Three Games, Three Days, Three Arenas | Trois-Rivieres Lions Notepad

The Trois-Rivieres Lions kicked off the 2023-24 regular season with a tripleheader over the weekend in three different cities. 

The Lions hosted the Maine Mariners (Boston Bruins) at Colisee Videoton on Friday in front of 3,771 fans. 

Justin Ducharme broke a 2-2 tie with a power play goal with under three minutes remaining in the final period. Matthew Boucher added an empty net goal to give the Montreal Canadiens ECHL affiliate the 4-2 victory. Special teams impacted the game with each squad scoring twice on the power play. 

It was the first time that Trois-Rivieres faced another team this season as they did not play any exhibition games, while Maine split their two preseason matches. 

"[The players] gave everything. It wasn't always pretty, but the effort was there. The challenge was great given that it was our first match as a team. The power play helped us and Joe Vrbetic allowed us to win," evaluated coach and general manager Ron Choules. 

Vrbetic made 33 stops and was named the third star of the night. The Canadiens seventh round pick in 2021 signed a two-way AHL/ECHL contract on Wednesday. 

(Quotes courtesy of Le Nouvelliste)

The two teams travelled immediately following Friday's contest for a rematch on Saturday in Maine. 

The Mariners took a 2-0 lead in the first period with two power play goals before the Lions bounced back by scoring the next four goals. Maine cut the lead to one goal before Noel Yaremko sealed the 6-4 win with an empty netter. 

Both teams power play produced again with Trois-Rivieres scoring twice and Maine three times with the extra attacker. Vrbetic earned the victory with 26 saves. 

The Lions ended their perfect weekend with 4-1 win in Worcester against the Railers (Islanders) on Sunday afternoon.

Jakov Novak and Cedric Montminy each had one goal and one assist in the victory. Goaltender Zachary Bouthillier was named the first star of the afternoon after making 30 saves.  

Trois-Rivieres will have a couple of days off before returning on the road to face the Reading Royals (Philadelphia Flyers) on Saturday and Sunday. 

Choules might be receiving a phone call this week from Jean-Francois Houle as the Laval Rocket are down to 12 healthy forwards following Joel Armia's recall to the Montreal Canadiens, Filip Mesar assignment to the Kitchener Rangers (OHL) and Jared Davidson's injury. 

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