Poll 7 results

With the roster being announced this past week, fans are now asking who will be the next captain. Last year's captains have aged out and thus your Halifax Mooseheads need to name a new one. So my poll this week was "Who will be the Captain for the 2014-15 season?" 

The poll is closed and we have the results...

It's a three way tie!!

Ryan Falkenham, Austyn Hardie and Nikolaj Ehlers with one fourth of the votes each.

Here are the full results: Ryan Falkenham 25%, Kelly Bent 5%, Austyn Hardie 25%, Nikolaj Ehlers 25%, Matt Murphy 5%, Other 15% 

Thank you for voting and keep watching the blog to see if your vote was correct when the team officially names the captain within the next 2 weeks. 

Roster Announced.

YOUR 2014-15 HALIFAX MOOSEHEADS

5  Cavan Fitzgerald  D  (Lingan, NS)
6  Josh Fitzgerald  D  (Gander, NL)*
9  Jean-Sebastien Taillefer  D  (Les Coteaux, QC)*
10  Jesse Lussier  D  (Ottawa, ON)
11  Morgan Nauss  D  (Hammonds Plains, NS)*
12  Danny Moynihan  C  (Windham, NH, USA)
16  Vincent Watt  LW  (Pointe Claire, QC)
17  Brett Crossley  C  (Dartmouth, NS)*
19  Ryan Falkenham  RW  (Halifax, NS)
23  Jordan King  RW  (Corner Brook, NL)*
24  Nikolaj Ehlers  LW  (Aalborg, Denmark)
26  Taylor Ford  D  (Dorval, QC)*
28  Philippe Gadoury  C  (Greenfield Park, QC)
31  Zach Fucale  G  (Rosemere, QC)
32  Andrew Shewfelt  RW  (Dartmouth, NS)
34  Kelly Bent  C  (Halifax, NS)
40  Kevin Resop  G  (St. Petersburg, FLA, USA)*
41  Maxime Fortier  RW  (Lachine, QC)
44  Matt Murphy  D  (Fredericton, NB)
49  Brandon Vuic  LW  (Watertown, ON)
51  Samuel Leblanc  C  (Moncton, NB)
71  Connor Moynihan  LW  (Windham, NH, USA)
88  Austyn Hardie  D  (Hemmingford, QC)
96  Timo Meier  RW  (Herisau, Switzerland)

*indicates rookie

Poll #7: Question

With the captains from last season aging out, your Halifax Mooseheads brass need to figure out who the next player will be to lead the team this year. The two alternates from last season are still on the team and probably the biggest candidates to be names captain. The season is almost here and the roster will soon be announced so I thought as a pre-season poll I would ask; Who will be the Captain for the 2014-15 season?

1. Ryan Falkenham
2. Kelly Bent
3. Austyn Hardie
4. Nikolaj Ehlers
5. Matt Murphy
6. Other

So vote for who you think will be the captain this season, you have until August 30 to cast your vote.

CAMP: More cuts made

Zach Fucale will have another backup named Kevin. The Halifax Mooseheads made more cuts today and with it the role of backup goaltender is set in stone now. Christofer Langlais has been released which leaves Fucale and Kevin Resop as the team's goaltenders this season.

The team also announced that defenseman Brandon Worthen and forwards Makail Parker and Gabriel Vanier have been released which leaves 26 players in camp. 

A few more cuts are expected to be made before the final roster is released later this week. Camp continues at Cole Harbour Place this week with the Herd taking on the Cape Breton Screaming Eagles on September 6 in the last preseason game for the team. 

Good luck to the four players in the future. 

Hockey Night in... Truro

Looks like we have found our biggest rivals for this season. Playing three times in the preseason plus taking a physical player from the other team and young guys battling to show they deserve to be on the team means very physical games. Kelly Bent scored his first goal in a Halifax uniform that gave the Mooseheads a 3-0 lead but Sam Leblanc was the hero last night scoring the shootout winner.

Saint John-Halifax Game at a Glance
FINAL: Saint John 3 at Halifax 4 SO
Saint John scorers: Sam Dove-McFalls, Matt Green, Mathieu Joseph
Halifax scorers: Vincent Watt, Matt Murphy, Kelly Bent, Samuel Leblanc (SO)
Powerplay: SNB - 1/6, HFX - 0/6
Shots: Sea Dogs - 15+9+13=37, Mooseheads - 11+10+5=26
Attendance: n/a (capacity: 3,100)

Recaps
The Chronicle Herald's recap: Sam LeBlanc helped the Halifax Mooseheads salvage a win in Truro on Saturday night.

halifaxmooseheads.ca's recap: The Halifax Mooseheads received a warm reception from their temporary hosts in Truro on Saturday night, and the home team did not disappoint.

Metro Halifax's recap: After a tough 1-0 loss to Saint John on Friday, the Halifax Mooseheads came back to edge the Sea Dogs 4-3 in their second shootout in as many days, Saturday night in Truro.

The Q New's recap: Samuel Leblanc assumed the role of shooutout hero on Saturday night lifting the Halifax Mooseheads to a 4-3 victory over the Saint John Sea Dogs at Rath Eastlink Community Centre in Truro, N.S.

Station Nation's recap: A three-goal comeback by the Saint John Sea Dogs was spoiled by a lengthy shootout loss to the Halifax Mooseheads on Saturday night at the Rath Eastlink Community Centre in Truro.

qmjhl.ca's recap: Game summary.

PRESEASON: vs Saint John

GAMEDAY

Pre-season Game #4

Opponent: Saint John Sea Dogs
When: August 23, 2014
Where: Rath Eastlink Community Centre (Truro)
Time: 7:00pm
Tickets: $8.50



Saint John Sea Dogs
Preseason record: 2-1-0-0, 4pts
Goals for: 10
Goals against: 5
Head coach: Mike Kelly Ross Yates
Scoring leader: Stefano Pezzetta (3G & 1A)
Leading goaltender: Sebastien Auger (0.00 GAA)

Halifax Mooseheads 
Preseason record: 1-1-0-1, 3pts
Goals for: 6
Goals against: 7
Head coach: Dom Ducharme
Scoring leader: Brandon Vuic (1G & 1A)
Leading goaltender: Christofer Langlais (0.00 GAA)

Notes...

• A year to the day has Truro hosting another game at the RECC
• Tickets can be purchased at the arena or online only now after the Mooseheads box office sold out of their limited amount of tickets
• Halifax visited Saint John last night and skated away with a 1-0 shootout loss
• Follow me during tonight's game for live tweets 

OTHER GAMES

Gatineau vs. Rouyn-Noranda
Québec vs. Chicoutimi
Baie-Comeau vs. Rimouski
Acadie-Bathurst vs. Moncton 

Goaltending battle

It was the Auger show once again last night at Harbour Station. Saint John goaltender Sebastien Auger played all 60 minutes after preseason coach Jonathan Huberdeau told the 20 year old to stay in the net at the mid way point of the game. At the other end Kevin Resop and Christofer Langlais split time in the Mooseheads net and were pretty solid as well. Juraj Siska was the only one to score on Friday night, getting a penalty shot past Langlais when the game ended in a scoreless draw and went straight to a shootout.

Halifax-Saint John Game at a Glance
FINAL: Halifax 0 at Saint John 1 SO
Halifax scorers:
Saint John scorers: Juraj Siska (SO)
Powerplay: HFX - 0/6, SNB - 0/5
Shots: Mooseheads - 5+14+7=26, Sea Dogs - 14+6+13=33
Attendance: 3,191 (capacity: 6,200)

Recaps
The Chronicle Herald's recap: Offensive highlights were few and far between Friday night in Saint John, N.B.

Station Nation's recap: In the third game of the 2014 exhibition season, the Saint John Sea Dogs beat the Halifax Mooseheads 1-0 in a shootout at Harbour Station.

Metro Halifax's recap: The Halifax Mooseheads lost their second straight pre-season exhibition game Friday night, falling to the Saint John Sea Dogs 1-0 in a shootout at Harbour Station. 

The Q News's recap: Juraj Siska scored the only shootout goal, and the game’s only goal, and Sebastien Auger made 26 saves as the Saint John Sea Dogs edged the Halifax Mooseheads 1-0 Friday night at Harbour Station in pre-season action.

saintjohnseadogs.com's recap: Juraj Siska scored the only goal of the shootout to lead the Saint John Sea Dogs to a 1-0 victory over the Halifax Mooseheads in Quebec Major Junior Hockey League preseason action Friday at Harbour Station.

qmjhl.ca's recap: Game summary.

PRESEASON: at Saint John

GAMEDAY

Pre-season Game #3

Opponent: Saint John Sea Dogs
When: August 22, 2014
Where: Harour Station
Time: 7:30pm
Tickets: start at $5 for season ticket holders




Halifax Mooseheads
Preseason record: 1-1-0-0, 2pts
Goals for: 6
Goals against: 6
Head coach: Dom Ducharme
Scoring leader: Brandon Vuic (1G & 1A)
Leading goaltender: Kevin Resop (1.98 GAA)

Saint John Sea Dogs
Preseason record: 1-1-0-0, 2pts
Goals for: 9
Goals against: 5
Head coach: Mike Kelly Ross Yates
Scoring leader: Stefano Pezzetta (3G & 1A)
Leading goaltender: Blade Mann-Dixon (0.00 GAA)

Notes...

• This is the first game of a home and home between these two teams this weekend
• Expect Kelly Bent to make his debut in green and red tonight after the Mooseheads claimed him off waivers from Saint John
• Two more cuts were made yesterday
• Saint John's loss this preseason came against Halifax last Saturday by a 3-2 score
• Check out Station Nation's preview here and follow him during the game at @station_nation

OTHER GAMES
Charlottetown vs. Acadie-Bathurst
Chicoutimi vs. Quebec
Blainville-Boisbriand vs. Val-d'Or
Baie-Comeau vs. Rimouski
Drummondville vs. Sherbrooke
Shawinigan vs. Victoriaville

Herd Word

RETIREMENT
Jean-Sebastien Giguere has officially retired from playing hockey. The 37 year old was rumored to retire after the 2013-14 season and it was announced official today. In his last game, which was the regular season finale in Anaheim, a video tribute was played and he skated a lap around the ice with Ducks forward Teemu Selanne who was also retiring. The former Halifax Mooseheads player was a fan favourite in Halifax and won 68 games for the franchise in three seasons. He played a total of 16 National Hockey League seasons. Giguere will now be going home now as part owner of the QMHJL's Blainville-Boisbriand Armada.

Congratulations to Giggy on a great career and good luck in the future.

EHLERS
Nikolaj Ehlers has arrived at camp. The sophmore traveled all day yesterday and took part in practice today. We will most likely see him this weekend in game action when the Moose take on the Saint John Sea Dogs.

CUTS
Two more cuts have been made by Halifax, the team announced this afternoon. 18 year old Nicholas Gibson and 2014 draft pick Domenico Argento were released by the Herd. Gibson, who was drafted by the Moose in 2012, will suit up for the Valley Wildcats of the MHL the press release said. This leaves 30 players at camp (the same amount that was actually in camp on Monday) after Ehlers and newly acquired Kelly Bent reported this morning.

SATURDAY
Moose Country goes far in Nova Scotia as is shown by the "sellouts" of preseason games in Truro. The team had this to say about ticket sales for Saturday's preseason game against the Saint John Sea Dogs:

Mooseheads Acquire Bent

The Halifax Mooseheads announced this afternoon that they have claimed Halifax native Kelly Bent off waivers. The 19 year old forward had spent this past season with the Saint John Sea Dogs collecting 6 points with the team.

Bent was drafted in 2011 by the Prince Edward Island Rocket in the fourth round. He played 21 games over two seasons with the Rocket before being traded to the Gatineau Olympiques. There he played 26 games and scored a goal and assisted two others.

Most likely, Bent will be in the lineup when the Herd visit Saint John on Friday and Halifax fans will get their first taste of the 6'1" centreman in Moose colors on Saturday when the two teams meet again but in Truro.

Moose to be on Eastlink TV 10 times

Eastlink released it's QMJHL television schedule and your Halifax Mooseheads will have ten games broadcast on Atlantic Canada channel.

The Mooseheads home opener against Moncton will be on Eastlink TV. Here are the games that will be shown on Friday Night Hockey:

Photo from my.eastlink.ca

September 19th vs Moncton Wildcats

September 26th vs Chicoutimi Sagueneens 

October 10th vs Charlottetown Islanders

October 17th vs. Cape Breton Screaming Eagles

November 7th vs Saint John Sea Dogs

December 5th vs Charlottetown Islanders

January 9th vs Gatineau Olympiques

January 30th vs. Cape Breton Screaming Eagles

March 6th vs Charlottetown Islanders

The full schedule can be found here. 

TVA Sports will broadcast one of the Herd's home games when the Shawinigan Cataractes come to town on February 13th. It will be in french. 

CB wins before heading to Russia

The Cape Breton Screaming Eagles are heading to Russia and they're going overseas with a winning mind. It was a battle between provincial rivals last night with the team from the Nova Scotian island coming out on top powered by second year defenceman Jason Bell. Both teams are 1-1-0-0 during the preseason now.

Halifax-Cape Breton Game at a Glance
FINAL: Halifax 3 at Cape Breton 4
Halifax scorers: Caven Fitzgerald, Matt Murphy, Dominik Blain-Dupuis
Cape Breton scorers: Jacob Smith, Jason Bell (2), Maxim Lazarev
Powerplay: HFX - 1/3, CAP - 0/4
Shots: Mooseheads - 3+16+13=32, Screaming Eagles - 14+12+9=35
Attendance: 1,003 (capacity: 5,000)

Recaps
The Chronicle Herald's recap: The Cape Breton Screaming Eagles will head to Russia on a winning note.

Q News' recap: Veteran Jason Bell’s goal at 15:21 of the third period proved to be the game winner as the Cape Breton Screaming Eagles defeated the Halifax Mooseheads 4-3 in front of 1,003 fans on hand at Centre 200 on Sunday.

Cape Breton Post's recap: The Cape Breton Screaming Eagles came out on top 4-3 over the Halifax Mooseheads in Quebec Major Junior Hockey League exhibition action on Sunday.

theqmjhl.ca's recap: Game summary.

CAMP: Camp down to 29

Your Halifax Mooseheads have cut seven more players from camp. We will have a rookie as a backup this season after Jacob Dempsey, who saw a bit of action last season when Zach Fucale was away at NHL camp and the World Juniors, was released along with Jean-Philippe Brais. Other players released this morning were Mark Vokey, Tristin Tardif, Logan Saunders, Jacob Jacques and Eddie Banville. That leaves 29 players left in camp.

Good luck in the future to the players who were cut today. Clearly some of the rookies are impressing a lot. 

Reid retires from playing hockey

Brendon Reid, former Halifax Mooseheads player from 1997-2000, has retired from playing hockey. This afternoon he posted a picture on Instagram of a fun time that he had while playing. Reid was drafted by the Vancouver Canucks in the 2000 NHL draft and split four years between the Canucks and thier AHL affiliate Manitoba Moose. He then went over to Europe to play in the Deutsche Eishockey Liga and the National League A in Denmark and switzerland respectively. Most recently he played for CSKA Moscow of the KHL.

The 33 year old had 215 points in three seasons with the Mooseheads. He will continue to be part of the hockey community despite retiring as a player. Brandon has accepted a position as the Director of Player Development and head coaching the Vojens ice hockey team in Denmark. 

Congratulations to Brandon on a good career and good luck in your new position. 

http://instagram.com/p/r0DZiMO31O/

Vuic not just a tough guy

Second year forward Brandon Vuic has improved on his game this summer, proving that he is not just a tough guy for the Halifax Mooseheads. He scored a goal and had an assist in the game that was being held in Dartmouth last night. Local boy Brett Crossley also scored his first goal, hopefully of many, in front of plenty of friends and family.

Saint John-Halifax Game at a Glance
FINAL: Saint John 2 at Halifax 3
Saint John scorers: Stefano Pezzetta(2)
Halifax scorers: Brett Crossley, Brandon Vuic, Jacob Jacques
Powerplay: SNB - 0/3, HFX - 1/5
Shots: Sea Dogs - 5+6+6=17, Mooseheads - 15+10+10=35
Attendance: n/a (capacity: 3,000)

Recaps
The Chronicle Herald's recap: Brandon Vuic swears he didn’t do anything special to prepare for the 2014-15 hockey season but the results so far suggest otherwise.

Metro Halifax's recap: Brett Crossley’s first shot wearing a Halifax Mooseheads jersey also became his first goal for the QMJHL club – and his entire family was at the Dartmouth Sportsplex on Saturday night to see it happen.

The Q News' recap: The Halifax Mooseheads kicked off the preseason with a 3-2 victory over the saint John Sea Dogs at the Dartmouth Sportsplex on Saturday.

Station Nation's recap: The Saint John Sea Dogs dug themselves into a hole that they couldn’t quite climb out of on Saturday night.

theqmjhl.ca's recap: Game summary.

PRESEASON: vs Sea Dogs

GAMEDAY

Pre-season Game #1

Opponent: Saint John Sea Dogs
When: Saturday August 16, 2014
Where: Dartmouth Sportsplex
Time: 7:00pm
Tickets: $7 at the door (cash only)


Saint John Sea Dogs
Preseason record: 1-0-0-0, 2pts
Goals for: 7
Goals against: 2
Head coach: Mike Kelly Ross Yates
Scoring leader: Nathan Noel (2G & 0A)
Leading goaltender: n/a

Halifax Mooseheads
Preseason record: 0-0-0-0, 0pts
Goals for: 0
Goals against: 0
Head coach: Dom Ducharme
Scoring leader: n/a
Leading goaltender: n/a

Notes...

• Welcome to the preseason!
• The first round of cuts were made this morning
• It should be a fun game with a lot of rookies playing that are fighting for about a total of 8 spots on the roster
• Zach Fucale most likely will not be in net tonight or very much in this preseason
• Saint John started their preseason last night and handed Cape Breton a big loss by a 7-2 score
• According to Jamie Tozer of Station Nation (a Sea Dogs fan blog), the Dogs are looking like early Memorial Cup favourites
• Check Station Nation's preview here
• I will not be at the game so follow @HFXMooseheads tonight for updates, I will try to have a recap and a preview of Sunday's game tomorrow (no promises)

OTHER GAMES

Acadie-Bathurst vs. Charlottetown

Chicoutimi vs. Baie-Comeau

Blainville-Boisbriand vs. Gatineau

Sherbrooke vs. Victoriaville

Rimouski vs. Quebec

Shawinigan vs. Drummondville

Val-d'Or vs. Rouyn-Noranda

CAMP: Mooseheads release 8 players

Well there you have it. The Halifax Mooseheads have made their first round of cuts this morning. Halifax has released 8 players today. Jake Gaudet, Matthew Belley, Cedric Levesque, Tyler Copeland, Jonathan Courville, Adam Beveridge, William Gonthier and Brian MacDougall were cut from camp. With Gabriel Morin leaving on his own yesterday afternoon this leaves 38 players left battling for the 20 or so spots on the team.

Moose Country would like to wish the boys good luck with their respective teams this season.

Around the CHL ~ volume #1 preview edition #3

Here is a recap of what happened last season. Hope you enjoyed my posts last season. Keep reading and don't be afraid to ask me anything about my blog. Check it out before the preseason begins tomorrow. 

here are last year's winners:
Division champions 2013-14
WHL  - Kelowna Rockets (B.C.) 72 games played, 57-11-0-4 record, 118 points, 310 goals for/182 goals aagainst; Portland Winterhawks (U.S.) 72 games played, 54-13-2-3 record, 113 points, 338 goals for/207 goals against; Edmonton Oil Kings (Central) 72 games played, 50-19-2-1 record, 103 points, 290 goals for/179 goals against; Regina Pats (East) 72 games played, 39-26-4-3 record, 85 points, 257 goals for/247 goals against
OHL - Guelph Storom (Midwest) 68 games played,  52-12-2-2 record, 108 points, 340 goals for/191 goals against; Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds (West) 68 games played, 44-17-2-5 record, 95 points, 267 goals for/198 goals against; Oshawa Generals (East) 68 games played, 42-20-0-6 record, 90 points, 232 goals for/187 goals against; North Bay Battalion (Central) 68 games played, 38-24-4-2 record, 82 points, 220 goals for/189 goals against
QMJHL - Baie-Comeau Drakkar (Telus East) 68 games played, 47-16-2-3 record, 99 points, 255 goals for/170 goals against; Halifax Mooseheads (Maritimes) 68 games played, 47-18-0-3 record, 97 points, 292 goals for/182 goals against; Val-d'Or Foreurs (Telus West) 68 games played, 46-20-1-1 record, 94 points, 306 goals for/213 goals against

League championships 2014
Ed Chynoweth Cup - Edmonton Oil Kings vs. Portland Winterhawks (Oil Kings won series 4 games to 3 games)
J. Ross Robertson Cup - Guelph Storm vs. North Bay Battalion (Storm won series 4 games to 1 game)
President's Cup - Val-d'Or Foreurs vs. Baie-Comeau Drakkar (Foreurs won series 4 games to 3 games)

Memorial Cup 2014
Teams ~ Edmonton (OHL champion), Edmonton (WHL champion), London (Hosts), and Val-d'Or (QMJHL champion)

Final May 25, 2014 Edmonton vs. Val-d'Or 6-3

EDMONTON OIL KINGS WIN 2014 MEMORIAL CUP!!!


Edmonton will look to repeat as Memorial Cup champions possibly without a few key players. The Quebec Remparts welcome the nation to their city as the hosts of the national championship tournament. The 2015 BMO Prospects game will be hosted by the Niagara IceDogs. 

PRESEASON: Moose to Play 5 Games

After a couple of trades this summer and a signing, the Mooseheads have already secure their overage situation with Austyn Hardie, Jessie Lussier and Philippe Gadoury. Coach Dom Ducharme said that there are a few more open spots this season than the past few, with about half of the defenceman spots up for competition and another 3-4 spots open at forward. Zach Fucale is pretty much guaranteed the #1 goaltending job but there will be 5 boys fighting for the backup job. It should make for a very exciting training camp and interesting preseason games. 

The schedule for the Halifax Mooseheads preseason was announced a little while ago but with the Eagles playing in the Junior Club World Cup tournament changes were made to the original schedule.

Here's a refresher of when the games will be:
Saturday August 16 vs Saint John at 7pm  (Dartmouth Sportsplex)
Sunday August 17 at Cape Breton at 4pm (Centre 200)
Friday August 22 at Saint John at 7:30pm (Harbour Station)
Saturday August 23 vs Saint John at 7:00pm  (Rath Eastlink Community Centre - Truro)
Saturday September 6 at Cape Breton at 7pm (Centre 200)


Tickets for all the "home" game are now on sale.

Players arrive today for camp

It's registration day for your Halifax Mooseheads!!

With the Red/Green rosters for the intrasquad games being announced now, lets take a little deeper look at it.

• A total of 47 players have been invited to camp.
• More than half of the camp will be battling it out for the 3-4 spots that are available at the defense and forward position while it is highly believed that the other 5 goalies at camp are fighting for the backup position. Goaltender Jacob Dempsey and forward Maxime Fortier will look to impress even more this season for a more permanent spot on the team.
• Surprisingly all 11 2014 draft picks will be attending camp this week, including the two Americans that Halifax picked back in May. Watch out for Massachusetts defenceman John Marino, I hear he is pretty good.
• You probably noticed that Nikolaj Ehlers is not on the camp roster. That is because he has had a busy but exciting summer and is 'relaxing' in Switzerland. I put air qoutes around relaxing because he is practising with his old team, EHC Biel, with his father. He will join camp on August 20.

Here's the schedule for this week:
Tuesday August 12
3:00 - 5:00        Player arrival & registration
6:00                  Team & Billet Bar-B-Q

Wednesday August 13
9:00 - 9:50        Practice Red
10:00 - 10:50    Practice Green
4:00 - 6:00        Green vs Red intrasquad game

Wednesday August 13
9:00 - 9:50        Practice Red
10:00 - 10:50    Practice Green
4:00 - 6:00        Green vs Red intrasquad game

Wednesday August 13
9:00 - 9:50       Practice Red
10:00 - 10:50   Practice Green
4:00 - 6:00       Green vs Red intrasquad game

Saturday August 16
7:00       Saint John at Halifax (Dartmouth Sportsplex)

Sunday August 17
4:00      Halifax at Cape Breton (Centre 200)

I will have brief recaps of each intrasquad games as I am not able to attend them. I will let you know which players are cut through out the camp. Make sure to check back on Saturday and Sunday when I will be setting up the preseason games. Enjoy.

GOOD LUCK TO ALL THE PLAYERS.

PRESEASON: Training Camp Roster Announced

Training camp is just around the corner and your Moose have officially released their roster that will be hitting the ice on August 13 for the Red-Green intrasquad games. Cuts will be made throughout the next 3 weeks to make the 22 man roster that will represent your Halifax Mooseheads this season. A total of 49 players have been invited which includes all the Mooseheads 2014 draft picks except for the two Americans they picked.

Camp officially begins on Tuesday with player registration at 3:00pm and a billet and player BBQ. Team Red will begin the first week's practices at 9am at Cole Harbour Place followed by Team Green's practice at 10am. Intrasquad games will be played at CHP between 4pm and 6pm Wednesday, Thursday and Friday.

Team Red
G Christopher Langlais
G Jacob Dempsey
G Kevin Martin

D Austyn Hardie
D Nicolas Gibson  
D Adam Beveridge
D Brian MacDougal  
D Morgan Nauss
D Jean-Sebastien Taillefer
D Matt Murphy
D Josh Fitzgerald

F Brett Crossley
F Philippe Gadoury
F Vincent Watt
F Dominik Blain-Dupuis
F Ryan Falkenham
F Cedric Levesque
F Tyler Copeland
F Connor Moynihan
F Jonathan Courville
F Makail Parker
F Tristan Tardif
F Logan Saunders

Team Green
G Kevin Resop
G Jean-Phillipe Brais
G Zach Fucale

D William Gonthier
D Taylor Ford
D John Morino
D Brandon Worthen
D Jacob Jacques
D Jesse Lussier
D Dominico Argento

F Gabriel Morin
F Eddie Banville
F Brandon Vuic
F Samuel Leblanc
F Maxime Fortier
F Jordan King
F Barrett Dachyshyn
F Andrew Shewfelt
F Daniel Moynihan
F Gabriel Vanier
F Timo Meier
F Mark Vokey
F Jake Gaudet
F Matthew Belley

Lovell Traded To Chicoutimi

The Halifax Mooseheads have announced today that they have traded defenseman Brian Lovell to the Chicoutimi Sagueneens for a sixth round pick in 2015.

Brian Lovell, 19, will be in his third junior year during the 2014-15 season if he makes the Sags. In two seasons with the Moose Lovell had 2 goals and 11 points. He played 81 regular season games. In the playoffs, he had 2 helpers in 17 games.

Moose Country would like to wish Brian good luck in Chicoutimi. Watch the Sagueneens training camp starting August 11 to see if Lovell makes the team.

Events

The QMJHL released the regular season schedule a few months ago and this year is a little bit different if you noticed. There are two home and home series between the Nova Scotia teams but neither are in December after Christmas which means no Battle of Nova Scotia events. Talking about December, there will be a New Year's Eve game for the first time in years.

Here are the annual events that are happening for the 2014-15 season:

HOME OPENER - September 19 vs. Moncton Wildcats

Pink in the Rink 7 - October 10 vs. Charlottetown Islanders

DND Appreciation Night - November 7 vs. Saint John Sea Dogs

Teddy Bear Toss - January 9 vs. Gatineau Olympiques
Fan Appreciation Night/Season finale - March 21 vs. Saint John Sea Dogs

Hockey Challenge Raises Over Thousand Dollars

The Jordan Boyd Celebrity Hockey Challenge, that was played today, raised over a thousand dollars. The $103,000 that was raised will be split between the Heart & Stroke Foundation and the Jordan Boyd Leadership Award.

Many local hockey celebrities participated in nine games that were contested between six teams. The "pros" were randomly selected to play with the different teams before they game together with top 24 fundraisers for an All-Star game.

Former Halifax Mooseheads players that played were Nathan MacKinnon (Colorado Avalanche), Brad Marchand (Boston Bruins), Andrew Bodnarchuk (Los Angles Kings), Brendan Duke, MacKenzie Weegar and Stephen MacAulay. Other celebrities that participated included James Sheppard (San Jose Sharks), Zach Sill (Pittsburgh Penguins), Shawn O'Donnell (New York Rangers), Mason McDonald (Charlottetown Islanders) and Jacob Brennan (Acadie-Bathurst Titan).

Jordan Boyd passed away last year during the Titan training camp because of an undiagnosed heart condition. The Bathurst team had selected him in the fourth round of the 2013 QMJHL Draft.

Start of something new

It's August once again which means that we are close to the beginning of yet another season of Mooseheads hockey. After three straight years of going to the semi finals in the President's Cup playoffs with a championship in the middle, are we in store for a sub par season before the start of a rebuild. We will have to wait and see until March but the roster that they have set up for the preseason is a mix of strong offensive veterans and some talented draftees that had to wait their turn.

The top players that led Halifax to the Memorial Cup championship in the 2012-13 season have all almost moved on past their junior careers and a couple more could move on after the start of the season. Despite Nathan MacKinnon, Jonathan Drouin, Konrad Abeltshauser, Stephen MacAulay, Trey Lewis and MacKenzie Weegar going on to better things, the Herd still have a good group but don't expect them to blow teams away like they have the last 2 seasons.

With the begining of the preseason just around the corner, it also begins another year of MooseCountry blogging and tweeting from me. This will be my second full season of posting articles.

This year on Moose Country:

• Top Herd
• Around the CHL
• Live tweet schedule (post of games I will be at and tweeting)
• Gameday previews and recaps
• Preseason game previews and recaps
• Training camp news
• News on recent former Moose players in the pros

New this season:
*VOTE for Star of the Month - at the end of each month you the fans will get to vote who should be the star of the month from the Top Herd choices
*STAT SUNDAY - will be done once a month, breaking down the Mooseheads stats in the past month
*Pages on Halifax Mooseheads history including players and event backgrounds
*CONTESTS - I will be doing a few contests this season. Make sure you are following my Twitter and Facebook pages for all the details and when they will happen