The Lions Lose to the Railers
October 26, 2022 – ECHL (ECHL) – Trois-Rivieres Lions News Release
Back at the Colisée Vidéotron for the next five games, the Lions were looking to bounce back from a 5-2 loss on Sunday afternoon. Eric Belanger’s team had an extra incentive to win at home for the first time this season, and that was the support of their fans.
From the start of the game, the Lions came out hungry, storming the cage defended by Ken Appleby. William Leblanc and Alex Breton had golden opportunities to put the puck in the back of the net, but Worcester’s goalie was in great shape. However, it was only a matter of time before the felines found the back of the net. Midway through the first period, Anthony Beauregard sent a perfect shot into the top corner to give the hosts the lead. Unfortunately for the fans in attendance at the Colisée Vidéotron, the Railers quickly responded with two goals in just 15 seconds. Reece Newkirk scored on a return to tie the game, while Steve Jandric made a nice one-on-one play to make it 2-1 in favour of the visitors.
Trailing by one goal, Eric Belanger’s team went forward to try to tie the game. Jonathan Joannette came close to tying the game on a two-on-one run, but Ken Appleby made a great save. The Railers immediately countered and Bobby Butler beat Joe Vrbetic with a precise shot into the bottom of the net to make it 3-1. Minutes later, the Lions got back into the game with Colin Bilek. The forward took advantage of a power play to beat Ken Appleby with a devastating shot into the top of the net for his third goal of the season. With less than four minutes left in the second period, Nolan Vesey took advantage of Joe Vrbetic’s lapses to send the visitors into the locker room with a two goal lead.
After giving up four goals on 15 shots, Joe Vrbetic was replaced by Philippe Desrosiers for the start of the third period. The Railers wasted no time in welcoming #30 by capitalizing on a two-on-one run. Bobby Butler accepted a clever pass from teammate Steve Jandric for his second goal of the game. William Leblanc tried to give the Lions hope by making it 5-3 midway through the period, but too little too late, the Railers escaped with a 6-3 win on an empty net goal.
Eric Belanger’s team lost for the second time in a row in front of their fans at Colisée Vidéotron. The Trifluvians will have the chance to bounce back quickly as they face the Newfoundland Growlers on Friday at 7:00 pm.
• Discuss this story on the ECHL message board…
The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.
