Now that they’re out of the playoff race, the Halifax Mooseheads have little left to play for.
That likely played into Sunday’s result in Moncton, a 7-2 defeat at the hands of the powerhouse Wildcats.
"We knew today was going to be a difficult day after being eliminated last night and then having to come back and play the next day," said Mooseheads head coach and general manager Cam Russell. "There wasn’t a lot of motivation for the guys today; just a lot of disappointment more than anything.
"Obviously in some ways you feel it coming (being eliminated) but when it does happen, it’s real disappointing. So it was tough for the guys to get excited today."
Randy Cameron scored three times for Moncton and David Savard, Ted Stephens and Marek Hrivik each had a goal and an assist. Kelsey Tessier scored the Wildcats’ other goal and Nicola Riopel and Shane Owen combined to stop 15 shots for the win.
Bradley MacDonald and Andrew Wigginton answered for Halifax and Mathieu Corbeil made 37 saves.
Special teams were key for the Wildcats, who scored four goals on the power play, including three in the first period to take a 3-0 lead. Two of the goals came on a five-minute penalty to Halifax’s Gerrad Grant, who took a major and a game misconduct for a hit from behind.
"He and another guy were racing for the puck and he just kind of pushed the guy and he slipped and he fell into the boards," Russell said. "That long power play really helped them and that’s happened a couple of times the last two years against these guys where we get into penalty trouble early and they score a few goals. They’ve obviously got three very good lines with skill and speed so their power play is excellent. If you’re going to have any kind of success against these guys, you need to stay disciplined."
The loss is the Mooseheads’ eighth in a row and drops their record to 13-44-2-4. They have five games left in their season, all on the road. The Metro Centre is being used for the 2010 Brier the next couple of weeks.
"We’re just going to focus on performance and I think everybody here has something to play for. There’s no reason to stop playing," Russell said. "We have guys that are trying to get drafted, we have guys trying to get contracts, guys trying to get jobs playing for university teams and other guys who are trying to secure spots in our lineup for next season. So everyone has something to get motivated for."
The Mooseheads play their next game on Friday against the Bathurst Titan. Three of Halifax’s five remaining games are against Bathurst.
Notes: Steve Gillard (strep throat) and Carl Gelinas (knee) did not play for Halifax because of injuries and Dylan McGuigan and Matthew Stoddard were healthy scratches. … Mooseheads defenceman Pascal Amyot will travel to Montreal today to take part in the final interview process for the Marcel Robert trophy, which is given to the league’s academic player of the year. He is one of five finalists.
( wpalov@herald.ca)
