Rimouski Oceanic win QMJHL Championship
Monday May 18, 2015
The Rimouski Oceanic are 2015 QMJHL Champions, defeating the Quebec Remparts 2-1 in the second overtime of Game 7 as Michael Joly scored the difference maker just 2:13 into the fifth frame.
The Oceanic win their third President Cup after overcoming a 4-1 deficit in Game 6 at the Colisee Pepsi to win 5-4 behind Jan Kostalek’s early overtime winner to force Game 7 back at the Colisée Financière Sun Life.
Rimouski took a 1-0 lead in Game 7 on a first period powerplay goal from Florida Panthers prospect Christopher Clapperton. His 12th of the playoffs came with assists from Joly and leading scorer Alexis Loiseau at the 12-minute mark.
The Remparts would answer back with a goal off the stick of Nikolas Brouillard just under four minutes later to knot the score at one heading into the first intermission.
The scoresheet would remain clear for more than 60 minutes as the two clubs played four periods of 1-1 hockey, with both goaltenders providing big saves.
Rimouski goaltender Philippe Desrosiers steered his club into the second overtime, making 46 saves through 80 minutes of play while Quebec’s Zach Fucale provided a few game savers of his own.
The Oceanic took to the powerplay for the second time in the game early in the second overtime and made no mistake. 19 year-old forward Michael Joly scored his 12th of the postseason to give the Oceanic their first QMJHL title since 2005.
Rimouski enters the 97th MasterCard Memorial Cup in Quebec City as QMJHL Champions as they’ll square off with the host Quebec Remparts again on Wednesday May 27.
The Oceanic will be competing in their fourth MasterCard Memorial Cup and first since 2009 when they were event hosts.
The Quebec Remparts host the 2015 MasterCard Memorial Cup, returning to the national championship for the first time since 2006.
The 2015 MasterCard Memorial Cup gets underway on Friday May 22 when the Remparts host the WHL Champion Kelowna Rockets.