Chicoutimi Saguenéens — Shawinigan Cataractes: 2:5, QMJHL

Sagueneens (Chicoutimi) played host to Shawinigan Cataractes in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League on 18 September 2026, and the visitors came away with a 3:1 victory. The result drew a blank for the home side in their opening game of the campaign.

We had backed the hosts, giving them 54 per cent confidence, but the match took a different shape. By then the visitors had already shown they could control territory, and the goal difference told the real story.

The Sagueneens sat ninth on the table with a single game played, while Shawinigan occupied fourth after ten outings. To be fair, the visitors had been through more than most, and that experience showed when the game opened up.

Recent form suggested the home side could be dangerous — they had won 5:0 and 7:1 in their last two matches — but this fixture followed a different pattern. The visitors had struggled recently, losing 0:5 and 0:4 in their previous two outings, yet they switched off at the back just enough to let the tie slip.

The scoreline leaves the Sagueneens still searching for their first points, while Shawinigan extend their tally to 0 points across ten games. The history between them adds an edge, and neither side can afford another slip if they want to climb away from the bottom of the table.