The Moncton Wildcats snapped a two-game losing streak and got back to the .500 mark.

They produced all the offence they needed in the first period and defeated the Rouyn-Noranda Huskies 5-1 in Quebec Major Junior Hockey League action last night in a penalty-filled game in front of 1,819 fans at the Arena Iamgold.

'We really liked our start and we were able to cash in on some opportunities in the first period,' said Moncton head coach Danny Flynn.

'I thought in the second period we sat back a little and they took the play to us, but then we played a good smart third period and protected the lead well.

'One of the things we're trying to do as a young team is learn how to play with the lead. It's human nature to sit back when you get up two or three goals. I saw a lot of things that I liked tonight. It was a chippy game, but we stuck together and answered the bell.' Moncton, 24-24-3-2, is fourth in the Maritime Division and 11th overall in the 17-team league. The club entered last night with one win in the previous five games, but if you look at the bigger picture it has now earned points in 10 of the past 15 outings with a 7-5-1-2 run.

The Wildcats, who are 9-16-0-2 on the road, will visit the Val d'Or Foreurs tonight and the Gatineau Olympiques on Sunday. Their next home outing is against the Acadie-Bathurst Titan next Friday at 7 p.m. at the Moncton Coliseum.

Marek Hrivik, with a pair, Alex Saulnier, James Melindy and Patrick Downe scored for Moncton, which trailed 30-27 in shots. Allain Saulnier chipped in with three assists. Downe had two assists for three points.

Hrivik, who has scored a goal in four of the past five games, also had an assist for a three-point performance. He has 87 career goals and 190 career points for the Wildcats.

Only three players have managed 100 career goals for the Wildcats.

Only three players have amassed 200 career points for the Wildcats.

Hrivik, 20, has an opportunity to join both these lists with 15 games remaining in this his final season.

Sven Andrighetto scored for Rouyn-Noranda, which is 16-32-3-3. It has just two wins in the past dozen outings, including a current four-game losing streak.

Rouyn-Noranda and the Prince Edward Island Rocket are tied for the 16th and final playoff berth.

P.E.I. has 16 games remaining, two more than Rouyn-Noranda.

On the power play, Moncton was 1-for-3 and Rouyn-Noranda was 1-for-4. The Wildcats are 2-0-0-0 in the season series between these clubs. 

Moncton came out strong with a 13-8 shots edge in the first period and it converted that into a 3-0 lead heading into the intermission. 

The Wildcats got off to a fast start with Alex Saulnier scoring his team-leading 28th goal at 1:16. Hrivik provided a nice pass and Saulnier fired a close shot past Huskies goaltender Antonio Mastropietro. 

Melindy made it 2-0 at 8:28 on a slapshot from the blueline. Hrivik increased the count to 3-0 at 19:16 by finding the top corner on a shot coming down the wing off the rush. Rouyn-Noranda owned a 12-6 shots edge in the second period, but it had nothing to show for its efforts. Moncton goaltender Roman Will was flawless and the club continued to lead 3-0 after 40 minutes. 

Rouyn-Noranda held a 10-8 shots edge in the third period and spoiled Will's shutout bid by pulling to within 3-1 on the power play at 4:07. 

Moncton regain its three-goal cushion on Hrivik's goal which made it 4-1 on the power play at 16:53. Downe rounded out the summary with a shorthanded empty netter to make it 5-1 at 19:57. 

The Wildcats have allowed just one regulation time goal against in eight of the past 13 games. That's despite the fact they have a young blueline corps and often have three rookie defencemen in the lineup. 

'Roman gave us rock solid goaltending and made a number of timely saves in this game, especially when Rouyn-Noranda made it 3-1,' said Flynn. 'I also thought (defenceman) Danick Emond was real solid for his first game back (from a knee injury). 

'We became a younger team with the moves we made in the trade period. We knew that patience would be required, but we're seeing some real positive signs. We know that we've got a ways to go, but we have a good group of kids that want to work and that's a great place to start.'