EXCITING SHOOTOUT TO OPEN THE PRESEASON
The atmosphere wasn’t quite as intense as it was back in early April when Timo Meier’s double OT goal against Shawinigan just about lifted the roof off of the old Halifax Forum but the fans were into it on a sweltering Saturday night as the QMJHL preseason began for their beloved Mooseheads.
Yes believe it or not, hockey is back for another year and the hometown Herd kicked off the exhibition schedule with scintillating shootout with the Screaming Eagles at the historic Forum.
The Mooseheads dropped a 5-4 decision to their provincial rivals after Anthony Sorrentino recovered from losing the puck, and his forward momentum, to beat Ryan Huestis to end a shootout that many didn’t even think was going to happen.
As the horn sounded to end the five minute three-on-three overtime period, the officials could be heard yelling “No shootouts,” but after the teams piled onto the ice, seemingly ready to shake hands, they came to a mutual agreement to give the fans a little more for their money.
Ilya Putintsev and Danny Moynihan were both stopped by Cape Breton goaltender Kyle Jessiman, while Peyton Hoyt and Sorrentino were both able to find the back of the net to give the Eagles the win.
Despite the loss there were plenty of positives for the Mooseheads and the young players that skated in a game situation for the first time with the club.
Putintsev scored in the first period and finished the night with six shots on goal. There was a buzz amongst the crowd every time he touched the puck in the late stages of the game.
“It was very interesting my first time playing with a lot of fans screaming Halifax let’s go,” he said.
The 17-year-old Russian-American said this is the style of game that can be expected of him.
“I’m trying to do something on the ice every time I’m out there and I’m trying to score of course because it’s my job.”
Danny Moynihan scored twice in the contest as he continued to play on a line with Max Fortier and top draft pick Arnaud Durandeau. The trio have been building chemistry throughout the week during intrasquad action at Cole Harbour Place.
Durandeau (pictured left) chipped in with three assists in the shootout defeat.
“Today we just passed the puck well, we seem to be seeing each other out there and we finished a couple of goals which was good,” he said.
Defenceman Cooper Jones had the other Mooseheads goal while Max Fortier (2), Walter Flower and Conor Moynihan were credited with assists.
The game started off with a spirited fight between Cape Breton’s Cole Reginato and Halifax’s Dominik Blain-Dupuis that had the crowd on their feet early.
Raphael Blais played the first half of the game for the Moose and stopped 13 of the 15 shots he faced in 30 minutes and 16 seconds of ice-time. Wellington, Nova Scotia’s Ryan Huestis played the final 34 minutes and 44 seconds and also stopped 13 of 15.
Halifax continues the preseason Sunday afternoon at 4pm in Moncton when they battle the Wildcats for the first time since dropping Game 7 of their QMJHL Quarter-Final series.
The Mooseheads will host Charlottetown next Saturday evening at 7pm at the Rath Eastlink Community Centre in Truro. Tickets can be purchased at the R.E.C.C box office or Ticketpro.ca. A limited number are also available at the Mooseheads Season Ticket office at Scotiabank Centre for $10 plus applicable service charges.
