Redblacks’ Beaulieu eager to face ex-Alouettes teammates

A few months ago, Jean-Christophe Beaulieu was working for the Montreal Alouettes, spreading goodwill in promotional appearances.

On Friday night, the fullback/ tight end will be trying to beat the Alouettes on the football field. The Redblacks traded Patrick Lavoie to the Als in late January to get the 28-year-old Beaulieu, who played four seasons in Montreal.

“It’s odd, but it’s the business,” Beaulieu said. “You have to turn the page — new team, new challenges, new friends, new family.”

It’s going to be a good moment for Beaulieu, who’s anxious to face some longtime former teammates.

“In practice, you go hard, but never as hard as you go in a game,” he said. “I can’t wait to face JS (Jean-Samuel Blanc) and my friends on Montreal. It’s going to be fun.”

Last year, he was part of an Alouettes team that finished with a 3-15 record. He’s happy to get the opportunity in Ottawa.

“We have a quarterback here, that’s a major difference,” Beaulieu said. “Every game we went out, we always wanted to win. But a lot of things happened in Montreal and we had a lot of losses.”

He knows the Alouettes won’t roll over Friday. After two losses to open the season, they beat Saskatchewan last week.

“We’re going there to score more points, to make more plays than Montreal,” Beaulieu said. “We’re going there to beat them. We’re confident. Like everybody saw, we were down in the third and fourth quarter last week (in a loss to Calgary). A lot of things happened. But this is the right time to bounce back — in Montreal.”