The Halifax Mooseheads’ top guns keep on firing, but the rest of the team continues shooting blanks.
Captain Tomas Knotek and 19-year-old Gerrad Grant extended lengthy point streaks but the Mooseheads lost for the 12th time in 13 games with a 3-2 road setback to the Quebec Remparts last night in QMJHL action at Pepsi Colisee.
Knotek’s fifth goal of the season in the first period stretched his point streak (three goals, seven assists) to nine games, while Grant’s fifth of the year with 24 seconds left stretched his streak (five goals, four assists) to eight games.
But Quebec’s David Gilbert — the Herd’s sixth overall pick in 2007 who was traded to acquire Brad Marchand — was the hero, as his goal at 9:12 of the third stood as the winner.
The Mooseheads’ first line of Knotek, Grant and Travis Randell has accounted for all of the team’s goals the past two games and 12 of 19 goals over the past six games.
“That line is basically giving us all our offence, or a large portion of it anyway,” said Mooseheads head coach and general manager Cam Russell. “But to have some success we have to get some secondary scoring and we have some younger guys and older guys who are capable of giving us more.”
Knotek’s streak is second best in the QMJHL this season.
The Mooseheads were out-shot 29-24 and received a 26-save performance from Mathieu Corbeil. Bedford native Peter Delmas made 22 saves for the Remparts.
The last-place Mooseheads are 1-11-1, but Russell liked what he saw against the Remparts, a top contender.
“We’re playing really good system hockey,” Russell said. “We’re a tough team to play against and other teams have to work extremely hard to generate chances.”
The Mooseheads head to Chicoutimi for an 8:30 p.m. matchup with the Sagueneens on Friday night and then to Baie-Comeau for a 5 p.m. tilt with the Drakkar on Sunday.
