The Trois-Rivières Lions, affiliate of the Montreal Canadiens, put up a strong battle against the top team in the ECHL, the Wheeling Nailers (affiliate of the Pittsburgh Penguins), but ultimately fell 4–3 in the opening game of the series.
From the opening faceoff, the Lions made it clear their trip to Wheeling was far from a courtesy visit. Less than five minutes into the first period, Cédric Desruisseaux broke free following a long pass from Tommy Cormier on the power play and scored his fifth goal of the season. Jacob Dion also earned an assist on the play.
Just 50 seconds later, Wyatt McLeod doubled the Lions’ lead with a powerful shot. Joel Teasdale and Charles Martin — recently selected to the ECHL All-Star Game — picked up assists on the goal.
The Nailers responded late in the first period as Tommy Budnick found the back of the net with a shot from the blue line to cut the deficit to one.
In the second period, Tanner Andrew tied the game for Wheeling. The Lions, however, regained the lead before the end of the frame. Riley Kidney executed a beautiful deke at the offensive blue line before firing a precise shot to score his team’s third goal of the night. Israel Mianscum and Darick Louis-Jean were credited with assists.
Wheeling completed its comeback in the third period. Craig Armstrong tied the game with his sixth goal of the season, before Brent Johnson scored the eventual game-winning goal, giving the West Virginia club its first lead of the contest.
Despite several quality scoring chances and sustained pressure late in the game in front of Nailers goaltender Taylor Gauthier, the Lions were unable to find the equalizer and suffered a narrow defeat in the first matchup.
The rivalry between the two teams will continue as they face off two more times at WesBanco Arena on Saturday and Sunday. The Lions’ next home game is set for Saturday, January 17 at 3 p.m., when the organization will pay tribute to the 1955 Lions.
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