Major Test in Gatineau on Wednesday
2023-02-07
Your Halifax Mooseheads departed for the province of Quebec on Tuesday morning when they hopped on a flight to Montreal where they will meet up with the team bus and travel to Gatineau for a high profile matchup on Wednesday night at 8pm AST. The Mooseheads are third in the latest CHL Top 10 Rankings, while Gatineau has jumped up to eighth.
The Olympiques are one of the main contenders for the Gilles Courteau President Cup trophy this season after adding star forward Riley Kidney of Enfield, NS at the trade deadline along with Hammonds Plains native Cam MacDonald, overage goalie Franky Lapenna and 19-year-old Philadelphia Flyers draft pick Alexis Gendron. They have also regained the services of veteran forward Olivier Nadeau Gatineau has been extremely hot in the new year and will enter the game with wins in nine of their last 10, including five consecutive victories.
Halifax is continues to ride a franchise record 24-game streak of staying unbeaten in regulation time, dating back to November 27th. The Herd had an 11-game winning streak snapped on Thursday in Charlottetown but still earned a point via a shootout loss. Since then, they’ve reeled off two straight victories and head to Gatineau looking to complete the season sweep of the Olympiques. By the way, Halifax is tied for the sixth longest consecutive points streak in QMJHL history. The 1996 Hull Olympiques also had a 24-game streak which was ultimately halted by…you guessed it…the Halifax Mooseheads.
The only previous meeting between the contending clubs this season was highly entertaining with the Mooseheads pulling out a 4-3 shootout win at Scotiabank Centre on Teddy Bear Toss Night back on December, 10th. Fans might remember Halifax goalie Mathis Rousseau stopping all three Gatineau shooters and showing plenty of emotion after denying Tristan Luneau to secure the win. The reaction by Rousseau caused Olympiques Head Coach Louis Robitaille to spout off to the media and helped to set the scene for what should be an exciting rematch on Wednesday.
They are expecting a near capacity crowd at the 5,000 seat Slush Puppie Centre tomorrow and the team will be honouring legendary Head Coach Benoit Groulx in a special pregame ceremony that will also include former star players Claude Giroux and Max Talbot. All signs point to an evening of fireworks and excitement in Gatineau with your Mooseheads in the thick of it. This will be a major test.
Halifax will also make stops during the road trip in Drummondville on Friday and Shawinigan on Saturday. The next home game for the Herd is coming up on Friday, February 17th at 7pm against the Acadie-Bathurst Titan at Scotiabank Centre. Tickets are on sale now at TicketAtlantic.com.
