Hat Trick by Fournier Paces Moose to 7-1 Win
By Willy Palov-Sports Reports
The Chronicle Herald
http://thechronicleherald.ca/sports/129997-hat-trick-by-fournier-paces-halifax-to-win
The veterans made their presence felt for the Halifax Mooseheads Saturday night in Wolfville.
Twenty-year-old winger Stefan Fournier scored a hat trick and third-year centre Matthew Boudreau had two assists to help the Mooseheads drop the Moncton Wildcats 7-1 in a pre-season game at Acadia Arena.
“It was a pretty good game for us,” said Mooseheads head coach Dominique Ducharme.
“Having some veterans coming into the line-up tonight gave a lot of confidence to our young guys. Overall, we had control of the game and we saw some good things.”
It was Fournier’s first game in a Halifax uniform. The Mooseheads acquired him from the Victoriaville Tigres in June.
“We had no doubt about him,” Ducharme said. “What I like is the way he plays the game. Obviously he had (33) goals last year and we know he can put the puck in the net. But to see the way he’s working around the net and the presence he’s got on the ice, it’s really something different from our other players. It’s a really nice addition.”
Sophomore winger Ryan Falkenham added a goal and an assist for Halifax and Darcy Ashley, Brent Andrews and Max Lindsay also scored. Rookies Randy Gazzola, MacKenzie Weegar and Liam Alcalde also had two assists for the Mooseheads. Ross Johnston was the Moncton goal scorer.
Chris Clarke and Anthony Terenzio split the goaltending duties for the Mooseheads, with Clarke stopping 12 of 13 shots in the first 40 minutes and Terenzio making three saves in the final period. It was Terenzio’s first game action since a concussion and a variety of other ailments sidelined him in October.
Brandon Thibeau and Grant Grady combined to stop 28 shots for the Wildcats.
The Mooseheads led 3-1 after the first period and 6-1 after 40 minutes. The Wildcats beat the Mooseheads 5-1 in Bouctouche, N.B., on Friday.
“I thought everyone had a good game tonight,” Ducharme said. “The mix between the veterans and the young guys was good. It was a really solid game from all the players.”
The Mooseheads cut goalie Bradley Fraser and forwards Benji Gaudet and Sam LeBlanc on Saturday. There are now 30 players remaining in camp.
Halifax’s next exhibition game is on Sept. 7 at 7 p.m. in Sydney against the Cape Breton Screaming Eagles.
(wpalov@herald.ca)
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