Rimouski Oceanic I love our team Serge Beausoleil

Rimouski Oceanic: “I love our team” -Serge Beausoleil

RIMOUSKI – When asked if he was tempted to hold a penalty practice session after his side’s two weak home games last weekend, Océanic head coach Serge Beausoleil replied he wasn’t, which his players didn’t need to do.

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“I like our team. Guys are approachable. We had a very intense practice session on Monday focused on puck protection and forechecking. The guys worked very hard. If they had gone into the weekend’s games half as hard, it would have been different. We found that the guys were still affected by the adjustments due to personnel changes. They needed to calm down and see where they are. Our role is to remind them what their identity is. A hockey team is not instantaneous. That’s 25 young groups that are constantly on the move,” explains the experienced pilot.

The trap of wanting to replace Brunet

Serge Beausoleil believes some of his defenders have fallen into the trap of wanting to replace Frédéric Brunet. “We had three strong defender pairs. With Brunet’s departure, a few more minutes play. We don’t want to have six brunets. We want the boys to play according to their identities. I liked how the guys worked in training this week.”

The Sags come to Rimouski

On Wednesday evening, the Océanic welcomes the Chicoutimi Saguenéens. The Sags will certainly be looking to redeem themselves after a hockey lesson from Océanc on January 3 in a 6-1 loss.

“Yannick Jean has been in the league for a very long time. His teams are always well prepared. He realized that by letting go of Gaudet he had weakened his defenses. He chose guys like Rodinski and Usereau. Crowd is always dangerous. It’s a big challenge for us to find our identity,” commented Serge Beausoleil.

Four injured

The Océanic will do without the services of Jacob Mathieu, Maël St-Denis, Spencer Gill and Mathys Laurent. The first two will be missing for several weeks. Gill will be out for a couple of weeks while Laurent will be out for 7-10 days.

Jan Sprynar wore a powder blue jersey in training on Tuesday to protect him from being touched. “It was intense on Monday. It’s just a preventative measure. Nothing serious,” explained his coach.

Patrik Hamrla will be Océanic’s online confidant.