Rousseau Puts Up a Wall vs Sherbrooke
January 14, 2023 - Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League (QMJHL)
Halifax Mooseheads News Release
Defense and goaltending have been the theme of the week for the Halifax Mooseheads and they came through again for the Herd at home on Saturday night in front of more than 8,700 fans in an important 6-2 victory over the visiting Sherbrooke Phoenix.
Mathis Rousseau was nearly perfect while making 46 saves for his 20th win of the season and the Mooseheads as a whole did a good job to keep the dangerous chances by Sherbrooke's high-octane offense to a minimum, despite the high shot total. The Herd have come up clutch in two of the biggest games of the year which started with an exciting 2-1 shootout win over first place Quebec on Thursday before taking the battle for second place over the Phoenix.
Once again, the Moose made the most of their opportunities by scoring six times on 21 shots as Jordan Dumais and Josh Lawrence both lit the lamp twice. Attilio Biasca and Alex Doucet had the other goals and Halifax extended the streak of consecutive games with at least one point to 15. The Herd have gone 13-0-2-0 since last losing in regulation on November 27th. They are two games away from tying the franchise record of 17 consecutive games that was set by the Memorial Cup winning 2012-13 team.
The top line of Dumais, Doucet and Lawrence combined for 10 points in the victory. Lawrence led the way with two goals and two assists, Dumais had two goals and one assist and Doucet scored once while adding two helpers. Doucet has been on fire since his addition at the trade deadline and now has eight goals and seven assists for 15 points in seven games with Halifax.
Sherbrooke goal scorers were Andrew Belchamber and Jacob Melanson. The Mooseheads built up a 4-0 advantage before the Phoenix finally cracked Rousseau at 6:44 of the third period. Halifax answered back to make it 5-1 on Lawrence's first of the game, then Melanson cut the Sherbrooke deficit to 5-2 before Lawrence capped it off with an empty net goal.
Other assists by Mooseheads players went to Markus Vidicek, Mathieu Cataford, Dylan MacKinnon and Rousseau.
The wins over Quebec and Sherbrooke are major statements by the Mooseheads who now hold a record of 27-7-4-1 on the season. The challenging weekend isn't over yet however, with the Herd ready to welcome the pesky Moncton Wildcats to Scotiabank Centre on Sunday afternoon at 2pm. The Wildcats sit 15 points behind Halifax in the Maritimes Division but have played the Moose extremely tough this season with wins in three of the previous four meetings. Tickets are on sale now at TicketAtlantic.com
Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League Stories from January 14, 2023
- Rousseau Puts Up a Wall vs Sherbrooke - Halifax Mooseheads
- Rochette's Late Goal Lifts Remparts Past Eagles - Cape Breton Eagles
- Preview: January 14 vs Acadie-Bathurst - Charlottetown Islanders
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