Cats survive another scare from the Mooseheads
2025-02-17
The number two ranked team in the Canadian Hockey League faced another difficult challenge against the youngest team in the QMJHL on Monday afternoon at Scotiabank Centre in front 9,352 fans. The Moncton Wildcats needed a goal late in regulation from defenceman Dylan Gill to escape Halifax with a 3-1 victory over the Mooseheads.
Veteran Markus Vidicek sealed the win with an empty net goal against his former team in the final minute of play while Gill’s point shot at the 17:46 mark was the winner as he beat a screened Jacob Steinman. The Mooseheads goalie once again did everything he could to keep his team in the game and stopped 26-of-28 shots for a combined 74 saves in the two weekend games against the Cats.
The Mooseheads played a tight defensive game that held the high-powered Moncton offense in check for almost the entire game and frustrating their opponents. The Cats were kept without a second period shot until 10:34 into that period. Halifax forward Shawn Carrier accounted for the lone Moose goal when he opened the scoring at 13:58 of the first period by notching his 14th tally of the season. The goal came on the power play and was assisted by Liam Kilfoil and Braeden MacPhee.
Moncton gained some momentum late in the second period when they had a brief two-man advantage. The Herd killed off a Quinn Kennedy tripping penalty but Carlos Handel was still in the box for a high stick when Vincent Collard finished off a very nice passing play to tie the game 1-1 with assists going to Juraj Pekarcik and Caleb Desnoyers.
Shawn Carrier's 14th of the season is the early difference. Assisted by Kilfoil and MacPhee. #GoMooseGo pic.twitter.com/9ieaoE7CjS
— Halifax Mooseheads (@HFXMooseheads) February 17, 2025
The Wildcats controlled much of the play in the final period as the Mooseheads fought shift by shift to hold them off, but Moncton put up 12 shots and had several face-offs deep in the Halifax zone thanks to a number of icing calls against the Herd. Gill’s goal was a seeing-eye shot that found its way through traffic and was a deflating one for the Moose who were just a couple of minutes away from earning a point against the QMJHL’s top team.
Rookie forward Danny Walters dropped the gloves in a brief but spirited fight with 19-year-old Maxime Cote during the second period. Both players received automatic game misconducts. Former Mooseheads goalie Mathis Rousseau did not play in the game while serving as the backup to starter Rudy Guimond, but received a massive ovation from the fans when he was honoured in a video tribute for his time with the team.
The next game for the Mooseheads is coming up this Friday night at Scotiabank Centre at 7pm against the Charlottetown Islanders, while the Moose will also host Victoriaville on Saturday at 7pm. Tickets are on sale now at Ticketmaster.ca
