Oleg Kulebiakin’s first QMJHL hat trick propelled the Halifax Mooseheads to a 5-4 victory over the Baie-Comeau Drakkar on Friday night.
The Drakkar scored the lone goal of the first period when Jacopo De Luca took advantage of a screen on Halifax netminder Nick Cirka and fired a puck into the Mooseheads’ goal at 5:36 on the power play.
In the second period, Miller Kay added to the Baie-Comeau lead at 8:42, tipping a shot by De Luca past Cirka. Kulebiakin then scored twice to tie the game heading into the second intermission. He struck first at 12:19, burying the rebound off a shot by Liam Kilfoil past the glove of Lucas Beckman. He scored his second at 15:31, taking a pass from Mensonen and sniping the puck into the Drakkar goal.
Mathieu Taillefer scored his first QMJHL goal early in the third period to give Halifax the lead, firing a puck through traffic and beating Beckman. The Drakkar tied the game when De Luca added his second of the night, beating Cirka.
De Luca completed the hat trick to retake the lead for Baie-Comeau at 11:49. Kilfoil responded, redirecting a shot from Carlos Händel to even up the game on the power play, and Kulebiakin scored the game-winner 17 seconds later, taking a pass from Kilfoil and finding the back of the Drakkar net.
With the win, Halifax improves to 13-6-1-1 on the season.
De Luca earned first star for the Drakkar with three goals and an assist. Kulebiakin received second-star honours for the Mooseheads, also with three goals and an assist, while Kay was awarded third star with a goal and a pair of assists.
Halifax will continue its road trip Saturday, Nov. 22, when it faces the league-leading Chicoutimi Saguenéens.
Catch all the action live on 95.7 NewsRadio at 5 p.m. with Garreth MacDonald.
