2014 SUBWAY Super Series comes down to final game
Thursday November 20, 2014
By Josh Sweetland/CHL
Rimouski, QC – Just as it did last year, the 2014 SUBWAY Super Series will come down to a decisive sixth game on Thursday night at the Colisée de Rimouski. With the wind at its back following a 5-1 Game 4 victory by Team OHL on Monday in Kingston, Team QMJHL effectively wrestled full series momentum away from Russia on Tuesday in Bathurst with a 3-1 victory in front of 3,027 at the K.C. Irving Regional Centre.
Typically the opportunistic group that has managed to scratch out wins with limited high quality scoring chances, Russia had the tables turned on it on Tuesday as the QMJHL rode the strong goaltending of Zach Fucale to victory despite being outshot 41-18. Perhaps the most frustrating part for Russia on Tuesday was the team’s 0 for 9 outcome on the powerplay that saw six of those man advantages come in the final 30 minutes of play.
“I hope that our team will have a better game than what we experienced in the third period in Game 5,” said QMJHL head coach Benoit Groulx. “We did well, but can do better. We had a nervous team, especially at the beginning. Our puck handling will be much better coming into Game 6. We were able with Ontario to change things around and sincerely believe that we can win Thursday. What’s important is to have passion et bring our A game. They’re all talented players here. We just need to find a better cohesion on the ice.”
The Russians, who at one point in the series looked unstoppable with the strong goaltending of Igor Shesterkin and Denis Kostin behind them, have been outscored 8-2 in the last two games. With fatigue no doubt factoring into their performance on Tuesday night after playing on back to back days, Wednesday’s day of rest should place the two clubs on equal footing headed into Game 6 on Thursday.
Thursday’s first period will certainly be important for both clubs in front of what’s sure to be an energetic crowd in Rimouski. Russia has won in each of the three games that they’ve scored first in the series, but the lack of a clear top line to this point has seen Head Coach Valery Bragin shift his tactics throughout the game. Winnipeg Jets prospect Pavel Kraskovsky leads Russian scoring to this point in the series with two goals and an assist in five games, all points he collected in Game 2 of the series. Four of the 11 goals Russia has scored in the series have come from defencemen.
On the QMJHL side of the puck, a second half parade to the penalty box was overcome by an excellent penalty kill and the aforementioned play of Fucale in the crease. Thursday’s effort will need to be more disciplined if the QMJHL wants to maximize its chances of success against a Russian powerplay that has shown flashes of brilliance throughout the series.
The impressive speed of wingers Daniel Audette, Francis Perron and Anthony Richard along with the presence of Rimouski fan favourites Frédérik Gauthier, Anthony DeLuca, and goaltender Philippe Desrosiers in the lineup will make for an exciting finish to what could be described as a tale of two different series to this point.
The SUBWAY Super Series returns to Rimouski for the first time since 2003, the first year the event was ever held. In that game, current New Jersey Devils forward Steve Bernier had a pair of goals and an assist while Alexandre Picard netted a goal with four helpers to lead Team QMJHL over Russia 6-3. Then Rimouski Océanic superstar Sidney Crosby had three assists in the game and was named the first star of the night.
Team QMJHL will be in search of some of that offensive magic on Thursday night that characterized #87 of the Océanic during that unforgettable era at the Colisée. The big game gets underway at 7:00pm ET live on Sportsnet ONE and TVA Sports.
For more information including how to purchase tickets please visit www.subwaysuperseries.ca.
