Moose score solid win over Cataractes
By Willy Palov - Sports Reporter The Chronicle Herald
http://thechronicleherald.ca/sports/148043-moose-score-solid-win-over-cataractes

It wasn’t the most electrifying game but the Halifax Mooseheads still played well enough to win again.

They beat the Shawinigan Cataractes 4-1 in front of 3,043 fans at the Bionest Centre in Shawinigan on Saturday to extend their winning streak to seven games.

“I’m pretty happy with the way we played,” said Mooseheads head coach Dominique Ducharme. “We managed the game well. They had a few times in the game when they had stronger moments and they were pushing a little bit. But we were good at gaining momentum back and creating things and making them play them play defence. We had good control of the game. It was a nice win.”

The Cataractes got on the board first when Emeric Hudon banged in a loose puck at the side of the net early in the first period. But the much deeper and more talented Mooseheads got a goal from Nathan MacKinnon less than three minutes later and then methodically picked apart the Cataractes the rest of the way.

Konrad Abeltshauser, Luca Ciampini and Matthew Boudreau added goals and Chris Clarke made his second start of the season for the Mooseheads and stopped 17 shots for the win. Marvin Cupper made 36 saves for the Cataractes.

“(Clarke) didn’t get that many shots but he made a few key saves,” Ducharme said. “There was one in the first on a two-on-one and then there was a second one when we were leading 3-1. He had a breakaway and he made a nice save. Sometimes in games like that when you don’t allow a lot of shots, it’s important to have those key saves at the right time.”

Ciampini and MacKinnon extended their goal-scoring streaks to four games, with both players finding the back of the net seven times during that stretch. Ciampini also had an assist and was named first star.

“It’s nice to see Luca having success,” Ducharme said. “He’s moving his feet a lot more, he’s involved and he’s more confident. It’s really nice to see. He’s having good moments right now and he just needs to keep building on that.”

The win moves the Mooseheads (9-1) into sole possession of first place overall, although they have played one more game than the second-place Quebec Remparts. The rebuilding Cataractes fall to 2-6-0-1, keeping them in second-to-last place overall.

“It’s still early in the season and we definitely like the record we have,” Ducharme said. “But there’s a lot of work to be done still. There are a lot of things we can get better at and we need to keep improving, that’s for sure.”

The Mooseheads play their next game on Wednesday on the road against the P.E.I. Rocket.