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Now is not the time for the Halifax Mooseheads to revisit old patterns.

Head coach Eric Veilleux said his team was fortunate to hang on for a 3-2 win over the Moncton Wildcats in Game 2 in Halifax on Saturday after letting up in the back half of the game. Lapses in intensity dogged the Mooseheads at times during the regular season and nearly earned them a first-round exit against the Quebec Remparts.

So now that they are ahead 2-0 in their second-round best-of-seven against the Wildcats, Veilleux wants his players to remember the importance of playing at full throttle at all times.

“We were on top of them a little bit more like we did (in Game 1), then we kind of backed off and played hesitant,” he said after Game 2.

“But I really liked the way we played the last six minutes. It seemed like we came back to our normal way to play. There was no hesitation anymore and we were more assertive and confident with the puck breaking out.”

Games 3 and 4 are Tuesday and Wednesday in Moncton, where the Mooseheads are certain to face a team that is prepared to fight for its playoff life. The Wildcats already have a reputation as a hard-working group so there is every reason to believe they will be ready to bring their peak effort.

“We played them (nine) times this season so we know they’re a very good team,” said Halifax winger Xavier Parent. “They’re skilled and they play really hard so we know they will be coming at us.”

The Wildcats will also be able to match lines now that they are on home ice. While the Mooseheads’ biggest strength is their depth, their top line has been especially difficult for the Wildcats to contain.

Raphael Lavoie, Samuel Asselin and Antoine Morand combined for 13 points in the first two games and Lavoie leads the league in goals (11) and points (18). Lavoie was named the QMJHL player of the week on Monday after putting up nine points in four games.

The flip side is Moncton stars Jeremy McKenna and Jakob Pelletier struggled to produce against Halifax’s matchups in the first two games at the Scotiabank Centre. They combined for 186 points during the regular season but McKenna has yet to contribute a point so far in the series and Pelletier has one assist.

Otherwise, the Wildcats are still banged up on the blue line and will also lose workhorse Gabriel Sylvestre for Game 3. He received a one-game suspension for making an inappropriate gesture at the end of Game 2. The overager was seen directing a throat slash gesture toward a Halifax player at the end of a scuffle and also making a motion like he would put somebody to sleep by knocking them out.

With Jordan Spence and Jonathan Aspirot dealing with injuries, Sylvestre had been logging even more minutes than usual so his loss is significant.

Wildcats winger Alexander Khovanov also received a one-game suspension for cross-checking Halifax centre Joel Bishop in the neck at the end of Game 2.

If necessary, Game 5 will be played in Halifax on Friday, <QL>Game 6 is scheduled for Sunday afternoon in Moncton and <QL>Game 7 will be back in Halifax on Tuesday.

The Mooseheads announced on Monday they would be <QL>sending rookie forward Marcel Barinka to the world under-18 championship in Sweden, <QL>April 18-28.

The Czech rookie appeared in 51 games during the regular season but has been a healthy scratch all playoffs so far. He will return to the team after the tournament.

Elsewhere in the league, the Cape Breton Screaming Eagles and Rimouski Oceanic are tied 1-1, the Rouyn-Noranda Huskies lead the Victoriaville Tigres 2-0 and the Drummondville Voltigeurs are up 2-0 on the Sherbrooke Phoenix.