Mooseheads force Game 7 with clutch performance
2019-04-01
The first round President Cup Playoff Series between the Halifax Mooseheads and Quebec Remparts is going to a seventh and deciding game following a resounding 6-1 Mooseheads victory Monday night on home ice.
Veteran forward Samuel Asselin couldn’t contain his smile as his rode the stationary bike not long after the team celebrated the Game 6 win at Scotiabank Centre.
“Tell the Moose Country fans that the boys need them on fire tomorrow night,” he said, noting that the crowd of 7,623 was “unbelievable” in rooting on the team to the Game 6 performance.
It was deafening at times inside Scotiabank Centre as the Mooseheads tied the series with their third win in the last four games, especially during a late second period burst that saw Antoine Morand score the go-ahead goal and Keith Getson add a big insurance tally in the final minute. The place was hopping as Morand scored but a review was needed for a potential kick. The crowd really got into it when the officials confirmed it as a good goal leading to a furious rant on the bench by Remparts Head Coach Patrick Roy.
Keith Getson scored twice in the win while Raphael Lavoie also lit the lamp with a pair. Morand and Samuel Asselin rounded out the goal scorers for the Herd who will try to finish the rally from an 0-2 deficit in the series.
“On top of playing the right way, we controlled the controllable today. Which is our emotions, our compete level and the way we worked,” said Head Coach Eric Veilleux.
“As a team we were not distracted by some of the stuff that Quebec was doing or saying. We just stayed focused on our game-plan and that’s what we need to be doing.”
Halifax was first on the board just 4:58 into the opening period when Lavoie found a loose puck off a rebound in from of Carmine-Anthony Pagliarulo and ripped it in for his sixth goal of the postseason. Quebec drew even on a shot by Samuel Dickner that hit Alex Gravel high and then dribbled over the line around the midway mark of the frame. The teams went to the dressing room tied 1-1 and there was a sense of nervousness in the building with fans knowing the Moose were facing elimination with 40 minutes to play. It was their support that helped the home team come out with an extremely strong effort in the second period, leading to the Morand goal and then a great pass by Arnaud Durandeau to a speeding Keith Getson who went hard to the net to knock in his first of the playoffs. Those huge goals were the turning point and the momentum carried over into the third period.
1st Star @KeithGetson16 #GoMooseGo pic.twitter.com/sKimDqhsko
— Halifax Mooseheads (@HFXMooseheads) April 2, 2019
The Moose were all over Quebec as the final 20 minutes of regulation began and Justin Barron lifted a shot towards the net that was deflected by Samuel Asselin to beat Pagliarulo and it was 4-1 Halifax just 26 seconds into the period. Patrick Roy gave his goalie the hook and Kyle Jessiman came on in relief. The Remparts coach tried an interesting tactic by pulling the goalie in favour of an extra attacker with more than nine minutes left on the clock. It didn’t pay off as Lavoie buried his second of the night into the empty net, giving him a QMJHL Playoff best seven goals. Jessiman returned only to allow another goal by Getson on the power play in the final three minutes to make the final score 6-1.
“The crowd was unbelievable. We talked about it in Quebec that it was our goal to obviously come back here. Our fans deserved it. We love playing here and we appreciate the support and the loudness of the building gets us going,” Veilleux said.
The Mooseheads played without star defenceman Jared McIsaac who served a one-game suspension for checking to the head. He will return to the lineup Tuesday night. Final shots were 41-24 for the Mooseheads who went 1-4 on the power play and didn’t allow a goal on the man advantage by the Remparts in two opportunities.
Game 7 tickets go on sale at 11am Ticket Atlantic Box Office, TicketAtlantic.com, select Superstore Outlets, the Official Mooseheads Shop in Scotia Square or by calling 902-451-1221.