Oceanic Are League Champs

Former Halifax Mooseheads player Matt Murphy is going to regret the penalty he took in double overtime for a long time.

Michael Joly celebrates hit double OT goal
Photo - Vincent Either (QMJHL Twitter)

Murphy was penalized for a tripping call and it gave the Rimouski Oceanic a man advantage, which in overtime is huge. Michael Joly was the hero on the 2 minute 4-on-3, scoring at 2:13 in the 5th frame. This gave the Oceanic a Game 7 victory and were named the 2015 President Cup champions.  

Christopher Clapperton got Rimouski on the board first twelve minutes into the game while Nikolaj Brouillard scored less then 4 minutes later to tie the game. From there it was a goaltending battle as former Herd goalie Zach Fucale of the Quebec Remparts and the Oceanic's Phillipe Desrosiers kept the score tied at 1 a piece. Fucale made 32 saves while Desrosiers made 47 saves. 

The third former Moose player on the Remparts team, Brian Lovell, has seen limited ice time and was not even in last night's match-up. 

Both teams had qualified for the Memorial Cup tournament coming into this series so though Fucale, Murphy and Lovell didn't get a second QMJHL championship they will have a chance to be national champs once again. 

The Memorial Cup will begin on Friday May 22 in Quebec City with the Remparts being hosts. They will face the WHL champion Kelowna Rockets at 7:30 EDT. Rimouski starts their tournament against the OHL champion Oshawa Generals on Saturday at 4:30 EDT.

Congratulations to the Rimouski Oceanic on winning the President's Cup and good luck next week. They will represent our league well. Look back later in the week for Memorial Cup coverage.