The Montreal Canadiens ECHL affiliate lost two games against the Adirondack Thunder; delay in the sale of the team.
The Trois-Rivieres Lions returned to action on Friday after several days off during the All-Star break and hosted the division leading Adirondack Thunder (New Jersey Devils) for a pair of games at Colisee Videotron.
Friday: Adirondack Thunder 5 - Trois-Rivieres Lions 4 (Shootout)
Midway through the game, the score was 2-2 with goals by Cedric Montminy and Nicolas Lariviere for the Lions when Charles-Antoine Paiement and Jakov Novak gave the home team a two-goal lead early in the third period. The Thunder answered back with two-goals before the end of regulation time. In the shootout, all three Trois-Rivieres shooters were stopped to allow Adirondack to collect two points in the standings.
"We did well and we still had a chance at the end. We have to take the extra point against Adirondack, the best team in our division. I think we deserved better than that, but we're going to learn from this," coach and general manager Ron Choules said.
Zachary Bouthillier made 41 saves in the loss. "Bouthillier made a nice save in overtime, but I think he was out of position on the last two. He still did well, but we need big saves from time to time," added the coach.
(Quotes courtesy of Le Nouvelliste)
Saturday: Adirondack Thunder 5 - Trois-Rivieres Lions 2
The Thunder took an early 2-0 lead before Alex-Olivier Voyer scored for the home team before the first intermission. Adirondack added a goal in the second and another in the third when Eric Hjorth cut the deficit to two goals. The Devils ECHL affiliate iced the contest with one more goal before the final horn.
"We want consistency from everyone. It’s easy to put it on one position or one player, but everyone has to come in and give everything they have. When we are consistent, we have a very good team. When guys aren't on the same page, we struggle," Choules pointed out.
(Quotes courtesy of Le Nouvelliste)
Roster News
After spending the previous weekend with Trois-Rivieres, Nolan Yaremko was recalled by the Rocket last week. Yaremko was Laval's 13th forward in the weekend home-to-home series against Belleville.
Nicolas Guay returned to action on Friday after being sidelined since October 29th with a lower body injury. The forward has one assist in five games prior to his injury. Last season, Guay had 47 points in 72 matches.
Matthew Boucher missed both games against the Thunder with an upper body injury and is being evaluated day-to-day. In 17 games, the 25-year old has obtained 26 points.
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League Imposes Deadline for Sale
The sale of the Trois-Rivieres Lions from Deacon Sports & Entertainment (DSE) to Leal Sports and Entertainment (LSE) seems to be at a standstill. The two groups were in Savannah, Georgia for the ECHL Board of Governors meeting during the All-Star Classic for the vote of approval of the sale of the Lions and Newfoundland Growlers but it did not materialize.
Francois Vaillancourt, general manager of the city of Trois-Rivieres noted during a press conference that the ECHL reached out to the city on Wednesday to advise that the Board of Governors were not able to proceed with the vote.
"It is very difficult for me to speculate anything since we were not there. It's just third-hand information that we got yesterday," Vaillancourt said on Thursday when asked about the delay of the transaction being completed.
Prior to the start of the season, the city was owed approximately $550,000 for unpaid rent by DSE and their share of ticket sales. The amount has now reached to around $900,000 as rent has not been paid since the start of the season. The city has a $650,000 bank guarantee letter from DSE that they're not planning to use until the end of the season if the debt hasn't been paid.
Ryan Crelin, ECHL commissioner, has imposed a deadline of April 2nd for the two groups to finalize a deal. If the transaction is not completed by that date, the team's future is in danger.
Up Next
The Trois-Rivieres Lions host the Maine Mariners (Boston Bruins) on Friday before heading on the road for back-to-back games against the Adirondack Thunder on Saturday and the Worcester Railers (New York Islanders) on Sunday.
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