The Gatineau Olympiques are behind the eight ball in the 2008 MasterCard Memorial Cup but no one was saying uncle after Monday's 6-3 loss to the Belleville Bulls.
The Olympiques showed glimpses of what made them successful in the Québec Major Junior Hockey League playoffs but it wasn't enough on Monday.
Gatineau was a strong team in the playoffs through their work ethic and opportunistic play. Unfortunately for the team, the chances haven't been as frequent but there's still reason to believe this team can survive past Tuesday's game against the Spokane Chiefs.
The Olympiques got a lot from their top line of Claude Giroux, Matthew Pistilli and Paul Byron in their playoff run. Late in Monday's game, Giroux and Byron were playing with Alex Quesnel and were generating scoring chances.
While the 6-3 final might indicate this game wasn't close, nothing is further from the truth. Both Benoit Groulx and George Burnett, head coach and general managers of the two teams, spoke about how even the game was in the post-game press conference.
After falling behind 2-0, Gatineau stormed back to tie the game but never led in the see-saw battle against Belleville. In fact, Gatineau has never led in the tournament which is hard to believe coming from a team with such offensive firepower.
The first period against Spokane on Tuesday will be crucial. When Gatineau was at their best in the playoffs, their offence got things started early and often. The Olympiques jumped on a lot of teams by scoring early and keeping the foot on the gas pedal, often running away with convincing wins. So far in this tournament, we have just seen small glimpses of this with their best effort possibly still yet to come.
The fact of the matter is this Memorial Cup tournament is so difficult to predict because momentum is one of the biggest determining factors. Momentum can be a team's biggest ally and in Gatineau's case, they'll need it to save their season.
Gatineau hasn't earned the breaks and I know some of the viewers from other parts of the country might not be sold on their overall team talent. But if Gatineau finds a way to get a lead, especially early in the game, they could keep their Memorial Cup hopes alive.
