MOOSEHEADS TAKE DOWN WINTERHAWKS
SASKATOON, SK – Nathan MacKinnon was the star of the show, scoring a hat trick to lead the Halifax Mooseheads to a 7-4 win over the Portland Winterhawks in Game 2 of the 2013 MasterCard Memorial Cup tournament on Saturday night at Credit Union Centre in Saskatoon, SK.
The 17-year-old center from Dartmouth, NS, scored at even strength, netted a power play goal, and potted a shorthanded marker as the QMJHL Champion Mooseheads struck for five straight goals in a wild second period to get the better of the WHL Champion Winterhawks.
In a matchup that featured the three top-ranked players ahead of the 2013 NHL Draft, it was MacKinnon who made the biggest statement.
“I thought I had a pretty slow first period, but the next 40 minutes I thought we controlled the play,” said MacKinnon, who added an assist for a four-point effort in his MasterCard Memorial Cup debut. “I think we deserved the win.”
“He’s a guy that competes all the time,” said Halifax head coach Dominique Ducharme of his star forward’s performance. “He made things happen, he was skating, he was hard on the puck, it was hard to get the puck from him, and obviously he was a big reason for our comeback.”
The Hawks enjoyed the better opening period, and had the best early chance with Ty Rattie beating Furcale but ringing the puck off the post with a quick snap shot from the slot. The line of Rattie, Nic Petan and Brendan Leipsic created several good chances in the first with their quick, confident puck movement, and were a big reason the Hawks held a 16-7 advantage in shots on goal through the first period.
Yet, it was the Moosehseads who struck first in the contest 15:46 into the first period. Martin Frk’s wrist shot from the high slot found its way through Mac Carruth’s legs and dribbled in to give the QMJHL Champions the lead.
That lead wouldn’t last though as Seth Jones knotted the game at 1-1 just 54 second later. The 6’4” rearguard joined the rush and fired a shot past Furcale as the Hawks made a lightning quick transition up the ice.
Two of the best offensive teams in the Canadian Hockey League, the Hawks and Mooseheads opened things up and let their stars shine to start the second, trading four goals within the first five minutes of the period.
Troy Rutkowski put the Hawks up 2-1 just 39 second in. With the Hawks putting on early pressure in the Halifax zone, the puck came back to Rutkowski at the point and his wrist shot beat Furcale high over the shoulder.
“They are a good hockey team, and there is a reason they are the number one ranked team in the CHL,” said Rutkowski, who finished with a pair of goals on the night. “I thought we got the start we wanted in the second period, but we kind of got away from our game in the last 15 minutes of that second period.”
Portland kept up the pressure, forcing Halifax into drawing a penalty, and Rattie would make them pay with a highlight-reel effort. The 19-year-old St. Louis Blues prospect dangled his way into the middle and showed great patience in pulling Furcale out of position and tucked the puck past the sprawling Mooseheads netminder, putting the Hawks up by a pair.
Halifax bounced back quickly though as Jonathan Drouin beat Carruth only 1:05 after Rattie’s marker. The Mooseheads’ young stars struck again with Nathan MacKinnon drawing the score even at 3-3 just 1:20 after Drouin’s goal.
The Mooseheads made it three straight as Luca Ciampini converted on a power play with Portland’s Derrick Pouliot in the box.
Halifax’s power play struck again as MacKinnon somehow stuffed a shot through Carruth at the 14:03 mark. It was the third point of the contest for the No. 2 ranked prospect for the 2013 NHL Draft.
MacKinnon completed the hat trick with a shorthanded marker with just 1:25 to play in the contest. The 17-year-old managed to bank the puck in off Carruth from just behind the goal line in another seemingly harmless play.
“I thought we played real well for about 25 to 27 minutes,” said Winterhawks acting head coach Travis Green. “The game got away from us for about 10 minutes there, and they got a couple good bounces, but they are a good team.”
Rutkowski got his second goal of the game 1:09 into the third period, swatting home a rebound with the Hawks on the power play. Rattie picked up his second assist and third point of the game on the marker. However, Halifax restored the three-goal cushion with Stephen MacAuley’s bouncing effort eluding Carruth at the 5:33 mark to put the Mooseheads firmly in control.
The Mooseheads are back in action on Sunday as they take on the host Saskatoon Blades in round robin play at the 2013 MasterCard Memorial Cup.
——————————————————
Loading ...