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Rimouski coach Beausoleil claims Quebec coach Boucher "can't handle pressure", Boucher provides examples why he's wrong

Mike Sanderson
·Mike Sanderson
Rimouski coach Serge Beausoleil said Sunday that Quebec coach Philippe Boucher can't handle pressure after his Oceanic dropped a 5-2 decision to Boucher's Remparts. (Remi Senechal / CP)
Rimouski coach Serge Beausoleil said Sunday that Quebec coach Philippe Boucher can't handle pressure after his Oceanic dropped a 5-2 decision to Boucher's Remparts. (Remi Senechal / CP)

Philippe Boucher

has to be feeling pretty good. After a somewhat shaky start to the season, the 2015 Memorial Cup hosts Quebec Remparts swept their five-game home-stand with a 5-2 win over the league-leading Rimouski Oceanic in a hard-fought and tough game Sunday afternoon.

Then this happened.

Now, Rimouski head coach and GM Serge Beausoleil was probably a bit miffed for several reasons. He will probably lose his star defenceman Samuel Morin for a while after Morin took a puck to the jaw that led to a lot of blood on the ice. His team committed six penalties while the Remparts, who scored twice on those six attempts, committed only two. His team and the Remparts exchanged some bad blood on the way out the door, as two rivals and good teams usually do.

One thing not listed in the preceding paragraph: anything to do with the Remparts head coach and GM Boucher, though that didn’t stop Beausoleil from turning his mouth on blast, saying that Boucher doesn’t know how to "handle pressure" (second tweet above).

Boucher went on to defend himself diplomatically, giving us maybe the most diplomatic response to criticism in the history of the QMJHL, as you see in the video below (fun begins around 2:14):

 

Translated, Boucher says:

During my hockey career I’ve played and been under some intense pressure. When Jacques Tremblay called me a year and a half ago, I had double the pressure, replace Patrick Roy, and coach in the Memorial Cup. For someone who can’t handle pressure…[...] I heard what he said. Sometimes we want to bring people to the arena by saying things we don’t mean so I’m going to watch what I say. I have a lot of respect for Serge and for the hockey team there. When you question if someone can handle pressure in junior hockey, sometimes you have to look at that person’s track record first.

Spoken like a coach who is truly content with his team’s five-game winning streak. Nothing can burst his bubble. So, for fun, let’s look at Boucher’s track record.

Boucher was Beausoleil’s boss for two seasons, including 2011-12, the first for both men as the Oceanic went to the league finals, losing to the Saint John Sea Dogs. Boucher left Rimouski in 2013 to return to his hometown of Quebec City and become coach and GM of the Remparts, filling in the shoes of Patrick Roy. Beausoleil was ultimately promoted to GM while keeping the coach’s role.

Boucher steered the Remparts to a 39-17-0-12 record last season, while falling to the Rouyn-Noranda Huskies in the first round of the playoffs. For his first ever foray behind a bench, that's not bad.

It’s also not the first time Beausoleil has tried to get at opposing coaches with the media. In 2013, he tried to fire up Gatineau Olympiques coach Benoît Groulx, saying his players were diving to get calls.

Keep in mind, Boucher played 16 seasons as a defenceman in the NHL with four teams, and won a Stanley Cup in his 16th and last season with the Pittsburgh Penguins. The man is no stranger to playoff hockey or pressure environments.

Two games down, six to go for the Oceanic and the Remparts in the regular season. Both teams should be battling for top spot in the QMJHL this season, so it won’t be the last you hear of Beausoleil and Boucher.

Circle the calendar, the next game is Nov. 30 in Rimouski.