Never quit attitude pays off in Charlottetown
2025-11-08
The resilient Halifax Mooseheads have done it again. The Herd pulled off a miraculous four-goal third period to storm all the way back and knock off the QMJHL-leading Charlottetown Islanders 4-2 on Saturday night in Prince Edward Island.
Shawn Carrier and Caylen Blake each scored twice to stun the home team in front of 3,231 fans at the Eastlink Centre while goaltender Nick Cirka was at the centre of all of the action to backstop Halifax with 32 big saves that included some massive ones in the final moments of the game with the Charlottetown net empty at the other end.
The game was a hard fought battle from the drop of the puck with both teams bringing the intensity throughout the evening. 38 total hits were dished out with Isles overager and former Mooseheads defenceman Dylan MacKinnon leading the way with six.
Cirka was spectacular in the first period with 14 saves and when the horn sounded after 20 minutes of play, the teams were scoreless. Charlottetown found a way to crack Cirka and the Moose fairly early in the second period with goals 2:02 apart from Nathan Leek and Ross Campbell. Halifax was playing well but struggling to come up with an abundance of scoring chances so the lead looked like it might be quite safe for the top team in the league who were hosting the first of back-to-back games between the conference rivals with the rematch coming Sunday afternoon at Scotiabank Centre.
Charlottetown took the 2-0 lead into the third period, but the never-say-die Mooseheads were hell bent on giving it all they had in the tank. Sometimes all it takes is one to help a team start believing and Shawn Carrier provided just that when he sniped from the slot at the 3:10 mark of the final stanza to get the Herd on the board. Then in the blink of an eye the game was tied 2-2 when Caylen Blake perfectly placed a far side shot off the rush just 32 seconds later and the Isles were on their heels. The pressure kept coming from Halifax and the first star Blake blistered in another beautiful shot off a feed from Danny Walters at 7:09 and the Moose never looked back. Carrier’s empty net goal from deep in the Mooseheads’ own end sealed yet another win over a top team.
GO AHEAD GOAL CAYLEN BLAKE ‼️
His 2nd of the period puts us in front 3-2 👀@FloHockey | #GoMooseGo pic.twitter.com/ymSbQx3AzG
— Halifax Mooseheads (@HFXMooseheads) November 9, 2025
Charlottetown and Blainville-Boisbriand are tied atop the overall standings in points with 26 and the Mooseheads have beaten them both in about a week-and-a-half. The Mooseheads have proved themselves to be a tough out all season long and sit in third place in the Eastern Conference with a record of 11-5-1-0. Their 23 points trail second place Chicoutimi by two points and they are only three points back of the first place Islanders with three-games-in-hand.
Defenceman Eddy Doyle celebrated his 18th birthday in front of a hoard of friends and family who had made the trek from Tignish, PE for the game and it was a whale of a night for the NHL Draft eligible blueliner. Doyle finished with a +3, had a team-best three hits and picked up an assist to play a major role in the victory. 20-year-old forward Connor MacPherson was also a +3 and chipped in two assists. Other players with helpers included Danny Walters, Carlos Handel, Mathieu Taillefer and Quinn Kennedy.
Handel took a nasty slash across the wrist from Ross Campbell while Carrier’s shot at the empty net sailed down the ice. Campbell was given five minutes for slashing and a game misconduct. The 19-year-old from Souris, PE was playing in his fifth game back since serving a three-game suspension for boarding and could possibly be reprimanded once again as a repeat offender.
The Mooseheads and Islanders will be right back at it in a few hours for Kids Day at Scotiabank Centre on Sunday at 3pm. Youth tickets are just $10 and are on sale now at Ticketmaster.ca.
