So.....We beat Rouen???

On Saturday night on l'île Lacroix, in Rouen, we made history! With us matched up against last years Champions of France, a team that possesses 4 of the top 5 scorers in the league, you would think we made history for all the wrong reasons. Perhaps the most goals scored on a team in the history of hockey or first team ever to record zero shots on goal? Well I am happy to say, it was neither. After 9 hours of travel, I am happy to say that we went into Rouen, missing our top 2 centers and top left winger, and beat the best team in the league 7-4!!! Not to mention losing one of our best defensemen Ben Quessandier to an injury in the first period and also our newly appointed 1st line centre Ryan Caicco at the end of the 2nd for "Coup de pied a un joueur" (he kicked a guy). Tough to believe he would kick someone but you never know with these French refs and what they think they see.

The game was kept close the whole night, we went down 3-1 in the second period but responded with 2 quick goals at the end of the period to tie it. On our second goal, Caicco hit me at the right point with a cross ice pass and the left handed Jan Plch read the play well and I was able to hit him backdoor on the left side to a nice tap in goal. Plch scored again 3 minutes later and we found ourselves with a 4 on 3 power play with under a minute left. With 30 seconds left Tarik Chipaux, a 21-year old french player for us, who has yet to record a goal in 2 seasons in Epinal, found himself all alone with the puck on his stick and an open net to shoot at. He paused, then shot and hit the goalie somehow, missing this glorious chance to put us up 4-3 heading into the 3rd. In the dressing room, he was getting a lot of heat from other players for missing that opportunity, even our assistant coach gave him shit for it. He left the room, kicked over a garbage can and returned a few minutes later with tears in his eyes. He was sitting right next to me when he came back into the dressing room, I told him to forget about it and said our best players miss chances like that all the time but the difference with them is that they forget about it and go out and score a goal to make up for it. "So just go out and score this period!"

In the 3rd period, both teams traded goals early and then, with only 4 minutes left to play in the game, off of a rebound, Tarik Chipaux scored his first goal in the Ligue Magnus. He stood behind the net with his hands in the air, just stunned, not yelling, not screaming, just silent and proud. This is coming from the same Tarik Chipaux who threw his stick and gloves in the air in celebration of an OT winner that Peter Slovak scored a week ago, which eventually was disallowed, forcing Tarik to skate into the other team's zone afterwards and pick up his equipment he tossed off.



I believed in him and didn't even get a chance to go celebrate with him in the corner. For me it was more important to go get that puck for him, a goal he will remember for ever. We went on to beat Rouen 7-4, Tarik scored the winning goal, and with that win Les Dauphins d'Epinal made history, beating Les Dragons de Rouen for the first time ever. Even more impressive, it was in their building!