Wildcats edge past Huskies in CHL Game of the Week
Photo credit: Daniel St. Louis
The CHL Top 10’s no. 8 ranked Moncton Wildcats took down the no. 10 Rouyn-Noranda Huskies 6-5 in Friday’s CHL Game of the Week.
Thomas Auger (2), Alex Mercier, Preston Lounsbury, Miles Mueller and Vincent Collard scored for Moncton (17-5-2) while Jacob Steinman made 43 saves. Rouyn-Noranda’s (13-6-4) Andrei Loshko (SEA), Mathis Perron, Drew Lutz, Daniil Bourash and Antonin Verreault found the back of the net while William Rousseau stopped 28 shots.
The Wildcats couldn’t have asked for a better first period as they built a 3-0 lead. Alex Mercier’s seventh of the season opened the scoring at 4:43 before Preston Lounsbury doubled the lead on the power play at 11:41.
The @monctonwildcats cap a perfect first period as Nathan Grenier makes the extra pass to find Thomas Auger who makes it 3-0 with 44.1 seconds remaining! #CHLGOTW pic.twitter.com/RBJGZdjN3w
— Canadian Hockey League (@CHLHockey) November 25, 2023
Auger capped an impressive first as he buried Natan Grenier’s extra pass on an odd-man rush with 44.1 seconds left to make it 3-0.
Loshko got Rouyn-Noranda on the board 93 seconds into the second as he showed off his silky hands in-tight but Mueller restored Moncton’s three-goal lead at 10:57 with a wrister from the slot. Perron’s seventh of the year at 14:44 cut the deficit to 4-2 after 40 minutes.
Silky hands from #SeaKraken prospect Andrei Loshko! #CHLGOTW
Loshko inscrit les @HuskiesRn au tableau avec une astucieuse manœuvre ! #MDSLCH pic.twitter.com/keUwfYSavR
— Canadian Hockey League (@CHLHockey) November 25, 2023
A snap shot off a draw by Lutz got Rouyn-Noranda within one at 5:06 but Auger’s second of the night, where he stole the puck from Huskies d-man Alexis Lemire in his own zone before beating Rousseau five-hole, made it 5-3 Wildcats 2:13 later.
A one-timer from Bourash cut the deficit to one with 6:46 to play but once again Moncton replied as Collard’s power play marker made it 6-4 at 16:39.
Perreault again pulled Rouyn-Noranada within a goal as he scored with 35 seconds to play but Steinman made one more save, his 43rd of the night, to ensure the Wildcats collected two points.
The victory marked Moncton’s third straight and their 17th of the season, the third most in the QMJHL. As for the Huskies, they’ve now dropped back-to-back contests.
Pre-game, the Wildcats retired Corey Crawford’s no. 29 jersey as the former netminder became the first player to have his jersey retired by the franchise.
Ahead of tonight's #CHLGOTW, Corey Crawford's no. 29 became the first jersey retired in @monctonwildcats history! 👏🏻 pic.twitter.com/tPqn34VZNq
— Canadian Hockey League (@CHLHockey) November 24, 2023
