LONDON, Ont. – The Anthony Mantha show stepped aside for the Antoine Bibeau clinic in the MasterCard Memorial Cup opener.
The Val-d’Or Foreurs rode their goaltender to a 1-0 win over the host London Knights on Friday. Bibeau was spectacular, stopping 51 shots for a shutout win which now means the Foreurs can breathe a little easier going into two days off before their next game against the Guelph Storm on Monday.
“To be honest, [I can’t] even count on two hands the amount of performances like that that he gave us in the playoffs,” Mantha said of his goaltender. “He won games by himself.”
Bibeau’s highlight reel included several stops in the early going of the game when the Knights were pressing. For a team that hadn’t played in more than a month, London had a lot of jump but just wasn’t able to find a way to beat the Toronto Maple Leafs draft pick.
Bibeau punched aside a penalty shot from Bo Horvat in the third period and a partial breakaway from captain Chris Tierney.
“The breakaway save on Tierney was the part where I realized that we could have a low-scoring game on our hands,” Knights goaltender Anthony Stolarz said. “I think games like that, as a goalie, you like, and obviously tonight we came out on the wrong end of the scoreboard.”
The Foreurs finished Game 7 of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League championship series on Tuesday. Now they’ll get two valuable days off with the knowledge their tournament will see the playoff round.
“We pull all the pressure off our shoulders and put it on the other teams,” Foreurs coach Mario Durocher said. “At least with one win, we’re assured a tiebreaker. Those two days off will be good to gain some energy and play a better game.”
Why the Foreurs won: It took a few minutes for the Foreurs to get their game legs back after Tuesday’s Game 7, but Bibeau held the fort long enough for his teammates to get going. Bibeau faced several high-grade scoring opportunities early in the game but his saves kept momentum on his side.
The Foreurs rewarded their goalie with a late first-period goal from Mantha. Although outshot 51-28, the Foreurs had their chances and capitalized when Mantha cut in behind Brady Austin and put one behind the outstretched Stolarz.
The Knights took the most direct route to the net with their shots and there weren’t many second-chance opportunities the way Bibeau saw the puck. Val-d’Or was looking more for the perfect passing plays which were often diffused before a shot was taken.
The Foreurs were willing shot blockers and their forwards played a part in the goose egg.
“The guys paid the price, we blocked a lot of shots and Bibeau made the key saves,” Mantha explained.
Why the Knights lost: The Knights didn’t appear rusty and had the jump early in the game. They found seams in the Val-d’Or defence with some passes cutting through the defence but Bibeau was there every time they got a chance.
The Knights played physically and tried intimidating the QMJHL champs around the ice. They tried getting in Mantha’s head by checking him at every occasion, but they weren’t always discreet in picking their spots and often shot themselves in the foot by taking penalties instead.
The one area where they appeared rusty was in their passes. Many of them found the receiving player’s skates or were a foot behind them, in some instances neutralizing what could have been scoring opportunities.
It was a tough loss considering the way they played.
“I think we have a lot of positives to build off,” Stolarz said.
Player of the Game: Although Mantha scored the game’s only goal, a lesser goalie and the Foreurs aren’t walking away with a win. Bibeau was considered a surprise to outsiders when he was named the QMJHL playoffs MVP. The secret’s out now.
Quote of the day: As good as Bibeau was in the game, he was nearly beat on a dump-in off a faceoff in the Knights’ zone when the game was still scoreless. Bibeau was watching the replay on the scoreboard and tracked the puck just in time, dropping his stick by his feet to prevent a strange goal.
“I think he was looking at the clock and there was a delay on the replay,” Durocher said. “It’s going to be a good lesson. He made the save. I don’t think he’ll do it [again], he’s smart enough.”