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Remparts rebound to eliminate Rimouski and reach Memorial Cup semifinal

Remparts rebound to eliminate Rimouski and reach Memorial Cup semifinal

QUEBEC CITY — When Frederik Gauthier was drafted by the Rimouski Oceanic in 2011, it was general manager Philippe Boucher who welcomed him to the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League.

Some four years later, it was almost fitting that it was Boucher – now the GM and coach of the Quebec Remparts – who was the first to hug Gauthier at the end of his accomplished junior career.

The Remparts beat the QMJHL-champion Oceanic 5-2 in the tiebreaker of the Memorial Cup to end their season and send them back to Rimouski. Host Quebec will now face the WHL-champion Kelowna Rockets in the semifinal on Friday evening. The winner of that game will play on Sunday in the final against the undefeated Oshawa Generals, the champions from Ontario.

It was the 19th meeting between the Remparts and Oceanic this season, which included a thrilling seven-game President’s Cup final that was won by Rimouski in a thrilling double-overtime Game 7.

“They know us inside out,” said Remparts goalie Zach Fucale, who made 30 saves in Thursday’s win. “It’s obviously a huge rivalry and it was a battle until the end.”

The Oceanic also bested Quebec on Wednesday night in order to force the tiebreaker.

“It feels wrong,” said Gauthier, a Toronto Maple Leafs prospect, of being on the losing end. “It was better when we win, but I think they deserved it. They played hard and I wish them the best of luck.

“Yes, there’s a big rivalry, but in the end we respect them and they respect us.”

As coach and GM, Boucher has done a formidable job of building the Remparts. He was well versed considering he was also the architect of the Oceanic, the man who brought in many of the players he defeated on Thursday night, along with head coach Serge Beausoleil.

Boucher remembers picking up Czech defenceman Jan Kostalek from the airport when the import first arrived in Canada. The Winnipeg Jets draft pick didn’t know a word of English and was completely reliant on Boucher.

“They couldn’t clear him at customs because he couldn’t fill out the piece of paper,” said Boucher. “He came home to me and my wife and we took care of him.

“Kostelek is coming to my house when this is over after the tournament.”

Oceanic defender Samuel Morin remembers working as waiter at a golf tournament run by his father and serving Boucher. The youngster was so in awe of waiting on Boucher, a former NHLer, that his hands were shaking while delivering the meal.

“I convinced a lot of those guys to take the junior route,” said Boucher, before the game. “I spent a lot of time with the kids and their families – there’s a high level of respect. That being said, it’s a competition.”

That competition also included a heavy dose of gamesmanship on Wednesday night when Boucher publically criticized QMJHL director of officiating Richard Trottier and referees Olivier Gouin and Jonathan Alarie. He said he had asked Trottier to remove Gouin from calling Remparts games at the Memorial Cup because of a perceived bias against the team.

“I’ll apologize to Richard Trottier and Mr. Gouin in due time,” said Boucher. “I told my players last year when I first got here that when things are going well they would get all the credit – they deserve it, they sell the tickets. When the heat would be on our team I would try to take it as much as I can. I think it was appropriate to do it yesterday – but I guess I went too far.”

As a result of his comments, Boucher and the Remparts were fined $10,000 by the Canadian Hockey League.

“I told my daughter there’s no vacation this summer,” Boucher said jokingly in the post-game press conference.

Officials from the OHL and WHL worked the tiebreaker game, and the Remparts received the first three power plays of the game. They scored on the third one to take a lead they would never surrender. They finished the game 1-for-4 with the man advantage, while Rimouski went 1-for-3.

More importantly for the Remparts was the goal production from stars Adam Erne, Anthony Duclair and Jerome Verrier, who had been quiet earlier in the tournament. Most of the Remparts scoring here had come from the blueline – particularly Adam Graves who still leads the team in scoring with five points in four games. Graves played for the Val-d’Or Foreurs in last year’s Memorial Cup and was an offseason acquisition by Boucher.

“It’s a relief that our forwards scored some goals,” said Boucher. “To see them come through with our backs against the wall, they stepped up. I had no doubt they would do it and I’m glad they did.”

The Remparts will get less than 24 hours to relish the victory as they prepare to face Kelowna next. Quebec beat Kelowna 4-3 in the opening game of the round robin and they can’t be lulled into a sense of superiority based on that first game.

"I think we need to expect a better Kelowna team this time," said Fucale. "It was the first game for everyone."

"It’ll be a great game."