This win was all to do with Philippe Desrosiers

The Lions were back in action for a two-games-in-two-nights series against the Mariners in Portland, Maine on Friday night. This would be the team’s last road trip before the holiday season, and sights were set on registering a fourth straight victory.

At the three-minute mark, the Lions’ Pierrick Dubé collected his own rebound and made a perfect pass to Brett Stapley who was alone in the slot. The forward took full advantage of a wide-open net to score his first professional goal and give the Lions a 1-0 lead. The Mariners applied pressure of their own with several excellent scoring opportunities and after a nice save by Trois-Rivières goaltender Phillipe Desrosiers, Portland’s Matthew Santos came close to equaling the score, but his shot narrowly missed the target. Then the Mariners’ Cameron Askew had a golden opportunity while his team was short-handed, but Desrosiers was up to the test with a pad save. After 20 minutes of play the Lions were ahead 1-0.

Having dominated most of the play in the first period, the Mariners maintained their game plan and started the second period just as aggressively. At the two-minute mark, Maine’s Patrick Shea finished-off a magnificent sequence orchestrated by Tim Doherty and the game was tied 1-1. The Mariners continued to apply relentless pressure, but they found themselves having to deal with a very hot Lions goalkeeper in the form of Philippe Desrosiers. He made four exceptional saves in a five-minute span to keep the score even at 1-1. The Lions rewarded their goalkeeper in the best possible way by scoring two quick goals: Pierrick Dubé took advantage of a power play opportunity to give Trois-Rivières the lead, and then Anthony Beauregard pounced on a rebound to extend the Lions’ lead to 3-1. Newcomer Jason Horvath collected his second assist of the game on the Beauregard goal.

Maine’s Fedor Gordeev benefited from Doherty's playmaking skills midway through the third period, and his goal narrowed the gap to 3-2. The king-size defenceman’s top-shelf shot left Desrosiers with no chance to make a save. The home squad continued to press the Lions’ net, but Desrosiers was bulletproof the rest of the way, making several crucial saves to earn the Lions their fourth straight win.

Desrosiers was the star of the game for the Lions, making 26 saves. The Saint-Hyacinthe, Quebec native was phenomenal, enabling Trois-Rivières to register their ninth victory in their last 11 games.