Team Savard ended the QMJHL Cup tournament with a perfect record by triumphing 4-2 over Team Lecavalier on Sunday afternoon at Boisbriand’s Centre d’excellence Sports Rousseau.
Six different goal-scorers etched their names on the the scoresheet in the final matchup of the four-day event. Josh Demers and Emile-Alexandro Lemieux-Goupil were the only scorers for Team Lecavalier, while Thomas Rousseau, Charles-Albert Pouliot, Samuel Roy and Xavier Sabourin led Team Savard to victory.
Goaltender Patrick Deniger was sensational in the win, most notably during a five-minute penalty kill in the second period, while his counterpart Jacob St-Cyr was less busy in a game that was heavily dominated by Équipe Lecavalier in shots on goal (41-23).
The first period was a tightly contested affair, played at a frenetic pace, with the final’s intensity palpable on the ice. Rousseau was the only one to find the back of the net in the period, opening the score for Team Savard with his fifth goal of the tournament at 9:36.
Returning from the first intermission, Deniger was tested repeatedly and answered the call with crucial saves that kept his team in the game. Then, at 4:34, Pouliot found the back of the net for his fourth of the tournament, before Roy made it 3-0 Équipe Savard just under four minutes later. Demers would put Team Lecavalier on the board at 13:01 when he took a pass from Roy and fired it into the top of the net on the power play.
It took almost 20 minutes of play before Team Lecavalier scored again, Lemieux-Goupil finding the back of the net on another power play opportunity for the blue squad. Sabourin then put the game to bed with his first of the tournament, making it 4-2 Team Savard with less than five minutes to go.
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After the game, QMJHL scouts named the best players of the competition by unveiling the Gatorade Team of the Tournament.