A Perfect Road Trip Closes in Quebec
February 25, 2024 - Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League (QMJHL)
Halifax Mooseheads News Release
It may not have been the prettiest 60 minutes the Mooseheads have played this season, but they were able to find a way to get the job done in Quebec City on Sunday by scoring a pair of third period power play goals to walk away with a 3-2 victory over the Remparts. Lou-Felix Denis tied the game and Peter Reynolds potted the game-winner to help Halifax complete a perfect four-game road trip and send the team back to Nova Scotia with eight more points in the standings.
The Herd took awhile to get going offensively as Eric Veilleux's Remparts were happy to engage in a low-shot, defensive battle. The teams combined for just 40 shots in the game with the Moose holding a 22-18 edge when it was all said and done. Half of those shots came in the final period as the Mooseheads were ahead 13-7 after 40 minutes.
Quebec got on the board first and held a 1-0 lead at the first intermission on a Xavier Lebel power play tally at the 19:25 mark. Lou-Felix Denis put his team in a hole when he took a penalty 200 feet from his own net when he slashed the glove hand of Remparts goalie Vincent Filion after the whistle.
The red-hot Mathieu Cataford managed to pull the visiting Mooseheads even on the scoreboard 7:12 into the second stanza when he sniped with pinpoint accuracy on the short-side after taking a feed from Markus Vidicek. The QMJHL's second-leading scorer has four goals and five points in his last three games. He has 37 goals and 80 points on the season.
The Remparts regained their one-goal advantage late in the second period on a strike from veteran Daniel Agostino. The fortunes turned for the Herd in the third period as they earned four straight power plays and used them to come up with the victory. Vidicek shot one from the point that bounced off the end boards and back out into the blue paint where Denis tapped the puck across the line to tie the game 2-2 before Reynolds unleashed a hard one-timer 2:25 later on the man advantage to put Halifax in front to stay. Vidicek was named the first star of the game as he had assists on all three Mooseheads goals and has now scored at least one point in 11 of his last 13 games. The 19-year-old forward has moved ahead of Darcy Ashley on the all-time franchise points list for fourth in team history with 253.
Defenceman Brady Schultz also kept his torrid streak going with another pair of assists. Schultz is second in scoring amongst all QMJHL defencemen and enjoyed a whale of a road trip with 11 points in the four games.
Mathis Rousseau was between the pipes for the win and made 16 saves. Halifax improved to 37-14-7-1 after sweeping the road trip with victories over Moncton, Sherbrooke, Gatineau and Quebec. Reigning QMJHL MVP Jordan Dumais is scheduled to arrive in Halifax on Monday and will rejoin daily activities with the team this week in preparation for his eventual return to the lineup. No set date has been determined for him to be reactivated from the injured list following lower abdominal surgery in January.
The Mooseheads are set to open up a six-game homestand on Wednesday night at Scotiabank Centre against Cape Breton. Halifax will also host Acadie-Bathurst on Thursday and Saint John on Saturday. It's all Maritimes Division opponents the rest of the way with just nine games remaining in the regular season. Tickets are on sale now at Ticketmaster.ca
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Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League Stories from February 25, 2024
- A Perfect Road Trip Closes in Quebec - Halifax Mooseheads
- Islanders Crush Moncton, 7-2 - Charlottetown Islanders
- Titan Top Eagles to Split Weekend Series at Centre 200 - Cape Breton Eagles
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