Moose run out of gas in Saint John
2026-01-04
The Halifax Mooseheads threw everything they had left in the tank at the Sea Dogs on Sunday in the Port City but came up empty in a 5-2 road loss at TD Station.
Liam Kilfoil and Will Bent scored third period goals for the Moose who were playing for the fifth time in the last seven days and the team fired 33 shots on goal but the legs didn’t have the same jump as one night earlier in an intense battle at home against Moncton.
Saint John jumped out to a 2-0 lead after 20 minutes on an Oskar Drabczynski point shot that beat a screened Nick Cirka and a strike on a juicy rebound by 20-year-old Angelo Fullerton at the top of the crease. The score remained the same until Kilfoil pounced on a puck sitting in front of Sea Dogs goalie Rafael Courchesne 64 seconds into the third period to make it a one-goal game.
Unfortunately for the Herd, there was a major turning point moments later as the Dogs struck back quickly as defenceman Everett Baldwin fired a shot on goal and followed his shot to bury the rebound to make it 3-1. That goal gave Saint John some breathing room and they added to the lead on the power play at the 5:59 mark as Olivier Duhamel lit the lamp for the home team following some penalty trouble for the Moose. The Sea Dogs had a four second two-man advantage and got the goal five seconds after the first penalty ended.
Not going away yet. Will Bent with an answer.@FloHockey | #GoMooseGo pic.twitter.com/UfMc4i6e6y
— Halifax Mooseheads (@HFXMooseheads) January 4, 2026
Halifax got some life when Bent chased down a puck in the Saint John zone and ripped in his fourth goal of the season at 6:39 to cap off a wild start to the period that saw the teams trade a combined four goals. When the dust settled it was a 4-2 Dogs advantage with 14:21 remaining in regulation. It was as close as the Herd would get, despite a major push and some dangerous opportunities. Dylan Rozzi sealed the deal with an empty net goal for Saint John in the final minute to send the crowd of 3,057 home happy.
The Sea Dogs were playing in their first game of 2026 after being idle since New Year’s Eve. Their record is now 14-19-3-0 for 31 points. They currently hold down the 16th and final seed in the playoff hunt by one point over Gatineau. Halifax’s record dropped to 18-15-1-2 for 39 points which has them 10th overall in the QMJHL and sixth in the Eastern Conference after 36-of-64 games. If the playoffs began today, the Moose would start on the road against Cape Breton.
The Mooseheads will now get a few days of much needed rest from game action before they pay a visit to the rival Charlottetown Islanders on Friday night at 7pm. Halifax is two points back of the Islanders with two games in hand. The Moose will be back on Scotiabank Centre ice in the Nova Scotia capital on Saturday night at 7pm against the Gatineau Olympiques. Tickets are on sale now at Ticketmaster.ca.
