Friday night marked the final time this season that the Lions and Atlanta Gladiators would be facing off against one another. While Trois-Rivières continues to battle for a playoff spot in the North Division, the Gladiators sit in last place in the South Division.
The first period was scoreless, with neither side generating much offence. The Lions only mustered six shots on goal while the Gladiators had eight.
The Lions broke the scoreless deadlock at 4:07 of the second period with Nicolas Guay finding the back of the Atlanta net with assists going to Brycen Martin and Chris Jandric. Then at 13:55 the Gladiators’ Brendan Hoffmann was able to beat Trois-Rivières netminder Zachary Émond – who had just made a key save – and the teams were tied at at 1-1 going into the second intermission.
The Lions regained the lead in the third period when John Parker-Jones deflected a Jacob Paquette shot to make the score 2-1. It was Paquette’s first point as a professional. And then Nolan Yaremko sealed the deal for the Lions with an empty net goal at 19:04. Trois-Rivières’ Émond was named the first star of the game, deservedly so having made several important stops throughout the night.