Mooseheads player dedicates goal in Fight Cancer Night to his late mother

To say a goal had extra meaning for Halifax Mooseheads forward Braeden MacPhee on Saturday night would be an understatement. 

MacPhee put the puck in the net for his late mother — who died from cancer less than six months ago — during Mooseheads Fight Cancer Night while the team was wearing special jerseys in front of more than 8,500 fans. 

"The whole night was really special for me to play with those jerseys on," said MacPhee. "To score that goal it was a very special moment for my family."

Following the goal, MacPhee made his way back to the Halifax bench. That's when the impact of him scoring a goal for his mother, who was taken by cancer at the age of 46, really sank in and he broke into tears.

"I'm normally not a very emotional guy, but it definitely brought a tear to my eye," said MacPhee, a 19-year-old forward from Moncton. "I could feel my mom's presence right there with me."

Halifax coach Jim Midgley says the emotion that came pouring out of MacPhee after the third-period goal speaks to his character.

"Obviously that was an emotional time for him and he's the kind of guy who wears his heart on his sleeve every night," said Midgley. "Everybody with our team knew what he went through last year and it was really touching for all of us to see him score that goal, it was really incredible to see him do it."

Jolene Conway passed away last spring. Part of her obituary read, "Jolene dedicated her life to her boys and was their biggest supporter in all their sports activities. She loved attending hockey games and any other games the boys played."

"Her whole life was really dedicated to me and my brother, we are both huge into hockey and that's something we've always done our whole lives," said MacPhee. "She was always at