“It was a bit special for me to know my father was there, because it was the first time he’d seen me play in the QMJHL,” Mason St-Louis said after the game, Le Soleil reported. Martin St-Louis came to support his 18-year-old son and enjoy the crowd, but he did not get the best show of the season. The Phoenix dropped its fourth straight game, and the Canadiens’ staff, who have made repeated trips to the Palais des sports this season to scout draft-eligible prospects such as Ilya Kolmakov, would not have been impressed by Friday’s outing if any of their scouts were in the stands.
Phoenix’s fourth straight loss despite early chance
Chicoutimi struck twice in the first two periods. Nathan Lecompte opened the scoring in the opening frame and Alexis Toussaint added another in the second. The Saguenéens held on for the win, with Jayden Plouffe adding a late goal in a 6-on-5 situation after goaltender Patriks Plumins had been pulled in search of an equalizer.
Phoenix goaltender Parker Stockseth made a second start. Head coach Gilles Bouchard said the team had an early opportunity on a Samuel Rochon breakaway, and a goal on that sequence could have changed the outcome, but Chicoutimi was simply better. “Our decisions didn’t make sense today,” Bouchard said. “Several guys didn’t play up to par.”
Bouchard acknowledged the losing streak but pointed forward. “We know our club has lost its last games, but we’re looking ahead,” he said. “Some of those games could have gone our way.”
Mason St-Louis returns from training-camp injury
Mason St-Louis, who was injured at Phoenix training camp, played his first game at the Palais des sports last week against the Moncton Wildcats. Friday was only his second home game there and his fifth of the season, because the Canadiens’ schedule — a road trip ending in Dallas on Thursday and a Saturday game at Bell Centre — finally allowed his father to attend.
The 18-year-old forward finished the game at minus-1 and has one assist in five games. He said he has not yet reached his cruising speed. “I want to use my speed a bit more to create space on the ice,” he said. “My goal is to reach the desired effectiveness in all three zones. We play again Sunday, we have to be more consistent over the full 60 minutes. We had a good third period. But we weren’t good enough in the first and second, me first of all. We can build on that going into the next game against the Mooseheads.”
St-Louis said he would have liked to have had a full training camp, but had to make do with the situation. Even while injured, he said, he quickly saw how dedicated the staff was, and his teammates were good to him. “I’m happy to be back playing, especially with such a great group,” he said.
He also noted his father has often been at his side over the years, including as his coach in peewee hockey in the United States.
Chicoutimi’s Loïc Poirier happy to return to Sherbrooke
On the winning side, forward Loïc Poirier, back at the Palais des sports with Chicoutimi against his former club, said he could not have asked for a better return: earning a point in a win against his old team. “It’s good to come back to Sherbrooke, see old friends,” he said. “But once we’re on the ice, we have a job to do. Otherwise everything is going well in Chicoutimi. The leaders welcomed me well. It was easy to fit into the team culture. Tonight we did the right things and worked hard against one of the good teams in the league.”
Phoenix looks to Sunday against Halifax
The Phoenix (2-1 loss, fourth defeat) now turns to Sunday’s home game against the Halifax Mooseheads. Bouchard said Kyan is expected to start in goal Sunday, with Florent Houle’s evaluation done on a daily basis after the team won games without him earlier in the season.
Worth a look
