Music: {allcanada} Océanic dominate Remparts to force tiebreaker game

Wednesday, May 27, 2015

{allcanada} Océanic dominate Remparts to force tiebreaker game

QUEBEC — Michael Joly had a goal and three assists as the Rimouski Oceanic chased goalie Zach Fucale and downed the host Quebec Remparts 4-0 on Wednesday to stave off elimination and force a tiebreaker game at the Mastercard Memorial Cup.

While Philippe Desrosiers made 27 saves for the shutout, Fucale was pulled in favour of Callum Booth at 12:40 of the second period after Alexis Loiseau made it 4-0 on Rimouski's 25th shot. Booth made 17 saves.

Justin Samson, who spent half the season in junior-A hockey with Vaudreuil-Dorion, and Chris Clapperton also scored for the Oceanic, who beat the Remparts in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League final on a Game 7 overtime goal by Joly.

The result put the Kelowna Rockets into the semifinal on Friday because they had the best goal percentage among three teams who finished the round robin with 1-2 records.

The Oceanic (1-2) and Remparts (1-2) will play a tiebreaker game Thursday night to decide the second semifinalist. The Oshawa Generals (3-0) earned direct entry into the final on Sunday.

Rimouski has won it's last six games at the Pepsi Colisee.

The Remparts hurt themselves with messy penalties and the Oceanic made them pay with three power-play goals.

It was a rough first period for Quebec's Adam Erne. He was in the penalty box on a double minor for spearing when Samson scored from the slot at 14:36 and had lost his stick when Joly went around him and picked the top corner at 19:05.

Fucale had little chance to stop either of those goals or Clapperton's tally 5:36 into the second, which he shot into a open side after a puck deflected off a defender's skate.

When Loiseau beat Fucale to the glove side, coach Philippe Boucher sent in Booth.

The Oceanic were on the rebound from a 7-3 loss to Kelowna.

Rimouski coach Serge Beausoleil made three changes, inserting forwards Samson, Jeremy Lepine and Eduard Nasybulin and sitting out forwards Anthony Deluca and William Couture and defenceman Andrew Picco.

Attendance was 10,277.

Before the game, players from various Quebec City teams who played at the Colisee over the years were feted in a pre-game ceremony. It is the last hockey event before the 66-year-old building is replaced by the new Videotron Centre.