Time is Ticking for Trois-Rivieres Lions | Lions Notepad

As the deadline for the sale of the team is fast approaching, the Trois-Rivieres Lions hosted the Reading Royals (Philadelphia Flyers) and the Maine Mariners (Boston Bruins).  

The fans that were late to arrive at Colisee Videotron missed early action as the Royals opened the scoring 16 seconds after the puck drop. Anthony Beauregard quickly tied for the Lions with a goal 1:23 later. The scored remained 1-1 until midway through the third period when Justin Ducharme doubled the lead. Cedric Montminy closed the books in the final minute with an empty net goal. 

The Mariners led 1-0 when Ducharme and Jakov Novak scored consecutively in the second period. Maine answered with back-to-back goals of their own to take the lead early in the third period. Novak and Nolan Yaremko lit the red light before Nicolas Guay and Ducharme added empty net goals to seal the win. 

The home team got on the board in the first period with a goal by Montminy. The Mariners had a 2-1 lead when goals by Guay and Novak put the Lions on top. Maine tied it before the second intermission and capitalized on a power play in the third to score the game-winning goal.  

“I think we shot ourselves in the foot with the indiscipline and the penalties,” coach and general manager Ron Choules said. “The effort was there, but I think we worked poorly. The month of March was very busy, we played 15 games with the travel."

(Quotes courtesy of Le Nouvelliste)

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Jakov Novak set a franchise record for most goals in a season with 29, surpassing the previous high of 26 set by Anthony Beauregard in 2022-23. 

Miguel Tourigny returned to the lineup on Wednesday after being sidelined with an upper body injury. The defenseman drafted 216th overall by the Montreal Canadiens in 2022 was struck in the face by a puck during a game on March 8th. 

The team announced that Lukash Matthews is being evaluated on a week-to-week basis with an upper body injury. The 22-year old defenseman since March 16th. 

Tuesday's deadline imposed by the ECHL to Deacon Sports and Entertainment (DSE) to finalize the sale of its franchises is fast approaching. DSE also owns the Newfoundland Growlers, the Toronto Maple Leafs affiliate. There is no indication that a transaction will be concluded before then, which will result to the ECHL taking control of the two teams. 

It is expected that the league will halt operations of both organizations for the remainder of the season. The Lions employees were recently advised of this possibility. 

Last week, the city of Trois-Rivieres initiated an administrative process to utilize a $650,000 bank guarantee letter in their possession from DSE. The letter allows them to collect a portion of the estimated $1.1 million owed to them by ownership. 

It is also reported that DSE's debtor list includes the ECHL and NHL teams. 

The Lions currently hold the third place spot in the North Division in a three-way tie with the Worcester Railers and Newfoundland Growlers. 

If the organization continues its operations, the homestand ends on Wednesday against the Mariners before a tripleheader in Newfoundland against the Growlers beginning on Friday.

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