Mooseheads Win Opener; Summerside Advances To RBC Cup Final

In a game that displayed the awesomeness of junior hockey, the Halifax Mooseheads won their first match of the 2013 Memorial Cup on Saturday night, defeating the Portland Winterhawks 7-4.

Nathan MacKinnon went into beast mode, recording a hat trick and adding an assist with a +4 rating. Jonathan Drouin, Luca Ciampini, Martin Frk, and former Sea Dog Stephen MacAulay also scored. Zach Fucale made 37 saves in the victory.

Troy Rutkowski had two goals for Portland while singles came from Seth Jones and Ty Rattie. Goaltender Mac Carruth was not good in this one, allowing seven goals on 35 shots.

This was a great game with plenty of momentum swings. It looked like the Winterhawks might go on to win the game in the second period as they led 3-1 early. But entering the third, it was Halifax in front by score of 6-3 thanks to a five-goal middle frame.

All eyes were on Jones, MacKinnon, and Drouin in this game. Jones wasn’t bad and Drouin was Drouin, but MacKinnon really stepped things up.

Also, via Deadspin, this happened tonight.

Halifax, 1-0, take on host Saskatoon, 0-1, on Sunday night.

Elsewhere on Saturday night…

• The Summerside Western Capitals will play in the RBC Cup final. The Caps advanced to the national championship game with a 3-2 overtime win over the Surrey Eagles. Former Sea Dog Danny Chiasson had a goal for Summerside. The Capitals will play the Brooks Bandits on Sunday night at 7pm in PEI.
• Alex Grant and the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins defeated the Providence Bruins 4-0. Grant had one shot and 12 penalty minutes. Former Sea Dogs captain David MacDonald had three shots and a fight for Providence. The Bruins now lead that AHL second-round playoff series 3-2.
• Tomas Jurco had an assist and three shots in the Grand Rapids Griffins’ 4-1 loss to the Toronto Marlies. The Griffins lead that series 3-2.
• An awful season of SNL comes to an end.