received a pass from Xander Boutilier before firing a perfect shot in the top of the net.
The Dobson squad responded with two quick goals in a span of 11 seconds. Lovett first scored unassisted, before seeing Walsh give the green team a 2-1 lead thanks to helpers from Aaron Chipp and Will Clark.
It was Team Marchand’s Daniel Walters who opened the scoring early in the second period, thanks to a nifty pass from Savoie before making it 2-2 after just 26 seconds of play. Then, at 13:40, after Team Dobson won a face-off in enemy territory, Pelletier fired a shot from the point that found a seam to make it 3-2.
This would be Team Dobson’s last goal of the game, as the third period belonged entirely to Team Marchand. Hurley first used his speed before unleashing a shot that brought his team back into the game at 8:20. Somers then capitalized on the power play to give his team a 4-3 lead with less than five minutes to play, just before seeing Savoie put an end to the game with an empty-netter.
We’ll have to wait for the conclusion of Saturday’s other matchups before knowing tomorrow’s opponents for these two teams.
