Ranked one of the top junior hockey teams in Canada, the Halifax Mooseheads possess an explosive offence that leads the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League (QMJHL) in goals.
The team is approaching several notable franchise records, including the number of goals in a single season.
The current record holder? The 2013 team that Nathan MacKinnon helped guide to the club’s first and only Memorial Cup, the top prize in the Canadian Hockey League (CHL).
“We’re close to a really good team — the team that won the Memorial Cup — so it’s real nice to be that close,” says second-year forward Mathieu Cataford, “but I (don’t think) it’s something we put that much focus on.
“We just try to go out every night and play the same way,” the NHL draft-eligible player tells Global News.
And fans are taking notice of the success. Following two key trades at Christmas time, the team’s largest crowds at Scotiabank Centre this season have been reported in the last two months.
“I think the fan base is growing,” says Lloyd MacDonald, who has been a season ticket holder “almost from day one.”
“There’s a lot more talk on the street about the team being a good team this year.”
By the numbers
While scoring 72 goals in the remaining 11 games is a tall task, if any team can do it, it’s likely the one with three of the league’s top five point-getters.
One of the Mooseheads’ trade acquisitions is Alex Doucet, who leads the league with 48 goals and is second in points (93). He scored a hat-trick against the Saint John Sea Dogs Thursday in Halifax’s 5-2 win.
Jordan Dumais is atop the league leaders, with 112 points (44 goals and 68 assists) in 53 games. He passed his own career high of 109 points in a season Thursday night with three assists, now trailing Connor Bedard for the CHL lead by only two points, though he’s played eight fewer games.
Dumais is approaching a couple of individual records, ranking fourth for points in a single Halifax Mooseheads season and fourth in the team’s history for all-time points.
If he returns to the team as a 19-year-old next season, he could very well become the franchise leader for points. As of now, he would need 54 more points to surpass the record (303).
Mathis Rousseau, who has backstopped the team through much of its success this year, is also in — or near — the top five in many goaltending categories in team history.
Focused on the task at hand
With the impressive records and numbers at play, the hype around the team can be distracting.
But head coach Sylvain Favreau says the team does its best to block the outside noise and focus on the task at hand.
“It’s just trying to get better every day, every opportunity, and prepare ourselves and put our best foot forward for the playoffs,” he says.
Meanwhile, Dumais is also focused on the team’s success as the regular season winds down.
“We score a lot of goals but obviously we have to focus on the other side of the game and play defence, especially coming into playoffs,” Dumais says. “That’s what we’re going to have to focus on the most.”
Dillon Gorman, a fan who has only missed a handful of games since 2011, is also hoping for the best come playoff time.
“Can we win it? Yes, 100 per cent,” he says. “We’ve proven that we can beat every single team. We just have to play our game.”
“They weren’t really rebuilding for this year, it was supposed to be next year,” Gorman says. “But where they were this good, the team just decided to go all in this (season), and we still have another chance next year, which is very rare when it comes to junior hockey.”