It was the first time that event took place in Laval.

Three matches per day were scheduled between the teams of Stephen F. Austin, Quinnipiac, Montana State, UNCG, MTSU, and Hofstra.

“We know Montreal and Laval are basketball fans,” said Emilio Zaga Mendez, brand manager at Evenko. “We hope it becomes a recurring event every year.”

MTSU Stands Out

All six teams played three matches during the weekend.

MTSU was the only perfect team, winning its three matches. It first defeated Hofstra by a score of 64-54, then registered a convincing 75-63 victory over Stephen F. Austin the next day. The team concluded its weekend by winning a close 72-71 battle against Montana State.

Quinnipac and Hofstra finished the weekend with two wins and one loss. Hofstra also signed a 72-70 win in the game between the two teams, despite a late comeback from Quinnipac. It was also the last game of the event.

The other three universities competing, UNCG (1-2), Stephen F. Austin (1-2) and Montana State (0-3), all when back home with negative records.

Those were sanctioned games by the NCAA. They will thus influence the qualification of each of those teams for the post-season tournament.

translated by Alec Brideau

L’article Place Bell Brings Many Smiles with NCAA Basketball Showdown est apparu en premier sur Courrier Laval news.

That foundation, Le BUT, is mostly an idea of Pierre Gendron, director of operations and president of Sports Rousseau – Groupe Gendron 3.0, and his colleagues.

The goal of the foundation is quite simple, as there’s no membership needed like some other foundations.

People wanting to help young people who can’t afford to buy equipment and play hockey can go to a Sports Rousseau store and drop off their hockey items in a red box identified in this regard, as explained in a press release.

Gendron was visibly moved by the official launch of the foundation. A video about him, showing clips of him younger, playing hockey and sharing beautiful moments with his loved ones, was also shown on a screen at the start of the conference.

“Like we saw in the video, it’s because of my mom and my love for hockey that I’m here today,” Gendron said. “My mom’s no longer with us now, but I want to thank her. She gave me everything. She made sure I didn’t notice anything. We weren’t rich, but I never noticed that. She worked very hard, had to do a lot for my registrations and often found me someone to drop me off and pick me up at games and practices.”

Joël Bouchard, former head coach of many junior and professional hockey teams, in addition to having had other important roles in the domain, concluded the press conference nicely.

“It’s now our job to help those young people,” said Bouchard. “When this press conference is over, I will go shopping and buy some items to put in the box. Today, I am a lucky man to be here and to be able to give back. The simple fact of that I know the equipment I’m going to buy will end up somewhere in Quebec, and help a young person to have an extraordinary experience, as we’ve had, us here, that gives me chills.”

L’article New Foundation to Help Young People Play Hockey est apparu en premier sur Courrier Laval news.

“I think it’s a little bit arrogant to give a precise position, but we want to finish as high as possible in the standings this year,” said team’s head coach Boubacar Coulibaly. “Our goal is to take control of every game in order to win, and we’re not afraid of anyone in the league.”

The FC Laval lost its first 7 games last year, but concluded the season with 7 wins in its last 10 battles, while having one of the youngest rosters in the PLSQ.

“You have to give the players credit because they have developed much faster than what I was expecting,” Coulibaly said.

Laval’s team already made sure to make it a better start this season with a 1-1 draw against the Celtix du Haut-Richelieu in its opening game, before defeating the Royal-Sélect de Beauport 2-1. Coulibaly’s team showed resilience by scoring its two goals in the last five minutes of play.

“The content of our games is very satisfying,” the head coach ensures. “[…] We can’t ask for much more than what our players gave. I think the results should have favored us a bit more.”

Youth

At its beginning in 2021, the FC Laval had a plan in mind, which was to offer as much playing time as possible to its young athletes in order to help them climb the ladder of the soccer world.

Again this year, a dozen of players from the first team are aged from 18 to 20. They’re helped by a few veterans, including Wandrille Lefebvre, who played with the Montreal Impact (now CF Montréal) in the MLS, and Adama Makan Sissoko.

“The way they’re preparing for practices and matches is pushing our young players to pay attention and look at how we manage a week of work,” Coulibaly pointed out when talking about his two veterans. “They’re examples and models who want to get closer to our young players. We’re really lucky to have them.”

The presence of many young athletes also allows the Laval coach to establish a game system that puts a lot of pressure on the opposite team.

“We have a team with very technical players who are moving forward quickly,” he said. “We like to have the ball, but often, we’re going toward the offensive zone really quickly. Sometimes, we can also let them have the ball, and decide to go take it at a specific time in order to dictate the rhythm.”

New Arrival

The PLSQ is counting on 12 teams for the 2022 season. Among them, there’s the arrival of the CF Montréal reserve team, which is playing in the MLS.

“That arrival is a very good thing for us,” Coulibaly said. “It will be a young and well-organized team. It’s also a partner of the FC Laval. It will allow them to see that there are some good young players in the league.”

translated by Alec Brideau

L’article The FC Laval is Aiming for the Top for the 2022 Season est apparu en premier sur Courrier Laval news.