Cataford's Career Night Leads Moose to OT Win
December 8, 2023 - Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League (QMJHL)
Halifax Mooseheads News Release
Mathieu Cataford was an unstoppable force for the Mooseheads on Friday night in front of more than 8,000 fans at Scotiabank Centre. The prospect of the Vegas Golden Knights exploded for a career high five points with three goals and two assists, including a highlight reel overtime winner to send the Herd to a 5-4 win over the Gatineau Olympiques.
The 18-year-old forward combined with line-mates Jordan Dumais and Markus Vidicek to score 12 points in the second straight victory on home ice. Dumais picked up a goal and three assists while Vidicek scored once and had two helpers. Brady Schultz, David Moravec and Jake Furlong also had single assists. Cataford picked a great time to have the best game of his career with Vegas Skills Development Consultant Scott Jones watching from the press box.
The Dumais goal helped the Blue Jackets prospect tie a Mooseheads franchise record for career goals with 119 while he also took over the lead in the QMJHL scoring race with 47 points in only 21 games played. He nearly had two goals in the game after having one called back for offside following a review by the officials. That potential goal would have been the first goal of the game for the Moose and triggered the inaugural Toque Toss as fans covered the ice surface with generous donations of hats, gloves and socks in support of HRM homeless shelters.
Jeremy Minville, Alexander Gaudio, Thomas Chafe and Matthew Eric did the scoring for the visiting Olympiques.
Halifax improved to 21-7-3-0 and will look for a third straight win on Saturday night as the team travels to Saint John for a 7pm matchup with the Sea Dogs. The Mooseheads will feature a depleted lineup with Dumais, Vidicek, Furlong and goalie Mathis Rousseau all set to depart for Oakville, ON to participate in Hockey Canada's World Junior Selection Camp.
The Mooseheads will resume a busy home schedule next week with games on Wednesday, Friday and Saturday at Scotiabank Centre. They host the Titan Wednesday followed by consecutive contests with the Sea Dogs on Friday and Saturday. All games start at 7pm. Tickets are on sale now at Ticketmaster.ca.
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Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League Stories from December 8, 2023
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