Halifax falls to Moncton 3-2 in shootout after late comeback

CITYnews halifax / By Coulson Ward

The Halifax Mooseheads fell 3-2 to the Moncton Wildcats in a shootout Saturday night at Scotiabank Centre.

The Wildcats opened the scoring at 10:41 of the first period when Kuzma Voronin fired a shot from the left wing past the blocker of Mooseheads goaltender Nick Cirka.

Halifax responded just 30 seconds into the second period as rookie defenceman Malik L’Italien scored his first goal at Scotiabank Centre, taking a pass from Oleg Kulebiakin and sending a rocket from the blue line into the Moncton net.

In the third, Rian Chudzinski restored the Wildcats’ lead at 3:29, capitalizing on a loose puck around the Mooseheads’ net and beating Cirka. The goal was subject to a short review before being allowed by officials. Quinn Kennedy tied the game for Halifax with a power-play marker, using a screen by Will Bent to fire the puck past Moncton goaltender Rudy Guimond with less than five minutes remaining to force extra time.

After a scoreless overtime period, a shootout was required. Chudzinski scored to claim the victory for the Wildcats.

With the loss, Halifax falls to 18-14-1-2 on the season.

Cirka earned the first star of the game, making 34 saves in the loss. Second star went to Chudzinski with a goal and the shootout winner, while third star was awarded to L’Italien with a goal.

The Mooseheads are back in action Sunday, Jan. 4, as they face the Saint John Sea Dogs at TD Station.

Puck drop is set for 3 p.m., with live coverage on 95.7 NewsRadio featuring Garreth MacDonald.