After a satisfying 2023-24, the Montreal Canadiens ECHL affiliate are optimistic for the future.
The Trois-Rivieres Lions 2023-24 season felt like a rollercoaster filled with a lot of ups, downs, and turns.
The final result was a third place finish in the North Division, the best regular season finish for the club in its three-year existence. In the post-season, they lost in the first round against the Norfolk in six matches.
"Taking into account all the imponderables during the season, I can tell you that we’re happy with our season. We succeeded in participating in the playoffs, which was our first objective at the start of the season," said assistant general manager and goaltending coach Alex Cousineau at the year end media availability.
Management added that they were proud of earning a playoff spot with the ECHL's youngest roster, according to their data.
Costly Trip in South
The Lions season can be split into three segments, where there was a significant variance in the results.
The season began with 11 wins through 15 games and the team flirting atop the ECHL's standings and several team statistics.
The wheels started falling off the bus at the end of November when the team travelled down south for a road trip with stops in South Carolina for two contests, Savannah and Jacksonville.
Trois-Rivieres lost three of those matchup and it began a stretch of 37 games where the club won 10 times. All the momentum gained from the start of the year evaporated.
"During our trip south in the month of November, we had injuries, we had call ups, the team was sick during the trip. It was bad timing for all those situations, but you’re going to go through a stretch like that during the season at some point. It can be at the beginning, at the end, but for us it was in the middle part of the season," general manager and coach Ron Choules explained.
The coach added that there was very direct and honest meetings during the difficult stretch that helped put everyone back on the rails.
The final 17-game segment saw the Lions win 10 times including the two final games of the regular season against the Worcester Railers to clinch a playoff spot.
"After losing the first game of a three-game series against Worcester Railers during the final weekend of the season, the task wasn’t easy for our group. Fortunately, it wasn’t the first obstacle we faced this season. The players answered back in an incredible fashion by playing two of the most inspiring games of our regular season," Cousineau noted about the important weekend.
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Renewing Partnership
The top off-season priority for the hockey operations team is to renew the partnership with the Montreal Canadiens as the initial three-year agreement expires at the end of the season.
The club felt supported by the Canadiens organization and shared that they had the most games played in the ECHL by players with AHL or NHL contracts. The communication and working relationship with Rocket coach Jean-Francois Houle and general manager John Sedgwick were described as excellent.
Positive Business Perspective
On the business side of the franchise, the future ended on a positive after a dark beginning.
On April 30th, the ECHL board of governors approved the transfer of ownership from Deacon Sports and Entertainment (DSE) to Spire Hockey following a period of uncertainty for the team going forward.
Spire Hockey financially supported the Lions playoff run even before officially owning the club.
Attendance at Colisee Videotron decreased versus last season with an average of 2,247 fans. After the public announcement that DSE had a tentative deal in place to sell the team, the average jumped to 2,690 fans for the final seven home dates and 2,949 for the three playoff contests.
The organization has already received 35 per cent season ticket renewals and 45 per cent half season renewals for the 2024-25 season.
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