Mooseheads one win away from QMJHL final

The Halifax Mooseheads are a win away from the Gilles Courteau Trophy final.

The Mooseheads earned a third straight victory over the Sherbrooke Phoenix on Saturday afternoon at Scotiabank Centre, posting an impressive 5-0 win. Halifax now leads the best-of-seven semifinal series 3-2.

Just like Games 3 and 4 in Sherbrooke, the Mooseheads started strong and rode the momentum to a 4-0 lead. But unlike those previous two games, the Phoenix never really felt in this one even though shots on goal stayed relatively close.

This was the first home victory for either team in this series. The Mooseheads have looked like a different squad since regular season scoring champion Jordan Dumais went down with an injury in the second period of Game 2. Now, after dropping the first two games on home ice, they're just one win away from the league final.

That’s a 3-2 Mooseheads series lead!

Final score from Moose Country 5-0.
Game 6 tomorrow evening in Sherbrooke. #GoMooseGo pic.twitter.com/6GYRpISZ0k

— Halifax Mooseheads (@HFXMooseheads) May 6, 2023

David Moravec scored a pair of goals for Halifax on Saturday while Evan Boucher, Attilio Biasca and Zachary L'Heureux added singles. Mathis Rousseau, who has been excellent for Halifax, got a well deserved shutout with a 26-save performance.

Former Saint John Sea Dogs forward Josh Lawrence had one assist, eight shots and went 17/28 in faceoffs in the win. On the Sherbrooke side, Joshua Roy has now been held pointless twice in this series.

Sherbrooke netminder Oliver Adam was pulled in the second period after allowing three goals on 14 shots. Samuel St-Hilaire allowed a pair of goals on 12 shots in relief.

There's not much time for rest as the two teams meet again on Sunday at 6 p.m. all the way back in Sherbrooke. A Game 7, if needed, would be Tuesday night in Halifax.

The winner of this series will play the Quebec Remparts in the league final, which will begin Friday at Videotron Centre. The Remparts completed a sweep of the Gatineau Olympiques on Wednesday.

Both Games 1 and 2 of the Gilles Courteau Trophy final in Quebec City sold out within a few hours.

A few other notes on this lovely spring Saturday...

• Jeremie Poirier, Yan Kuznetsov and the Calgary Wranglers have advanced to the next round of the American Hockey League playoffs. The two former Sea Dogs defensemen were both in the lineup on Friday as the Wranglers defeated the Abbotsford Canucks 3-2 to win the best-of-five series 3-1. The Wranglers (Calgary Flames) will play the Coachella Valley Firebirds (Seattle Kraken) in the Pacific Division finals.
• Poirier had an assist in Friday's contest to give him a goal and two helpers in four playoff games.
• The Firebirds advanced to the next round with a big 5-0 home win over Cedric Pare, Spencer Smallman and the Colorado Eagles on Friday.
• William Villeneuve's Toronto Marlies also advanced to the next round of the AHL playoffs on Friday. Villeneuve has yet to appear in a playoff game. Toronto will play the winner of the Rochester/Syracuse series. Syracuse features former Sea Dogs forward Maxim Cajkovic.
• In the OHL conference finals, the London Knights lead the Sarnia Sting 3-2 and the North Bay Battalion lead the Peterborough Petes 3-2. Both series resume Sunday.
• Former Sea Dogs forward Dawson Theede and the Halifax Thunderbirds had their season come to an end on Friday, falling 15-11 to the Toronto Rock in the opening round of the National Lacrosse League playoffs.