The Wildcats erased a one-goal deficit to win 2-1 and end the Baie-Comeau Drakkar’s six-game winning streak on Sunday in Moncton.
Gabe Smith tied the game with 35 seconds left in the second period, then Juraj Pekarcik scored the game-winner with just over five minutes left in the third. Markus Vidicek was complicit in both goals.
Jacob Steinman only had to make 13 saves to help the Maritime team win a fourth consecutive game.
The Wildcats increased their lead to five points ahead of the Drakkar at the top of the Eastern Conference standings with a 15-2-2 record.
Moncton ranks third with a 13-6-1 record.
Goaltender Lucas Beckman suffered his first loss since October 18, but had virtually nothing to complain about with a 37-save performance.
Raoul Boilard was his only teammate to make the red light sparkle.
The Foreurs have a blast offensively
Philippe Veilleux scored a hat trick and assisted in a goal in an 8-4 victory for the Foreurs against the Blainville-Boisbriand Armada, in Val-d’Or.
Five Foreurs players collected more than one point, including Evan Dépatie (two goals, three assists), Noah Reinhart (one goal, two assists) and Samuel Fiala (one goal, one assist). Hemrick Carbonneau was the other player from the club to shake things up.
The Foreurs had lost their last five games.
Cédric Massé allowed four goals on 34 shots. In the other clan, rookies Martin Haronik and Vincent Gladu allowed four goals each on 21 and 12 shots respectively.
Xavier Villeneuve, Olivier Lemieux, Vincent Desjardins and Matt Gosselin scored for the Armada, which concluded its trip to Abitibi-Témiscamingue with a combined score of 15-9 in favor of the local teams in two games.
Tempers flared in the third period as four misconduct penalties were awarded.
The Sags do it again at the Olympics
Émile Duquet scored in overtime and the Chicoutimi Saguenéens beat the Matériaux 4-3 in Gatineau.
Jonathan Prud’homme, Nathan Lecompte and Charles-Antoine Lavallée also threaded the needle in victory. Thomas Desruisseaux and Loïc Usereau each collected two assists.
Mathias Hernandez blocked 36 of the 39 shots fired in his direction.
This is a second tiebreaker win in eight days for the Saguenéens against theOlympics. Last Sunday, the Saguenay team triumphed 3-2 in a shootout.
Brant Romaniuk scored his first goal on the Cecchini circuit in the defeat. Jan Golicic and Justin Boisselle also scored for the Olympics, who lost a 10th consecutive game.
Zach Pelletier conceded four goals on 19 shots.
Drummondville snatches victory against Quebec
Luke Woodworth found the back of the net in a shootout to allow the Voltigeurs to defeat the Remparts de Québec 6-5, in Drummondville.
Sam Oliver totaled two goals and two assists in the victory, while Marc-Olivier Beaudry scored and added two assists. Ethan Gauthier and Hugo Dufour also beat Louis-Antoine Denault, author of 43 saves.
Loic Goyette, Benjamin Vigneault, Xavier Lebel, Justin Côté and Alexandre Desmarais for their part deceived the vigilance of Louis-Félix Charrois, targeted 31 times.
Shawinigan finally has the best of Sherbrooke
Jiri Klima was the only scorer in the shootout and the Cataractes won 4-3 against the Phoenix in Sherbrooke.
Having lost the two previous meetings between the two teams, the Cataractes erased deficits of two goals and a net to force overtime. Reece Peitzsche, Louis-Philippe Fontaine and Jacob Lachance contributed to this comeback.
Félix Hamel blocked 25 pucks in 65 minutes, then three more during the shootout.
Charles-Antoine Adam and Thomas Rousseau hit the mark for the first time in major junior. Thomas Rousseau also outwitted Hamel.
Jacob Brochu posted a 26-save performance in a losing cause.
Zonnon takes a liking to scoring
Bill Zonnon totaled two goals and an assist in a second straight game, this time helping the Huskies defeat the Victoriaville Tigres 5-3 in Rouyn-Noranda.
Evan Courtois, Lars Steiner and Samuel Rousseau also scored and the Huskies won their last three games.
After failing three times on 11 shots, Kyle Hagen was replaced by Samuel Meloche in front of the Huskies cage. He was perfect, making 11 saves.
Francesco Iasenza and Olivier Houde gave the Tigres a two-goal lead in this match, then Alexis Bourque made it 3-1 in the second. Jakob Hanlan allowed four goals on 37 shots.
The Islanders still have the best
Nathan Leek scored twice and added an assist as the Charlottetown Islanders defeated the Cape Breton Eagles 4-2 in Sydney.
It was the fourth game in just over a week between the two teams – two in Charlottetown last week, then two in Sydney this week. The Islanders won three, while the Eagles had three points.
Kyle Powers and Ross Campbell also scored for the visitors, while Tomas Lavoie and Lucas Romeo responded for the Eagles.
Nicolas Ruccia stopped 36 shots to score the victory. At the other end of the ice, Brandon Lavoie gave up three times on 23 shots.
The Titan silences Halifax
Joshua Fleming posted a 28-save shutout to help the Acadie-Bathurst Titan win 3-0 against the Mooseheads in Halifax.
This is a second shutout for Fleming this season and a fourth in 96 games in the Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League (QMJHL).
Colby Huggan, Alexandre Lallier and Louis-François Bélanger scored the goals for the Titan, who have won the three duels between the two teams so far this season.
Mathis Rousseau conceded three goals on 31 shots.
