2012 MasterCard Memorial Cup: Dubeau gets call for Cataractes

SHAWINIGAN, Que. — After a month's worth of speculating, Shawinigan Cataractes coach Eric Veilleux finally named his starter for the opening game of the Memorial Cup.

The head coach told reporters Friday morning that17-year-old goaltender Alex Dubeau would start later that night against the Edmonton Oil Kings, rather than overage netminder Gabriel Girard.

The host Cataractes were eliminated in the second round of the QMJHL playoffs, so Veilleux had a lot of time to weigh his options.

"After playoffs I sat down with the two of them and I told them I wasn't sure about who was going to start (at the Memorial Cup)," said Veilleux after their morning skate. "Both of them had good playoff games and both of them played well the whole season. I told them I felt very comfortable playing either of them.

"It came down to my decision and Alex had good practices and worked hard — (Girard) too — I figured Alex was the man for today."

Dubeau was in net for the Cataractes when they were ousted by the Chicoutimi Sagueneens in Game 7, where he gave up three goals on 17 shots. The diminutive 5-foot-9, 160-pound goaltender said he found out on Thursday that he'd get another shot at redemption.

"It was OK for me," said Dubeau. "I had the time to train myself with the team. I was ready for both situations — being the reliever for (Girard) — we're good buddies so it was OK."

Dubeau said the lengthy downtime prior to the tournament was difficult in terms of preparing for the kinds of high quality (and quantity) shots he'll be facing from Edmonton. However, at the end of the day, he said his job is still the same.

"As a goalie there's a lot of pressure, but I have to put that aside," said Dubeau. "No matter who the other team is, you have to stop the puck. I'm going to be ready for the game and I hope it's going to be a good game for us.

"Stop the puck — that's my main goal."

Sunaya Sapurji is the Junior Hockey Editor at Yahoo! Sports.
Email: sunaya@yahoo-inc.com | Twitter @Sunayas