It was 31 seconds the University of Quebec at Trois Rivieres Patriotes will never forget.
Trailing the Western Mustangs 4-2 in OUA’s bronze medal game, with the sixth and final University Cup berth on the line and time rapidly running out, the Patriotes pulled a collective Bill Mosienko moment out of their helmets.
The Patriotes scored three goals in 31 seconds (Mosienko did it solo in 21 seconds for the Chicago Blackhawks on March 23, 1952, with Thunder Bay’s Gus Bodnar assisting on all three), the first coming at 18:29 of the third period, the second at 18:49 and the third – and eventual game winner – at 19:00 to pull off one of the most shocking comebacks in university hockey history and eke out a 5-4 win.
The triumph brought back a feeling of confidence in the UQTR dressing room, after a disappointing OUA East playoff run by a team that finished first in the regular season, only to be eliminated by McGill in two straight in the conference final.
“It was the greatest feeling I ever had, the guys didn’t stop believing” said Patriotes forward Alexandre Demers. “If we can bring those feelings to Thunder Bay, we’ve got a chance.”
It was a once-in-a-lifetime experience, said his teammate Alexandre Blais.
“I’ve never had the chance to a live a moment like that before,” said Blais, an 11-goal scorer during the regular season. “It was exciting because we never gave up and the way we made our comeback last week is the reason why we’re here today. It is going to be very important for us to bring the energy of our last game (to) the very first shift and for 60 minutes against Alberta on Thursday night.”
The Patriotes, who went 23-3-2 in OUA play this season, may be the best No. 6 in University Cup history.
A powerful offensive force that went 14-0 at home, UQTR finished fifth in Canada with 129 goals, though that puts them behind both Alberta and Lakehead, the other teams in Pool B at this week’s championship.
Defensively, however, they’re the top squad left standing, owning a sparkling a 2.36 team goals against average, second only to the long-eliminated defending national champion University of New Brunswick.
Combine the two and the Patriotes have every intention of being a force when the puck drops Thursday night against No. 1 seed Alberta.
“We’re a team with a lot of skill and a great work ethic,” Demers said. “And we have maybe the greatest goalie in the country.”
Judging by the stats, Demers might not be simply guilty of pumping up one of his own. Jean-Christophe Blanchard may just be the best the country has to offer between the pipes. Blanchard, a Trois Rivieres native, sported a 2.28 goals against average in OUA play, a Canada-high 9.24 save percentage and 20 wins, again, tops in the country.
Up front the Patriotes are led by 53-point scorer Francis Charland, author of 24 goals in 27 games, Demers and Jean-Sebastien Breton, who had 43 points this year.
The Patriotes, winners of four national titles, including a pair with coach Jaques Laporte in 2001 and 2003, are the last OUA team to capture a national championship. Blais said it’s the little things that will put them over the top in 2010.
“In this kind of tournament, the team who executes every little detail perfectly will win. So we’ll have to execute our game plan the best we can,” he said.
Trailing the Western Mustangs 4-2 in OUA’s bronze medal game, with the sixth and final University Cup berth on the line and time rapidly running out, the Patriotes pulled a collective Bill Mosienko moment out of their helmets.
The Patriotes scored three goals in 31 seconds (Mosienko did it solo in 21 seconds for the Chicago Blackhawks on March 23, 1952, with Thunder Bay’s Gus Bodnar assisting on all three), the first coming at 18:29 of the third period, the second at 18:49 and the third – and eventual game winner – at 19:00 to pull off one of the most shocking comebacks in university hockey history and eke out a 5-4 win.
The triumph brought back a feeling of confidence in the UQTR dressing room, after a disappointing OUA East playoff run by a team that finished first in the regular season, only to be eliminated by McGill in two straight in the conference final.
“It was the greatest feeling I ever had, the guys didn’t stop believing” said Patriotes forward Alexandre Demers. “If we can bring those feelings to Thunder Bay, we’ve got a chance.”
It was a once-in-a-lifetime experience, said his teammate Alexandre Blais.
“I’ve never had the chance to a live a moment like that before,” said Blais, an 11-goal scorer during the regular season. “It was exciting because we never gave up and the way we made our comeback last week is the reason why we’re here today. It is going to be very important for us to bring the energy of our last game (to) the very first shift and for 60 minutes against Alberta on Thursday night.”
The Patriotes, who went 23-3-2 in OUA play this season, may be the best No. 6 in University Cup history.
A powerful offensive force that went 14-0 at home, UQTR finished fifth in Canada with 129 goals, though that puts them behind both Alberta and Lakehead, the other teams in Pool B at this week’s championship.
Defensively, however, they’re the top squad left standing, owning a sparkling a 2.36 team goals against average, second only to the long-eliminated defending national champion University of New Brunswick.
Combine the two and the Patriotes have every intention of being a force when the puck drops Thursday night against No. 1 seed Alberta.
“We’re a team with a lot of skill and a great work ethic,” Demers said. “And we have maybe the greatest goalie in the country.”
Judging by the stats, Demers might not be simply guilty of pumping up one of his own. Jean-Christophe Blanchard may just be the best the country has to offer between the pipes. Blanchard, a Trois Rivieres native, sported a 2.28 goals against average in OUA play, a Canada-high 9.24 save percentage and 20 wins, again, tops in the country.
Up front the Patriotes are led by 53-point scorer Francis Charland, author of 24 goals in 27 games, Demers and Jean-Sebastien Breton, who had 43 points this year.
The Patriotes, winners of four national titles, including a pair with coach Jaques Laporte in 2001 and 2003, are the last OUA team to capture a national championship. Blais said it’s the little things that will put them over the top in 2010.
“In this kind of tournament, the team who executes every little detail perfectly will win. So we’ll have to execute our game plan the best we can,” he said.
