Things didn’t go the way of the Gatineau Olympiques on Tuesday night, losing 3-2 to the Saint John Sea Dogs at TD Station. Ventsislav Shingarov made a whopping 42 saves for Saint John in a heroic effort, keeping the Sea Dogs from the brink of elimination, as the series now stands at 2-1 for Gatineau.
Kidney posted an assist on the Olympiques’ first goal of the game, but from that point, Shingarov was a brick wall, and Gatineau could only manage one more on him late in the game with their own net empty.
19 – 12 – 72 – 🚨
GAT | 1-1 | SNB #goOLgo♠️ pic.twitter.com/nCL1OFMd3x
— Olympiques de Gatineau (@OlympiquesGAT) April 4, 2023
“We weren’t ready. We took them lightly,” said Kidney of the surprising loss. Saint John was the final team to qualify for the playoffs, and weren’t expected to offer much resistance to the powerhouse Olympiques, who had finished fourth overall in the QMHL for the regular season.
I also asked him about missing out on the World Juniors in his home town due to injury, and whether that motivated him toward his torrid scoring pace in the second half of the year.
“That was a big personal loss for me,” said Kidney. “It gave me a little fire to push even harder to show everyone how good I can be.”
But that fire was actionable thanks to some strong progress in the way he generates offence. “Montreal kind of told me to attack the middle; that’s where the danger happens. I knew last year I was more of a perimeter player, looking for the pretty plays, but this year I’ve really tried to work on attacking the middle.”
As for what’s in store next year: “The ultimate goal is to make Montreal,” said Kidney. “I’ll be completely fine with Laval – happy. I know I need to work on a few things in my game and I think that’s a great spot for me.”
Listen to the podcast below to hear my full thoughts on Kidney’s progress, the game in question, as well as the full unedited interview. Don’t forget to subscribe on your favourite platform, as we’re back to full speed ahead on our podcast content at EOTP.
