A goal by Daniel Audette with 31 seconds left gave the Sherbrooke Phoenix a 4-3 come-from-behind win over the Halifax Mooseheads at the Sports Palace, Friday. Audette’s market, his fourth of the year, capped a three-goal third period that saw the Phoenix (3-3-1-0) come back from a 3-1 deficit to knock off Halifax.
Halifax held the edge early, and took a quick lead as Maxime Fortier opened the scoring just 75 seconds into the game. He scored his second goal of the game at 5:43 of the second to stretch the Moosehead lead to 2-0. Jérémy Roy replied for the Phoenix four minutes later to cut the lead to 2-1.
Early in the third, the Mooseheads scored what could have been a crushing goal, as Andrew Shewfelt scored shorthanded on a 2-on-1 just 49 seconds into the period. However, the Phoenix responded immediately, as Jan Dufek found the net on a rebound just 36 seconds later. The Moosehead coaches took a bench minor penalty right after the goal, giving Sherbrooke a power play, and the combination of the goal and immediate man advantage seemed to spark the Phoenix.
Guillaume Gauthier tied the game at 8:30, setting the stage for Audette’s last-minute heroics.
The Phoenix were 2-for-6 on the power play, while Halifax was 0-for-6. Phoenix goalie Evan Fitzpatrick made 24 saves to pick up the win, while Eric Brassard had 26 stops in a losing cause.
Sherbrooke is back at home on Sunday at 3 p.m. as they host the Quebec Remparts at the Sports Palace.
NOTES: Friday’s game marked the 231st behind the bench for Phoenix head coach Judes Vallée, setting a record (such as it is) for coaching longevity by an expansion team coach. The previous record-holder was Réal Paiement, who coached St. John’s for 230 games … Phoenix assistant coach Jean-François Labbé is going to be inducted into the AHL Hall of Fame. Labbé, a Sherbrooke native, spent 10 years in the league and became one of the circuit’s most decorated goalies.
