C8

Peter Assaff
Canadaeast news Service

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BATHURST - Remi Blanchard helped the Acadie-Bathurst Titan dodge a bullet on Friday night, when he scored the winner in a 5-4 shootout win over the Chicoutimi Sagueneens in Quebec Major Junior Hockey League action in front of just 1,096 fans at the K. C. Irving Regional Centre in Bathurst.

The 19-year-old defenceman was the eighth and final shooter, and the only player on either team to score in the shootout when his shot hit Chicoutimi goaltender Christopher Gibson and then slowly rolled over the goal line.

It was the second straight home game where the Bas-Caraquet defenceman played the hero for the Titan, after he scored the overtime winner in a 6-5 victory over the Baie-Comeau Drakkar in Acadie-Bathurst's last game at the Irving Centre on Nov. 10.

Derek Famulare scored twice while Taylor Lambke and Eric Faille scored in regulation time for the Titan who squandered a four-goal lead. Dominic Jalbert, Jacob Lagace, Nicholas Deschemps and Alexandre Lavoie replied for Chicoutimi.

The Titan took advantage of a mistake by the Chicoutimi coaching staff to get the game's first goal, at the 2:40 mark of the opening period.

When the Sagueneens submitted their lineup card prior to the game, they neglected to include 18-year-old forward Michal Hlinka. As soon as Hlinka took a shift, he was sent to the dressing room by the referee and Chicoutimi was assessed a two-minute minor. Just 26 seconds into the man advantage, Famulare found a loose puck in a scramble in front of Sagueneens goaltender Christopher Gibson and slid the puck into the empty net for his 11th goal of the season.

Lambke made it 2-0 at the 17:04 mark of the frame when he beat Gibson from in close after getting a pass from Julien Tremblay who stole the puck behind the Chicoutimi net. The Titan increased their lead just 71 seconds later when Famulare walked out from behind the net and slid the puck under Gibson's pad.

Faille made it 4-0 Titan midway through the second period when he elected to shoot on a two-on-one with Famulare and beat Gibson with a shot to the top corner over the Sagueneens goaltenders glove hand.

Chicoutimi finally got on the board while on a power play late in the middle period. Jalbert got credit for the goal, his fourth of the season, when he slid the puck under goaltender Nicholas Champion during a scramble in front of the Titan net.

The third period was all Chicoutimi, who outshot the Titan 13-5 in the frame, and got goals from Lagace, Deschempes and Lavoie, who got the equalizer with just three minutes left in regulation time.

The Titan are back on home-ice today, when they entertain the Cape Breton Screaming Eagles in a 7 p.m. contest at the Irving Centre.