Remparts de Tours II Too Much for Tornado Luxembourg

22 February 2014

On February 22nd the Remparts de Tours II hosted the Tornado Luxembourg for the first playoff game of the season, where the Tornado Luxembourg were resoundingly defeated 9-3 by their guest. The 300 spectators that attended the game saw a very close one until the third period. The Tornados won the second period and went into the third period with a score of 3-4. However, the Tornados couldn't keep up the level until the end and stumbled in the last period, which they lost 0-5.

The first period was in the hands of the home team. Norbert Perinet opened the scoring for the hosts at 16:22 on a pass by Naoki Kaneko and Bastien Quinsac. Only 2 minutes later, Bastien Quinsac added another goal to the sheet after being assisted by Mathieu Pasquier and Timothy Puren. At the end of the first, the score was 2-0, giving the home team the lead.

The visiting team stayed in the game and managed to cut down the deficit, but their opponent found a way to protect the lead. At 25:55, Jérémy Adet scored another goal for the Remparts de Tours II on a feed from Bastien Quinsac. 4 minutes after the puck last crossed the goal line, Colm Cannon scored the 3-1 after being assisted by Sacha Backes. Bastien Quinsac of the Remparts de Tours II scored the 4-1 at 36:40 on an assist by Naoki Kaneko. Colm Cannon of the Tornado Luxembourg scored the 4-2 at 37:35. Another goal came at 39:47, when Gilles Biver scored for the guests. With 2 periods played, the score was 4-3.

The hosts proved to be the better team and held on to their lead throughout the last period. The 5-3 was scored by Bryan Leveque. The hosts kept the momentum on their side, as Judicael Xavier scored only 2 minutes later. Judicael Xavier put another goal on the sheet for the hosts at 47:00. Another goal followed quickly after, as Mathieu Pasquier scored another one for his team. The hosts continued their run, as Jérémy Adet scored the 9-3 on a feed from Flavien Habatjou and Judicael Xavier. The teams were heading home with a 9-3 score.

"We were giving up too early in the third period and stopped fighting. In a game like that, where everybody needs to play at his best, you're getting punished for every mistake and you can lose the game within a couple of minutes. That's what happened. As a team, we weren't playing our best hockey for a few minutes and didn't stick to the game plan, and that's what cost us the game. But we can most definitely beat them at home if we stick to the plan and keep working hard.", said Gilles Mangen of the Tornado Luxembourg.

Best scorers of the game were Bastien Quinsac and Mathieu Pasquier with 4 points each. For the Tornado Luxembourg, tonight's game was not a reflection of their usual offensive and defensive standard. Another notable fact is that the Tornados were missing several players, among which were first line defense-man and captain Ronny Scheier, Teemu Hinkula, Bob Schneider, Philippe Lepage, David Donzel, Georges Scheier and Emil Folkesson.

The next playoff game, which will be the last of this series, will be played at the Patinoire Kockelscheuer on March 8th. The Tornados will try to win it in front of the home crowd, which is without a doubt a manageable thing, but have to win with at least 6 goals difference in order to compensate this loss and make it to the next round. The Tornados need EVERYBODY to come and support the team, for this very important game, which might be the last of the season!

Pictures of the game can be found here:
http://www.lesrempartsdetours.com/galerie/index.php?/category/268