Halifax Mooseheads Desperate for Home Wins

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Halifax Mooseheads head coach Andrew Lord has spent the first month of the Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League (QMJHL) season trying to turn his team into a cohesive unit. Unfortunately, the team has had a revolving door of players due to injuries. Despite the issues of retooling, injuries, and a new coaching staff, Halifax has had some successes this season. They had a solid start with four consecutive wins to kick off the season and have had some stellar individual performances that have led to wins.

Related: Halifax Mooseheads Retool for 2024-25 Season

The team returned from a difficult road trip where wins were not in the cards, but now, they begin off a four-game homestand. There’s hope that home cooking and rest can help the club find some wins, and see the roster return to full health. The opening weekend of the homestand provided the fans with some exciting moments. 

Moosheads’ Gutsy Win Over Huskies

The Mooseheads kicked off their homestand on Friday, Nov. 1, hosting 2023-24 scoring champion Antonin Verreault, the only QMJHL player to get more than 100 points on the season (107) and his Rouyn Noranda Huskies. The game started as one would expect from a team settling in at home, as Halifax was a little sluggish and disorganized. They seemed nervous as they kept trying to do too much, with several small errors that led to turnovers the Huskies turned into scoring opportunities.  

Rouyn threw wave after wave of pressure on the attack, yet goaltender Mathis Rousseau stood tall and shut the door. The Huskies controlled the pace of play for the entire first period, which continued for most of the game. The Mooseheads didn’t get a shot on goal until 12:00 into the first, and it was their only shot of the frame.

The second period wasn’t much different as the Huskies sensed some hesitation, but that didn’t last long as Liam Kilfoil took matters into his own hands after he was the target of a very heavy hit. He was back the next shift and returned the favour, then continued playing a more physical game.

Braeden MacPhee followed that up with a few energy shifts to get the crowd abuzz with some big hits and scrums after the whistle. Rookie and hometown boy Danny Walters scored his first goal on home ice when he converted a stellar pass on a two-on-one from fellow rookie Amelio Santini at the midway point of the second period. Meanwhile, Rousseau remained perfect

It wasn’t until the third period before Rouyn solved Rousseau on a Bill Zonnon tip-in goal, on the 41st shot on net.

Rousseau shut the door for the rest of the game, including in overtime (48 saves), stopping all three shootout attempts before Kilfoil scored the winner to lead Halifax to a 2-1 victory.

Could Mooseheads Trade Rosseau?

If the Mooseheads continue to hover near the final playoff position in the Maritime Division, a QMJHL team looking to contend for the league title and even a Memorial Cup championship could start kicking the tires on Rousseau’s availability as the league’s top goaltender. While he is undersized at 5-foot-11, he makes up for it with his athleticism, compete level, and ability to track pucks through a crowd. 

Halifax Needs to Refuel 

Halifax continued their homestand on Sunday, as they welcomed former Mooseheads forward Markus Vidicek and defenseman Dylan MacKinnon, who were both traded to the Moncton Wildcats in the offseason as part of the team’s retooling. The Herd entered Sunday’s action still feeling energized off Friday’s win backstopped by Rousseau’s 48-save performance, but it didn’t take long for Halifax to trail in this game as Moncton had far more firepower to deal with.

Vidicek factored into the first goal after he forced a turnover and provided a perfect feed to Alex Mercer. The Mooseheads got a taste of their own medicine as they pushed back with stellar play in the opening stanza but were stymied by goaltender Jacob Steinman.  

Moncton, however, continued to play rope-a-dope into the third period, and with the score tied at 1-1, they opened the gates and turned the game into a wide-open race. Halifax simply couldn’t keep up with the breakneck pace and was forced to take several penalties. This provided Moncton with the opening they needed as they scored two power-play goals from Vidicek and the game-winning goal from Caleb Desnoyers. There were two more goals, an empty-netter and a garbage-time goal, as they outshot the Mooseheads 41-31. 

The Herd fell to seventh place in the Maritime Division and an 8-7-2 record with the loss. Meanwhile, division rival Moncton, led by Desnoyers, improved to an impressive 13-2-2 to take over the sole position at the top of the division. Halifax will be back in action on Saturday, Nov. 9, against the visiting Baie-Comeau Drakkar as part of Military Appreciation Night at the Scotiabank Centre to continue the homestand. 

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