Shawinigan Cataractes vs Sherbrooke Phoenix

A tight-checking first period ended scoreless, with neither team finding a breakthrough despite solid chances at both ends.

Sherbrooke broke the deadlock 16 minutes into the second period. Charles-Alexis Haye finished from close range after Eliot Nolette-Robidoux created the opening, sending the Phoenix into the second intermission with a 1-0 lead.

The Phoenix doubled their advantage five minutes into the third period. Émile Gingeleskie converted off feeds from Riley Harvey and Brady Delarosbil, making it 2-0 and putting Shawinigan on the ropes.

The Cataractes responded within two minutes. Pierre-Alexandre Lemieux — who starred in pre-season with a three-point outing against Drummondville — halved the deficit at 7:00 of the third, finishing a setup from Jacob Bergeron to make it 2-1.

With time winding down and Shawinigan pressing, Chad Lygitsakos levelled the score at 18:00, sweeping home after Lemieux and Samuel Boyer worked the puck into the danger zone. The Cataractes had erased a two-goal deficit in 13 minutes.

Just 21 seconds into overtime, Volodymyr Shtyrhunov stepped onto the ice on the power play and fired the winner — unassisted — sending the Shawinigan bench into celebration.

Lygitsakos' equaliser at 18:00 of the third period. Sherbrooke had weathered Shawinigan's push after Lemieux's goal and seemed poised to reach overtime with momentum — but Lygitsakos struck with just 2:00 left in regulation, flipping the game's psychology decisively. It set the stage for a short overtime where Shawinigan carried all the momentum.

• Pierre-Alexandre Lemieux (Shawinigan): 1 goal, 1 assist — the pre-season standout continued his strong form, scoring the vital 1-2 goal and setting up Lygitsakos' equaliser. He now has 2 goals and 3 assists across his last three games.
• Chad Lygitsakos (Shawinigan): 1 goal — the 19-year-old centerman delivered the tying goal at 18:00 of the third period, his first regular-season point of 2026-27. Lygitsakos was named QMJHL Prospect of the Week during the 2025-26 season.
• Volodymyr Shtyrhunov (Shawinigan): The OT winner 21 seconds into extra time on the power play. A clinical finish to cap the comeback.
• Charles-Alexis Haye (Sherbrooke): Opened the scoring in the second period and was a consistent offensive threat for the Phoenix.

Player of the match: Pierre-Alexandre Lemieux (Shawinigan Cataractes).

The scoreboard shows a 3-2 final, but the story is in the sequence. Shawinigan managed only one shot through the opening 25 minutes of the third period before finding two goals in a 13-minute window — a remarkable conversion rate under pressure. Sherbrooke controlled much of the second period and early third, but the Phoenix could not close out the game with a two-goal cushion, conceding twice in the final 13 minutes of regulation and then on the first meaningful possession of overtime.

The match was played at Colisée Denis-Morel in La Tuque rather than either team's home barn — part of the QMJHL's 50th Anniversary Tour — which added a neutral-site dynamic to an already heated rivalry. The venue shift may have contributed to the slow start from both sides in a scoreless first period.

Shawinigan starts the regular season 1-0-0-0 and has won three straight dating back to pre-season (including the 5-1 win over Drummondville on 21 August). The Cataractes finished fourth in the Western Conference last season (35-29-0, 76 points from 64 games) and will look to build on that platform.

Sherbrooke opens at 0-1-0-0. The Phoenix placed fifth in the Western Conference in 2025-26 (33-31-0, 71 points) and this defeat — particularly the blown two-goal lead — is an early lesson for a side that will need to improve its closing ability.

Next fixtures: Shawinigan Cataractes visit the Rimouski Océanic on 29 August (another 50th Anniversary Tour game, also in La Tuque). Sherbrooke Phoenix host the Moncton Wildcats on 30 August at Centre Gervais Auto in Sherbrooke.

A fitting spectacle for the league's 50th anniversary — a neutral-site thriller that showcased Shawinigan's resilience and Sherbrooke's inability to close out. Lemieux's two-point night suggests he will be a central figure in Shawinigan's offence this season. For the Phoenix, the lesson is painful but early: a two-goal lead is never safe in this rivalry.