Monday, April 4, 2005 | By Philip Croucher, Halifax Daily News

They say defence wins championships.

And in this year's playoffs, the Halifax Mooseheads have arguably the best defensive unit in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League.

"I don't think it's just one thing. It's all the little details we've been working on all year," said Mooseheads defenceman Pierre-Olivier Beaulieu. "I think the goaltending we've had all year long, too. The key to a good defence is to have good goaltending. That makes the job a lot easier."

Not only did the Mooseheads allow the least number of goals in the regular season, they also surrendered the fewest shots. Only 172 pucks - for an average of 2.45 per game - went in against Halifax out of 1,893 shots on goal.

The Mooseheads were one of just two teams to allow fewer than 2,000 shots in the 70-game regular season.

The other was the Cape Breton Screaming Eagles, who were ousted from the playoffs last Friday by the Gatineau Olympiques. The Eagles allowed 1,990 shots.

"It's not only the defence, it's the way we forecheck," said Mooseheads defenceman Alexandre Picard, of the team's 27-a-game shot-against total. "We try to close out guys at the blueline, even the red line if we can.

"And we take a lot of pride in the one-on-one battles we face."

The Mooseheads have one of the oldest bluelines in the league. Beaulieu is 20, Picard, Jimmy Sharrow, Jeff MacAulay and Franklin MacDonald are all 19, while Jean-Francois Brault is 18 and Luciano Lomanno is 17.

In the regular season, when all seven defencemen were healthy, Brault and Lomanno battled for the sixth spot. Expect that to continue in the post-season.

The one knock against this unit going into the season was that, while talented and skilled, they weren't physical enough. But many of them have picked up that aspect of their game, and showed they can handle the grittier style.

"I don't think I was recognized, or Beaulieu or Jimmy, were recognized, to hit. And MacAulay and MacDonald. I don't think they were recognized (either)," said Picard, a second-round draft pick of the Philadelphia Flyers, and the real leader of the blueline. "I think we all committed to play more physical, at least more than in the past.

"We just have a good mix," he added. "We have Jimmy and MacDonald on offence. MacAulay plays a really good defensive game. I think everyone is playing a good all-around game."

They'll need to continue that in the playoffs, as games tighten up.

"Everything is tight," said Beaulieu, a former draft pick of the Detroit Red Wings, who played most of the season paired with Picard. "I think the key for us is to give the same thing to those forwards that we receive in their zone. They don't give us room, we don't give them room."