Moncton pulls away late in a 5-1 defeat of the Moose
2024-11-03
Two third period power plays were all the high-powered Moncton Wildcats needed to grab a victory on Sunday afternoon in Halifax. With the score locked at 1-1 in a tight battle, it was consecutive penalties by Logan Crosby and Danny Walters that allowed the Cats to get a pair of goals from Caleb Desnoyers and former Mooseheads star Markus Vidicek. Moncton needed a total of 46 seconds of power play time to tally the two difference makers.
From there, the Cats pulled away with an empty net goal and another late strike as Mathis Rousseau returned to the crease to make the final 5-1 with a score that was not completely indicative of how the game actually played out.
Neither team gave up much in terms of quality chances for the better part of 60 minutes and Halifax hung in there with the CHL’s top ranked team until the unfortunate penalties. Alex Mercier scored the game’s opening goal for the Cats just 1:38 into the contest to give the visitors a 1-0 lead which they held until Logan Crosby evened the score with 1:14 remaining in the second period. Crosby brought the puck down the wing, tossed it towards the goal and watched as it deflected off a leg and across the line for his third tally of the season. Liam Kilfoil and Owen Phillips picked up the assists.
Mercier ended the game with a pair of goals for Moncton while Desnoyers and Vidicek each had a goal and an assist. The Mooseheads honoured both Vidicek and Dylan MacKinnon with a tribute video in their return to Halifax following offseason trades to the rival Wildcats.
The Herd played without forward Shawn Carrier after he suffered an upper body injury in Friday’s win over Rouyn-Noranda. Carrier made his return Friday after missing three games with another upper body injury that occurred on October 20th.
Final shots were 41-31 in favour of Moncton with Jacob Steinman earning the win between the pipes. Rousseau made 37 saves in the loss and Halifax’s record dipped to 8-7-2-0. The Mooseheads will continue the homestand next weekend with games on Saturday and Sunday. The Herd host Baie-Comeau for DND Appreciation Night on Saturday at 7pm while the Acadie-Bathurst Titan will visit Sunday at 3pm. Tickets are on sale now at Ticketmaster.ca.
