Lions salvage a point

The second and final game of the two-game series between the Lions and the Newfoundland Growlers took place Friday night at Colisée Vidéotron. Going into the game the Lions sported a perfect record against the Growlers, having defeated the Newfoundlanders four times so far this season. Starting in goal for the Lions was Joe Vrbetic while Newfoundland countered with Luke Cavallin, who has recorded nine wins and five defeats (two of which were in overtime).

The first period was scoreless, and no penalties were assessed either. The Growlers had the edge in shots on goal however, with 12 shots directed at Vrbetic versus the 9 the Lions aimed at Cavallin.

The Lions’ Matthew Boucher finally broke the scoreless deadlock in the second period. Boucher – fresh off a few weeks stint with the AHL’s Belleville Senators – was a welcome addition to Trois-Rivières’ line-up. A few minutes later, at the 12:54 mark, Lions captain Cedric Montminy extended Trois-Rivières’ lead to 2-0. Both goals were set up by Miguël Tourigny and Maxim Trépanier.

The Growlers didn’t quit and scored two goals of their own in the third period: The first coming from Tate Singleton at 8:08, and the second notched by assistant captain Zach O’Brien. That meant the teams were headed to overtime.

The Lions had several scoring chances in the overtime period, but at the 2:35 mark goaltender Vrbetic was called for tripping, and the Growlers capitalized when Isaac Johnson scored on the power play at 3:14. Final score: Growlers 3 – Lions 2 in overtime.