Lions start their third ECHL season with a bang, winning their first-ever season-opener!

Fans were keen to reacquaint themselves with their Lions at Colisée Vidéotron, especially with the promising lineup that was constructed over the summer by Pascal Rhéaume and Alex Cousineau. However, Rhéaume left the team at the end of August to become an assistant coach with the Bridgeport Islanders (the AHL affiliate of the NHL’s New York Islanders), and Ron Choules was subsequently promoted from being the Lions’ assistant coach to become the team’s general manager and head coach.

No goals were scored in Friday night’s first period, but there was rough-and-tumble action aplenty, with the teams exchanging several big hits. Two penalties were called on each team, with the Lions’ Miguël Tourigny and Noah Laaouan each garnering trips to the box, while Ethan Keppen and Owen Pederson also were assessed penalties for the Mariners. The Lions failed to capitalize on several good scoring chances, most notably Nolan Yaremko who had two good opportunities.

In the second period, it was Alex-Olivier Voyer who registered the first goal for the Lions in the 2023-24 season with a perfect top-shelf marker. But it didn’t take long for the Mariners to respond in kind, and a few minutes after Voyer’s goal Reid Stefanson scored with assists going to Alex Kile and Gabriel Chicoine. This set things up for what was sure to be a tense third period.

And it turned out to be an excellent third period indeed for the Lions as Justin Ducharme scored on the power play with a great shot from the face-off circle to give the Lions a 3-2 lead, and then Matthew Boucher sealed the deal with an empty-netter to make the final score 4-2 Lions. It was a great way for the Lions to start the season!