Recap: Bizarre OT Winner Sees Wildcats Take Back-And-Forth Affair Over Mooseheads

The first Saturday hockey of the 2026-27 QMJHL season has come and gone, with plenty of entertainment across the eight games of action across the league.

A riveting affair between the Moncton Wildcats and Halifax Mooseheads saw needed overtime, where the Wildcats just took it in the end.

It's been an entertaining start to the new campaign out in the Maritimes, where a division full of contenders have had some close and action-packed games in the opening weekend.

Moncton's win over Halifax on Saturday was no different. Niko Tournas got the scoring underway with a shorthanded tally for his first of the night, before Nathan Langlois equalized soon after for the Mooseheads.

The teams would trade goals again at the end of the first, with Austrian import Paul Sintschnig scoring his first QMJHL goal before Anaheim Ducks prospect Rian Chudzinski levelled it at two, which is how the teams entered the first intermission.

Tournas struck again in the second, restoring Moncton's lead with a power-play goal, before Langlois matched him with his second of the night, also on the man advantage. The red-hot Quinn Kennedy would score on another power play later in the period, before the Wildcats brought the game back level again through recent trade acquisition Charlie Benigno.

The game tightened up a bit in the third, before Kennedy blew it open with a 5-4 goal to put Halifax up with just under four minutes to go. But, Tournas forced overtime with his hat trick goal just two minutes later.

In the extra frame, a Langlois tripping penalty put Moncton on the power play, and after a scramble in front, Chudzinski banged one just over the line, so close that only the referee knew it was in at first. Review showed the puck clearly crossing the entire goal line before being swept out by a Mooseheads stick, and that left the Wildcats heading home with a dramatic victory.

Tournas' hat trick and Chudzinski's double led the way offensively, as did a trio of assists for Liam Kilfoil. Jacoby Weiner picked up the win with a 33-save performance in his first start of the season, and Moncton will exit the opening weekend with two wins from two games.

Drummondville (4) - Sherbrooke (5)
Rimouski (5) - Baie-Comeau (2)
Val-d'Or (6) - Blainville-Boisbriand (3)
Rouyn-Noranda (2) - Gatineau (4)
Saint John (2) - Newfoundland (4)

Player of the Night

Philippe Veilleux (VDO) - 2 goals, 3 assists

Charlottetown at Cape Breton - 2 PM ET
Shawinigan at Gatineau - 3 PM ET
Quebec at Chicoutimi - 4 PM ET
Drummondville at Victoriaville - 4 PM ET

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