LNAH Round 1 Game of the Night.

Jonquiere and Thetford staved off elimination, and the intrigue continued with Saint-George and Quebec, but Laval and Saint-Hyacinthe have solidified their position as the matchup of the first round, and Saturday night in the Maskoutatins was no exception.

A near full house at Stade L.P. Gaucher saw the Batallion even up the series at two games each, in yet another nail biting 1 goal difference. 

Saint-Hyacinthe jumped on the board early when Mathieu Brisbois rifled one home just 1:05 into the contest. Most of the first period would belong to the home team as Laval seemed to stumble out of the gate and Saint-Hyacinthe took advantage, creating scoring opportunities, breakaways and plenty of chaos in front of the Laval net. At the other end of the ice, Zachary Bouthillier’s sense of calm anchored a steady, stingy defense. 

Laval would eventually find the scoresheet when Emile Poirier snuck one past Bouthillier short side during a power play. The Batallion, however, would respond just 10 seconds later, when Cedrick Chagnon put his team back in the lead. The opening period would finish at 2-1 for the home team.

Period 2 saw the Petroliers emerge having found their legs. The teams traded intense scoring opportunities and showed more of the feistiness that fans have come to realize between these two teams. Hot play by both netminders kept the game close despite the rapid change of pace in the game. The lone goal of the period came from Louick Marcotte during a 5 on 3 Power Play with 5:49 to play in the period.

Period 3 saw continued strong play with neither team taking a foot off the gas pedal. The game appeared to finally be in hand until late in the period  when David Chevrier went to the box for hooking with just under 4 minutes to play. Laval would pull Ilya Ejov for a sustained 6 on 4 fury which came up short, but set the tone for the ensuing 6 on 5 marker  with just 38 seconds left. 

The series is now tied at 2 games each, with every game decided by just one goal, and two of them coming in OT. 

Attendance was impressive an included a vocal contingent from Laval, who could be heard chanting for the visitors on numerous occasions 

Zachary Bouthilliier made several highlight reel, game saving stops in the second frame, including one from point blank range at 6:57, that left the Laval shooter in hands-on-the-head-disbelief. 

These two teams have maintained the regular season physical intensity throughout the series, and Saturday was no different. Fans were treated to Dany Potvin and Andrew Smith dropping the gloves in the opening period, several smaller skirmishes, and plenty of Zach Gavel doing Zack Gavel things.

The series returns to Laval Wednesday night for game 5, which will leave one team eyeing a series win.