QMJHL: Halifax Mooseheads win title with 5-1 victory over Baie-Comeau Drakkar

HALIFAX - Stephen MacAulay scored twice as the Halifax Mooseheads beat the Baie-Comeau Drakkar 5-1 Friday night in Game 5 of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League final to win its first President's Cup.

The Mooseheads, who joined the league 19 years ago, hosted the Memorial Cup in 1999-2000, but this is their first trip to the tournament as QMJHL champion.

Nathan MacKinnon had a goal and an assist for Halifax, while Jonathan Drouin and Stefan Fournier chipped in as well.

Halifax jumped out to an early first-period lead when MacAulay beat Baie-Comeau goalie Philippe Cadorette high to the blocker side with a wrist shot.

Fournier and Drouin added goals less than two minutes apart later in the opening period to give the Mooseheads a commanding 3-0 lead.

Fournier scored his 16th goal of the playoffs — the most in the QMJHL's post-season — as he collected a rebound and slipped a back-hander past Cadorette for a power-play goal at 13:19 of the first.

Drouin scored on a rebound after MacKinnon intercepted a pass at the Halifax blue-line and streaked in on net while the Drakkar were making a line change. He deked Cadorette, but his shot hit the post and the rebound went to Drouin who banged the puck into an open net.

Baie-Comeau chipped away at the lead with a second-period goal from Russian winger Valentin Zykov, but couldn't get any closer.

MacKinnon padded the lead with the nifty deflection with 6:08 left in the game and MacAulay added an empty-netter with 1:19 left.

The Memorial Cup will be held May 17-26 in Saskatoon.