Mooseheads win big in Quebec road swing finale

The Halifax Mooseheads returned to the win column Sunday afternoon, dropping the Rimouski Oceanic 7-1 and handing them their 16th straight loss.

The Oceanic opened the scoring with the lone goal of the first period as Rafaël Cloutier beat Owen Bresson at 3:02.

Halifax had an opportunity to tie the contest early in the second period when Oleg Kulebiakin was awarded a penalty shot, but Rimouski goaltender Dayton Kitchener stood tall and denied him.

There was a scare for the Herd at 7:30 of the second period when Dovydas Jukna hit Carlos Händel from behind. Händel was able to return to the bench on his own after a few moments, and Jukna received a five-minute major penalty, giving Halifax an extended power play.

The Mooseheads capitalized on the man advantage. Shawn Carrier opened the scoring for Halifax at 7:58, firing a long shot from the point past Kitchener. Jasu Mensonen then gave Halifax the lead at 10:10, taking the puck down the ice and sniping a shot from the left-wing faceoff circle. Connor MacPherson rounded out the period with his 11th of the season, charging down the ice and beating Kitchener in close to make it 3-1 Halifax.

The Mooseheads continued to control the game in the third. Quinn Kennedy blasted his 23rd of the season past Kitchener at 6:13 after a setup pass from Kulebiakin. Daniel Walters batted the puck out of the air and into the Rimouski net. Kulebiakin then set up Mensonen for his second of the game, powering down the right side and sending a pass from behind the net to Mensonen, who beat Kitchener cleanly. Kulebiakin added his 26th of the season in the final minute, with Mensonen and Kennedy picking up assists.

With the win, Halifax improves to 24-25-3-3 on the season.

The Mooseheads swept the three stars. Kulebiakin earned first-star honours with a goal and three assists. Captain Owen Phillips was named second star with three assists, while Carrier took third star with a goal and an assist.

Halifax returns to Scotiabank Centre for a four-game homestand starting Friday, Feb. 27, when they host the Saint John Sea Dogs.

Puck drop is at 7 p.m. Live coverage can be heard on 95.7 NewsRadio, with Garreth MacDonald hosting the pre-game show beginning at 6:30 p.m.