Rousseau's 2 Goals Not Enough in Victoriaville
Published on January 31, 2026 under Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League (QMJHL)
Halifax Mooseheads News Release
The Halifax Mooseheads watched another two points slip from their grasp on the road on Saturday night in Victoriaville where they held a pair of leads before falling 3-2 to the Tigres in a great goaltenders duel.
The Herd lost for the second time in as many days on the road but it was not for lack of effort. The team was plenty creative on offense but Pittsburgh Penguins draft pick Gabriel D'Aigle was up to the task for Victoriaville with 34 saves. Owen Bresson also had a strong game at the other end of the ice with 28 saves, including some spectacular ones, but it was a third period power play goal for the home team that proved to be the difference.
Simon-Pier Brunet potted the winner 12:19 into the third period on a man advantage to complete the comeback for the Tigres. Halifax held leads of 1-0 and 2-1 on a pair of goals from overage forward Sam Rousseau. He nearly completed the hat trick on a third period breakaway but watched as D'Aigle got a piece of the puck before Alexey Vlasov pulled it off the line to save a goal.
Rousseau struck first late in the opening period when he delivered a bone crushing hit in the corner before skating to the front of the net where Shawn Carrier spotted him for one of his two assists as the 20-year-old slid in a backhand shot. Loik Gariepy responded a couple of minutes later to even the score at 1-1 through one period of play. Rousseau regained the one goal advantage for the Herd early in the second period when he used great hand-eye coordination to deflect a puck out of midair on the power play to make it 2-1 Halifax.
The Tigres fought back again at 8:36 when star Russian rookie Egor Shilov buried his 23rd goal of the season to get the teams back to even footing at 2-2. The Moose squandered a golden opportunity to take a third lead in the contest when they failed to connect during a full two-minute 5-on-3 man advantage.
Halifax had multiple quality scoring opportunities throughout the night, including an incredible lacrosse style attempt from Carrier but D'Aigle stopped that puck with his mask, proving how tough he would be to beat in the game.
Despite the great effort, the Mooseheads came up empty for the second straight road game following a 3-1 loss in Shawinigan on Friday night. Halifax will have a chance to salvage the road trip when they visit the Sherbrooke Phoenix on Sunday afternoon at 4pm AST.
The next home game for the Mooseheads is Wednesday, February 4th against the Newfoundland Regiment. Unlock $10 Upper Bowl tickets with by using the code 'PROMO'. Halifax will also host the Cape Breton Eagles on Saturday, February 7th at 7pm. Tickets are on sale now at Ticketmaster.ca
Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League Stories from January 31, 2026
- Cats Shut out Drakkar to Claim Sole Possession of 1st - Moncton Wildcats
- Rousseau's 2 Goals Not Enough in Victoriaville - Halifax Mooseheads
- Regiment Top Eagles in Shooout - Cape Breton Eagles
- Regiment Edge Eagles 3-2 in SO - Newfoundland Regiment
- Islanders Roll Past Drakkar, Set Sights on Sea Dogs Tonight - Charlottetown Islanders
The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.
