Mathieu Corbeil is expected to be between the pipes for the Halifax Mooseheads this weekend.
The Mooseheads’ 18-year-old starting goaltender has an injured pinky finger on his catching hand and should know today whether or not it is broken. Either way, he isn’t expected to miss games on Saturday against the Quebec Remparts and Sunday against the Bathurst Titan at the Metro Centre.
Already without defencemen Garrett Clarke and Konrad Abeltshauser because of knee injuries, the Herd can’t afford to lose Corbeil on the hottest streak of his career.
“I’m not too concerned about it,” said Mooseheads head coach Cam Russell. “Even if it is broken, we’ll just splint it up and he’ll have to play through some pain. I’d really be surprised if it was going to keep him out of any more games.”
Corbeil is 4-2-1 in his past seven starts and has a 1.85 goals-against average and a.944 save percentage. The streak earned him a pair of QMJHL defensive-player-of-the-week honours and helped him get ranked second in the league among goalie for the 2010 NHL draft by Central Scouting.
As for Clarke and Abeltshauser, neither is expected back anytime soon. They both saw the team doctor yesterday and should know more about a potential return date today.
Clarke, who leads the team’s defencemen with three goals and nine assists in 20 games, will miss at least another week, while Abeltshauser, who has two goals and eight assists in 17 games, will likely miss even more time.
The last-place Mooseheads, 5-20-2, are on a three-game losing streak after a weekend road trip to Quebec.
