Friday, April 29, 2005 | By Philip Croucher, Halifax Daily News

The mission is by no means complete.

But that said, the Halifax Mooseheads are still basking in the glory of getting back to their second Quebec Major Junior Hockey League final in the past three years, a pressure that followed this team throughout the 2004-05 season.

"We were hearing people say that we should be there," said Mooseheads defenceman Alexandre Picard.

"We knew we had a good team, and we just wanted to get (to the final). We were on a mission, pretty much."

After a bye in the opening round of the playoffs, the Mooseheads posted series wins over the Gatineau Olympiques and Rouyn-Noranda Huskies to make it to the final again.

Second most points

Halifax, which finished the regular season with the second most points, disposed of a hard-working Olympiques team in five games in the quarterfinals, then took care of the third-seeded Huskies 4-0 in the semis.

In the series sweep of Rouyn-Noranda, which ended Wednesday night, Halifax outscored the Huskies 21-6 and trailed for just 14:25 in the four games.

"We're never satisfied with only winning," said Picard, one of six Mooseheads who were on the 2002-03 edition of the team that lost in the league final to the Olympiques in seven games.

"We win, but we also want to play better ... that's what we're focusing on to do. We've done that the last couple of games. We've improved all around."

The Mooseheads have talent and depth at every position, but two players have stood out in leading this playoff charge.

The first is Francois-Pierre Guenette. The 20-year-old centre is not only leading the team in playoff scoring with four goals and nine assists, he's also showed tremendous grit, and is one of the team's best penalty-killers.

"He's 20 and he doesn't want to lose, like everyone else in this room," said Mooseheads forward Marc-Andre Bernier, who plays on the same line as the fellow Vancouver Canuck draftee. "He's working his balls off, game after game. You can see what happens when you work hard like that. You get your points."

The other is goaltender Jeremy Duchesne. A playoff rookie, the 18-year-old has performed like a poised veteran between the pipes. Duchesne is 8-1 in the post-season with a league-best goals-against-average of 1.85.

He also has the second-best save percentage at .934.

'There whenever we mess up'

"Everybody knows what he brings to the table. Since he's been here, he's brought the same thing every game," Picard said of Duchesne, who, since being traded to Halifax from the Victoriaville Tigres on Jan. 8, is a remarkable 20-1-2. "He's just there whenever we mess up in our zone. He's there to cover us up."

The Mooseheads will face either the top-ranked Rimouski Oceanic or the fourth-seeded Chicoutimi Sagueneens in the best-of-seven final, which will start in the latter part of next week.

Rimouski, which features Cole Harbour's Sidney Crosby, is the odds-on favourite to face Halifax as they lead the other semifinal 3-1, with Game 5 tonight in Rimouski.

And if it does wind up being the Oceanic, the attention that series would generate among fans and the media would be off the charts.

"If it's Rimouski, it's Rimouski. If it's Chicoutimi, it's Chicoutimi," Bernier said. "I mean, we're ready for this one. All the boys are excited to get to the final.

"We're on a mission, and our mission isn't over until the end."