The Lions de Trois-Rivières (affiliate of the Montreal Canadiens) held their mid-season review Thursday morning alongside team president Alex Cousineau.

Like many professional sports organizations, the Lions have experienced a slight decrease in attendance at Colisée Vidéotron. The ECHL players’ strike notably impacted this figure, as the December 28 game—typically a high-attendance matchup—was postponed.

That said, the organization’s commercial operations remain strong, with an increase in partnerships. This growth reflects the Mauricie business community’s continued interest in collaborating with a professional team based in the region.

Several popular theme nights are also on the horizon, including Star Wars Night, Affiliation Night, Country Night, as well as NASCAR Canada Night presented by the Grand Prix de Trois-Rivières. New this season, Québec Night has been added to the schedule to celebrate and highlight the team’s Québec roots.

In addition, the Alliance de Lions will host its first-ever Presidents’ Summit, presented by Air Miles, on February 4. During a 5 à 7 reception, the presidents of the Lions, Aigles and Capitales, along with the vice president of the Remparts, will share their vision, experiences and the challenges of operating in the Québec City and Trois-Rivières sports markets.

It is also worth noting that this season marks the final year of the concession agreement. As a result, the Lions have launched a call for proposals to evaluate available options. The ticketing services contract will also expire at the end of the season.

On the ice, the Lions currently sit sixth in the North Division, a position below expectations, as acknowledged by president Alex Cousineau. However, he emphasized the team’s noticeable improvement in recent games.

Injuries to forward Logan Nijhoff and defenseman Jacob Paquette also affected the team’s results, as both players missed a significant portion of the first half of the season. Additionally, forwards Andrew Coxhead and Tommy Cormier chose to continue their careers in Europe, while Tyler Hylland announced his retirement from professional hockey.

Despite these challenges, the Lions remain a team capable of qualifying for the playoffs, according to Cousineau. The organization is currently evaluating options both in Europe and within the Canadian university hockey ranks.

The Lions de Trois-Rivières’ next home game will take place on Wednesday, January 28, at Colisée Vidéotron, when the team once again hosts the Adirondack Thunder (New Jersey Devils affiliate) as part of Student Night. Fans can enjoy 14 oz draft beer for $5 and hot dogs for $2.

Tickets are available at lions3r.com or by contacting a sales representative at 819-519-1634, extension 200.

Quotes

“Obviously, we’re not exactly where we want to be in the standings, but we’ve shown strong progression. We have a young team again this year. The guys are working hard and continuing to improve game by game. We’re only six points out of a playoff spot, and there’s still a lot of hockey left to play. It’s a long season—72 games. We’ve played 33 so far, with 39 remaining. There’s plenty of time.”
— Alex Cousineau, President, Lions de Trois-Rivières

“We need to continue growing attendance at Colisée Vidéotron, and that’s something we work on every day. We also want to maintain our commercial growth and strengthen our connection with the Trois-Rivières community. I want to thank our fans, partners, employees and the media who work tirelessly to make the Lions de Trois-Rivières a reference organization in Mauricie and across the ECHL.”
— Alex Cousineau, President, Lions de Trois-Rivières