Two in a row in front of our fans!

Lions’ head coach Marc-André Bergeron and Co. were gunning to make it two-in-a-row in a span of 24 hours against the Adirondack Thunder on Sunday afternoon. After a thrilling 6-5 overtime win Saturday afternoon against the Thunder, the Lions were looking to cap off the weekend in style.

Trois-Rivières had a great start when forward Thomas Caron scored 21 seconds in, marking the second straight game when the Lions scored in the opening minute. Following a face-off in the offensive zone, Caron took a Brett Stapley pass and beat Thunder netminder Isaac Poulter. It didn’t take Adirondack long to reply when Grant Jozefek surprised Lions’ goalie Francis Marotte to make the score 1-1. A penalty assessed to Matthew Barron gave the Thunder a power play opportunity, and Patrick Grasso completed a Shane Harper and Nick Hutchison set-up to give the Thunder a 2-1 lead. The Lions came close to tying the game with a power play chance of their own, but Poulter made two superb saves on Colin Bilek.

The Lions increased the pressure during the second period, with a Barron backhand just missing the target. Moments later, Lions’ forward Anthony Beauregard created a turnover by intercepting a pass in the Thunder zone and he then fed Lions’ captain Cédric Montminy who missed scoring into an open Thunder net. Montminy quickly recovered, however, and his power play goal evened the score at 2-2, finishing a nice set-up from Stapley and Nicolas Guay. The visitors attempted to regain the lead, but they came up against a brick wall in the form of goaltender Marotte: The St-Jean-sur-Richelieu native made two spectacular saves to deny the Thunder going ahead. With only 1:19 remaining in the period, Beauregard deflected a Cédric Lacroix shot to give the Lions a 3-2 lead heading into the second intermission.

The Lions adopted a defensive style of play for the third period, limiting the Thunder to seven shots on goal. Marotte had to make a big save off Adirondack’s Travis Broughman when he went in alone in the middle of the period. The Lions’ James Phelan came close to increasing Trois-Rivières’ lead on a three-on-two break, but once again Poulter came to the Thunder’s rescue. The score remained unchanged until Trois-Rivières’ Ryan Francis sealed the outcome with an empty net goal near the end of the period. The Lions have now put together back-to-back wins at Colisée Vidéotron against the Thunder. Trois-Rivières will be back in action Wednesday night to begin a three-game homestand against the Newfoundland Growlers.