The Halifax Mooseheads say they’ll be on their best behaviour on Friday night at the Metro Centre.
The Mooseheads, who have battled on-ice discipline issues all season and lead the QMJHL in fights and penalty minutes, are hosting the Chicoutimi Sagueneens, a team they have a serious grudge with.
When the two sides met in Chicoutimi on Sept. 24, the Mooseheads were livid after they say Sagueneens defenceman Andrew O’Brien “jumped” Mooseheads star rookie Martin Frk and unleashed a flurry of punches in an unprompted attack.
“We all remember it, nobody forgets, but it’s a game,” said Mooseheads defenceman Sawyer Hannay. “It’s about winning and losing. We’re not going to go out there, seek revenge and come out with a loss. We’re going into it for a win … and nothing’s going to get in the way of that.”
The Mooseheads have been shorthanded a whopping 100 times in 20 games this season and parted ways with their most penalized player, Garrett Clarke, earlier this week.
Head coach Bobby Smith addressed the Sagueneens incident in practice this week and made it clear he doesn’t want any sideshows.
“If you get a chance to hit him clean, take that chance, but we’re not going to go out looking for anything because we can’t afford to take any bad penalties,” said Mooseheads defenceman Trey Lewis.
Frk, who has a team-best 19 points in 20 games, is still learning English and declined an interview request.
The Mooseheads were shorthanded just twice in their last game against the Moncton Wildcats on Saturday and came away with a 5-2 road victory that snapped a five-game losing streak.
“We stayed disciplined and we got two points,” Hannay said. “We understand that’s going to be the key to our success.”
Home sweet home
The Mooseheads, 6-13-1, host the Chicoutimi Sagueneens, 6-9-4, on Friday and the Shawinigan Cataractes, 10-6-1, on Saturday.
It’s the start of a six-game stretch at the Metro Centre and they’re looking to improve their 3-6-1 home record.
“If we can do well in our first two, we should be good after that,” said Mooseheads defenceman Trey Lewis. “We just needed to get grounded at home and it’s a good chance to do that.”
