It’s only the preseason, but Patrick Roy is already in playoff form.

Quebec Remparts head coach Patrick Roy was ejected from the team’s 6-3 win over the Shawinigan Cataractes on Saturday.

It wasn’t a penalty that got him, but a non-call on possible obstruction on Quebec’s Nathan Gaucher.  Roy unloaded on referee Nicolas Dutil, who fired right back with the ejection, with 39 seconds remaining in the first period.

This isn’t the first time Roy and Dutil have crossed paths.  The Quebec bench boss was critical of the officials working their 2022 President’s Cup series against the Cataractes – particularly Dutil, who worked Game 4, and referee Olivier Gouin, who handled Games 3 and 5.  Gouin was the second official working Saturday’s game.

Game 5 of the playoff series between the Remparts and Cataractes saw a late penalty called on Quebec’s Vsevolod Komarov with 1:09 remining.  Shawinigan’s Pierrick Dubé scored just 23 seconds later to give the Cataractes the lead; they held on to win the game and the series.

“As I told my players, I don’t feel I’m getting the same treatment as other coaches around the league,” Roy said, as reported by Yahoo Sports. “That’s why I try to do as little talking as possible during games. I thought it was funny that the league put us against Shawinigan in an exhibition game. They were tactless.”

“Maybe I’m the one who’s going to have to do a mea culpa, look in the mirror and find a way to digest it,” Roy said. “It was fine up to that point, but when I saw them on the ice, I had a hard time understanding. Maybe I didn’t have the right attitude when I left, maybe I should have put it aside, but that’s not the type of person I am.

“In my good years, the stick rack would have been flying back. Today I’m trying to stay calmer. I’ll have to get over it. Maybe it will have done some good, what happened tonight.”

Dutil also hit Quebec’s Nathan Gaucher with a misconduct penalty in the third period for arguing the slashing call on Charles Savoie.

Of course, the battle between Roy and the officials has been going on for years…  all the way up to his comments against QMJHL Director of Officiating Richard Trottier.

We don’t anticipate that ending anytime soon.

 

Quebec won the game 6-3.  Referees were Nic Dutil (#25) and Olivier Gouin (#7), with linesmen Jean-Sébastien Dupré (#77) and Antoine Huot (#89).