The Halifax Mooseheads took their best shot at the country’s top team yesterday, but it wasn’t enough for them to snap out of their worst slump of the season.
Despite a season-high 45 shots on goal, the Mooseheads fell 5-3 to the nationally top-ranked Saint John Sea Dogs at Harbour Station in New Brunswick.
Coupled with Saturday’s 3-1 home loss to the third-place Quebec Remparts, the Mooseheads have now lost eight of their past nine games and haven’t won in regulation since Nov. 19.
“We played extremely well on Saturday night against Quebec and we played extremely well tonight against Saint John,” said Mooseheads head coach Bobby Smith. “We had chances to be in much better shape … The guys played really hard … But Quebec and Saint John are first and third for a reason and our game was excellent.”
The Mooseheads did end a recent power-play drought (1-for-23) by tallying twice with the man advantage.
Smith said the power play was “really good” but that special teams remain “something we have to keep working on.”
Rookie winger Darcy Ashley had a goal and an assist. Trey Lewis and Luca Ciampini added singles and goalie Mathieu Corbeil made 30 saves.
The Mooseheads, 10-23-0-1, visit the Bathurst Titan on Wednesday at 7 p.m. Martin Frk is leaving before the game to try out for the Czech Republic’s world junior team.
