Published Apr 08, 2025 • Last updated 15 minutes ago • 3 minute readHalifax Mooseheads goalie Jacob Steinman tracks the puck between teammate Lincoln Waugh and Drummondville Voltigeurs captain Luke Woodworth during a QMJHL playoff game in Drummondville on Tuesday. Photo by QMJHLThe Halifax Mooseheads made history in Drummondville on Tuesday night.Their 2-0 win over the Voltigeurs in Game 7 of their first round best-of-seven clinched a 4-3 victory, making the Mooseheads the first-ever No. 16 seed in the QMJHL’s long existence to win a playoff series. The massive upset moves the Mooseheads into the second round, where they’ll face the Rouyn-Noranda Huskies.THIS CONTENT IS RESERVED FOR SUBSCRIBERS ONLY.Subscribe now to access this story and more:Unlimited access to the website and appExclusive access to premium content, newsletters and podcastsFull access to the e-Edition app, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment onEnjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalistsSupport local journalists and the next generation of journalistsSUBSCRIBE TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES.Subscribe or sign in to your account to continue your reading experience.Unlimited access to the website and appExclusive access to premium content, newsletters and podcastsFull access to the e-Edition app, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment onEnjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalistsSupport local journalists and the next generation of journalistsRegister to unlock more articles.Create an account or sign in to continue your reading experience.Access additional stories every monthShare your thoughts and join the conversation in our commenting communityGet email updates from your favourite authorsSign In or Create an AccountorArticle content“It was just a really fun series,” Mooseheads head coach Andrew Lord said. “We had a lot of belief and we could see improvement all through the regular season. … We had a lot of close games and lost a few one-goal games that we probably should’ve won but we really found our consistency in the playoffs.“I’m just so proud of every guy. They all played hard and we got great leadership from our three 20-year-olds – Jacob Steinman, Brady Schultz and Braeden MacPhee. This has been such a fun couple of weeks.”In what’s become typical Mooseheads fashion, they dug in on every shift, committed to tight team defence and then waited patiently for scoring opportunities. That chance finally came after more than 38 minutes of scoreless hockey when defenceman Carlos Handel threaded a wrist shot through a crowd from the point and into the Drummondville net.From there, it was nearly an entire third period of tension as the Mooseheads desperately hung on to that slim lead, finally exhaling when Liam Kilfoil clinched it with an empty-netter in the final minute.Article content“That was obviously a huge goal and it was nice to see him put it in and give us that cushion,” Lord said. “But until you hear that buzzer, you have to keep playing hard. But when the buzzer did go, it was such a great feeling for everyone. I’m so happy to see the guys get rewarded.“They’ve been so fun to coach all year. They push themselves every day and they show up ready to get better. There’s great camaraderie in our group and we have a lot of character. Those are things that make a difference in the playoffs.”The other familiar element in the script was incredible goaltending from Steinman. It’s impossible to overstate just how good he’s been since coming to the Mooseheads in a January 6 trade from the Moncton Wildcats and this was another demonstration of perfection. He turned aside 38 shots for the shutout to earn the game’s first star.“He was huge again,” Lord said. “He made a bunch of highlight-reel saves and he’s our rock back there. And he’s just an awesome guy to have around. The guys also defended really well tonight in front of him. They had good sticks and blocked a lot of shots so that part of our game was also really good.”The Mooseheads managed to pull off the improbable victory without four of their regulars and now face the No. 6 overall Huskies in a series that will start on the road on Friday. That doesn’t give the Mooseheads much time to reset but they already proved they can do that after they rebounded from a 6-0 loss to the Voltigeurs in Game 6 on Monday.“We’ll have a couple of days so we want to get some rest and it would be nice to get healthy and maybe get a couple of guys back,” Lord said. “We’re going to enjoy this right now and then we’ll get right back to it.”Article content
Mooseheads make QMJHL history with huge first-round upset of Voltigeurs, advance to second round vs. Rouyn-Noranda
