STATS SUNDAY: December

Games played: 11
Record: 8-2-0-1, 17pts
Goals for/against:39/26
Powerplay*: 17.5%
Penalty kill*: 84.1%
Shutouts: none

Top 5 leading scorers
Points: Otto Somppi 14, Raphael Lavoie 10, Xavier Parent 10, Filip Zadina 8, Benoit-Olivier Groulx 7
Goals: Filip Zadina 5, Xavier Parent 5, Arnaud Durandeau 4, Raphael Lavoie 4, Connor Moynihan 4
Assists: Otto Somppi 12, Raphael Lavoie 6, Xavier Parent 5, Benoit-Olivier Groulx 5, Filip Zadina 3
Penalty minutes: Jordan Lepage 24, Benoit-Olivier Groulx 18, Connor Moynan 18, Arnaud Durandeau 14, Joel Bishop 13
Plus/minus: Jared McIsaac +8, Walter Flower +6, Otto Somppi +6, Benoit-Olivier Groulx +4, Justin Barron +4
Rookie scoring: Xavier Parent 10pts, Filip Zadina 8pts, Patrick Kyte 5pts, Justin Barron 2pts, Jake Ryczek 2pts

Goaltending stats*
Blade Mann-Dixon: 13-4-2-0    2.67 GAA     0.908 SAV%
Alexis Gravel: 10-6-2-1    2.92 GAA     0.905 SAV%



*overall

Blue Moose Pick Up Win At Home

The Halifax Mooseheads wore blue on Saturday but saw lots of red during the afternoon as the home team collected a 5-2 victory over the visiting Cape Breton Screaming Eagles. Halifax got off to a slow start but Alexis Gravel stood fairly strong in the first period, letting in just one goal on 13 shots in the opening 20. The Mooseheads played much better in the middle frame and scored three goals in less than six minutes to lead the game 3-1 after 40 minutes. Newly acquired Jake Ryczek picked up his first Q career point this afternoon after passing the puck to Connor Moynihan who scored his 12th goal of the season. In the third period Cape Breton had the upper hand for most of the frame and were able to close the gap to a goal on Leon Gawanke's 3rd of the year but the tides turned towards the Herd once again in the final 5 minutes. Rookie Xavier Parent recorded his first career two goal game, including the insurance marker at the 15:10 point of the final frame. It was a physical game, however the referees decided to mostly let the boys play the game out and only handed out 5 penalties the whole match.

FINAL: Screaming Eagles 2 at Mooseheads 5
Stars: 3. Alexis Gravel HAL | 2. Jake Ryczek HAL | 1. Xavier Parent HAL
Attendance: 8,902
MC's Top Herd: Xavier Parent

GAME LOG
First period
19:02 CAP Brooklyn Kalmikov (11) | A: Martineau & Proulx

Second period
8:45 HAL Xavier Parent (9) | A: Bishop
10:38 HAL Otto Somppi (12), PP | A: Chainey
14:04 HAL Connor Moynihan (12) | A: Ryczek

Third period
11:23 CAP Leon Gawanke (3), PP | A: Martineau & Smith
15:10 HAL Xavier Parent (10) | A: Higgins & Kyte
16:24 HAL Benoit-Olivier Groulx (16), PP | A: Durandeau & Somppi

Shots: 31-27 in favour of Cape Breton
Powerplay: CAP - 1-for-2; HAL - 2-for-3

NOT DRESSED - Cooper Jones (healthy), Jared McIsaac (suspended), Filip Zadina (world juniors) and Barrett Dachyshyn (healthy)

UP NEXT - Game 2 of the Hurley Cup series will go tomorrow in Sydney between your Mooseheads and the Cape Breton Screaming Eagles. Puck drops at 2pm.

GAMEDAY #37: vs. Cape Breton

GAMEDAY

HALIFAX MOOSEHEADS VS CAPE BRETON SCREAMING EAGLES
Puck drops at 2pm
TV: Eastlink | Radio: News 95.7 | Live: @MC_MooseCountry
Scotiabank Centre (10,595) ~ Halifax, NS

Battle of Nova Scotia. The games between these two provincial rivals are always entertaining and the home and home series on New Year's Eve weekend have a special place in each of the players hearts. Beginning with last season, the year end matches received a boost of significance as the teams now play for the Hurley Cup. Halifax will be looking to get the trophy to Moose Country after Cape Breton won both games in 2016 to claim the first Hurley Cup. This also happens to be the last home game of 2017 for your Mooseheads so come out and support the boys as they sport blue jerseys to raise money for a good cause. The Herd will try to stay on top of the division so there's a little extra pressure on this afternoon's home team as they take on the Cape Breton Screaming Eagles at 2pm. Cape Breton is looking to right the ship a little bit as they are 4-5-1 in their last 10 games and are now 5th in the Maritimes division. Both teams will be without their leading scorer this weekend as Filip Zadina (Halifax) and Drake Batherson (Cape Breton) are trying to help their respective countries in the World Juniors.

This is the seventh game this season between these two teams. Halifax is 5-1-0-0 against the Screaming Eagles while Cape Breton has a 1-4-0-1 record versus the Mooseheads. The last matchup was just before the Christmas break on December 16 as Xavier Parent led the home Herd team to a 4-2 win with a goal and an assist while Alexis Gravel made 27 saves.

OVERALL RECORDS
Eagles: 16-16-2-1 = 35 points (5th in Maritimes division, 13th overall)
Mooseheads: 21-10-4-1 = 47 points (1st in Maritimes division, 3rd overall)

LEADING SCORERS
HFX: Filip Zadina 46pts (24G & 22A), Maxime Fortier 41pts (18G & 23A), Otto Somppi 36pts (11G & 25A)
CAP: Drake Batherson 39pts (17G & 22A), Phelix Martineau 34pts (18G & 16A), Egor Sokolov 28pts (13G & 15A)

PREVIOUS GAMES
Cape Breton is coming off a tight 2-1 overtime win on Thursday night in Saint John. Phelix Martineau had both goals for the Screaming Eagles while Kevin Mandolese stopped 20 of the Sea Dogs' 21 shots to get the victory.

Halifax is coming off a unfortunate 2-0 loss on Thursday at home where the Mooseheads outshot the Charlottetown Islanders 36-23. Blade Mann-Dixon faced his former team once again and made 21 saves.

HEAD-TO-HEAD
October 13  Halifax 3 at Cape Breton 4
October 14  Cape Breton 5 at Halifax 9
October 28  Halifax 4 at Cape Breton 3
November 18  Cape Breton 5 at Halifax 6 SO
December 13  Halifax 5 at Cape Breton 2
December 16  Cape Breton 2 at Halifax 4
December 30  Cape Breton at Halifax - 2pm
December 31  Halifax at Cape Breton - 2pm
January 19  Cape Breton at Halifax - 7pm

OUT OF TOWN
Voltigeurs vs. Sagueneens     4:00pm
Remparts vs. Drakkar     4:00pm

AFTER THE BUZZER
Halifax will travel to Cape Breton tomorrow to take on the Eagles again for their Battle of NS event. Puck drops at 2pm.

GAMEDAY #36: vs. Charlottetown

GAMEDAY
HALIFAX MOOSEHEADS VS CHARLOTTETOWN ISLANDERS
Puck drops at 7:00pm
TV: Webcast | Radio: News 95.7 | Live: @MC_MooseCountry
Scotiabank Centre (10,595) ~ Halifax, NS

Welcome back boys. The Halifax Mooseheads are back after their holiday break and are looking to start the second half of the season off right. It's a battle of two teams who are in the midst of good runs with Halifax winning 3 straight and Charlottetown picking up points in their last three games, going 2-0-1. The first 17 games of the second half will be important for the Herd as they are all against Maritime clubs and the team will be trying to stay on top of the division. Halifax will be without leading scorer Filip Zadina who is in Buffalo participating in the World Juniors but that just gives other guys a chance to step up and produce. Charlottetown was I think one of the biggest surprises in the first half of the season, the Islanders are 3rd in the Maritimes division and have 20 wins in 33 games. Going into 2017-18 many felt like the Islanders would be near the bottom of standings after losing about half of their team from last season, however they have had strong goaltending and defence leading them to a pretty good record.

This is fifth game this season between these two teams. Halifax is 3-0-1-0 against the Islanders while Charlottetown has a 1-3-0-0 record versus the Mooseheads. The last matchup was November 24 on the island where the Isles won 3-2 in overtime. Otto Somppi and Maxime Fortier each had a goal and an assist to lead the Herd while Alexis Gravel made 31 saves to take the loss.

OVERALL RECORDS
Islanders: 20-11-2-0 = 42 points (3rd in Maritimes division, 9th overall)
Mooseheads: 21-9-4-1 = 47 points (1st in Maritimes division, 3rd overall)

LEADING SCORERS
HAL: Filip Zadina 46pts (24G & 22A), Maxime Fortier 41pts (18G & 23A), Otto Somppi 36pts (11G & 25A)
CHA: Keith Getson 26pts (12G & 14A), Matthew Grouchy 24pts (11G & 13A), Pierre-Olivier Joseph 24pts (4G & 20A)

PREVIOUS GAMES
Charlottetown is coming off a 4-3 overtime loss to Saint John on December 16. The Islanders were led by d-man Pierre-Olivier Joseph who had a goal and an assist on the road and despite outshooting the Sea Dogs 58-28, they couldn't get the victory.

Halifax is coming off a 4-2 home win on December 16 against the Screaming Eagles. Xavier Parent had a goal and an assist while Max Fortier had 2 helpers to lead the Mooseheads. Alexis Gravel made his third straight start and stopped 27 of Cape Breton's 29 shots to take the win.

MISSING IN ACTION - Filip Zadina (world juniors)

HEAD-TO-HEAD
September 23  Halifax 3 at Charlottetown 2
October 1  Charlottetown 0 at Halifax 3
October 29  Charlottetown 2 at Halifax 6
November 24  Halifax 2 at Charlottetown 3 OT
December 28  Charlottetown at Halifax - 7pm
January 11  Charlottetown at Halifax - 7pm
January 12  Halifax at Charlottetown - 7pm
February 6  Halifax at Charlottetown - 7pm
February 21  Halifax at Charlottetown - 7pm

OUT OF TOWN
Titan vs. Wildcats     7:00pm
Sea Dogs vs. Screaming Eagles     7:00pm
Huskies vs. Armada     8:00pm
Cataractes vs. Oceanic     8:00pm
Tigres vs. Remparts     8:00pm
Drakkar vs. Sagueneens     8:30pm
Olympiques vs. Voltigeurs     8:30pm
Foreurs vs. Phoenix     8:30pm

AFTER THE BUZZER
Halifax will welcome the Cape Breton Screaming Eagles on Saturday for the annual Battle of Nova Scotia game. Puck drops at 2pm.

Trade Acquisition To Report

Photo - ushl.com

Last week, the Halifax Mooseheads announced their first trade of the winter trade period. The team traded a 1st round draft pick in 2018 to the Acadie-Bathurst Titan for the rights of American defenceman Jake Ryczek and a 2018 3rd rounder.

Rycek was drafted by the Titan in the 6th round of the 2015 QMJHL draft from the Sioux City Musketeers of the USHL but decided not to report. He instead stayed in his home country and played another two seasons in the USHL before joining the Providence College Friars this season. IN his three seasons in the USHL playing for the Musketeers and the Waterloo Black Hawks, the 19 year old had 21 goals and 81 points in 152 games played. The Ludlow, MA native has had limited playing time for the Friars this year only suiting up for 5 games.

Originally, Cam Russell and the Mooseheads brass were unsure if Ryczek was going to report to the team but I guess he thought about it and Russell was able to convince the young man that this would be a smart decision to come to Atlantic Canada. Jake, who was drafted by the Chicago Blackhawks in the 2016 NHL draft, is already in Moose Country and participated in his first practice this morning. It is yet to be determined if he will make his debut tonight but if he plays this week, he will wear #8 before switching to number 16 in the new year.

Welcome to the team Jake!

Herd Finish 1st Half of Season

Photo - Shawn Davidson

And it's the end of the first half of the 2017-18 season already. Your Halifax Mooseheads go into the holiday break with three consecutive wins with two being over provincial rivals Cape Breton. Rookie Xavier Parent had a goal and an assist to lead the Herd in the game on Saturday night where Halifax defeated the Screaming Eagles 4-2. Blade Mann-Dixon was back for the last couple of games after being out with an injury but clearly did not feel good enough to be put in game action as Alexis Gravel started all 3 matches. The 3 victories led to the CHL giving the Moose an honourable mention on the BMO Top-10 rankings that were released on Wednesday.

The game against Cape Breton on December 13 began a streak of 20 matches that the Mooseheads will play against Maritime division rivals. It will be interesting to see how the standings are like when this string of games end in February. When teams come back on December 28, some will look different but is yet to be seen if Halifax will as they have only done one trade so far and the player they received from Acadie-Bathurst is not guaranteed to report. The Herd will start with a game at home against the Charlottetown Islanders before playing a home and home with CB on the weekend.

First half stats
Record - 21-9-4-1 = 47 points   35GP (3rd overall, 1st Maritimes division)
Goals for - 131
Goals against - 104
Penalties -  507
Powerplay - 17.2%
Penalty kill - 83.7%
Streak - 3-0-0-0
Past 10 - 7-2-0-1

Top 5 scorers: Filip Zadina (24-22-46), Maxime Fortier (18-23-41), Otto Somppi (11-25-36), Benoit-Olivier Groulx (15-14-29) & Arnaud Durandeau (13-14-27)
Goalies: Blade Mann-Dixon 13-3-2-0 record, 1 shutout, 2.70 GAA, 0.908 SV%; Alexis Gravel 8-6-2-1 record, 0 shutouts, 3.09 GAA, 0.899 SV%



Have a happy holiday break Moose Country, see you back at the Scotiabank Centre on December 28. Thank you for reading my blog, I hope you enjoy it.

Moose End the First Half on a High Note

Tonight was a big win for your Halifax Mooseheads as they finish the first half of the season on a winning note as they cruise to a 4-2 victory over their provincial rivals the Cape Breton Screaming Eagles after a very hard fought battle by both teams. This is the second victory Halifax has had over the Eagles this week where they took the game in Sydney by a score of 5-2. The Eagles did come out strong but after taking consecutive penalties it saw Jared McIssac draw first blood notching a power-play goal. After that, it saw Peyton Hoyt score to even things up, the first period would end in a one to one tie with shots 12-8 in favour of Cape Breton. In the second it saw your Mooseheads going ahead 2-1 with Patty Kyte scoring his second in as many nights, but about five minutes later Jordan Ty Fournier tied things up once again, just over halfway through the second just as a power play expired Xavier Parent scored to regain the lead that would remain going into the intermission. after two periods of play, it saw Halifax with a lead in shots 21-20. In the third Connor Moynihan would seal the deal and score into the empty net to secure the win for the home team. With a lot of the jump that Cape Breton did have it saw Alex Gravel play a very solid game and make some timely saves to help the team to victory. This game sets up the Hurley Cup that takes place at the end of the month, Halifax will look to take revenge after the loss last year.

FINAL: Screaming Eagles 2 at Mooseheads 4
Stars: 3. Alex Gravel HAL | 2. Peyton Hoyt CAP | 1. Xavier Parent HAL
Attendance: 7,153
MC’s Top Herd: Alex Gravel

GAME LOG
First period
4:10 HAL Jared McIssac (4), PP | A: Parent & Fortier
6:28 CAP Peyton Hoyt (10) | A: MacLellan & Proulx

Second period
3:19 HAL Patty Kyte (2) | A: Flower & Somppi
7:46 CAP Jordan Ty Fournier (9) | A: Hoyt & Lauuon
12:05 HAL Xavier Parent (8) | A: Higgins & Bishop

Third period
19:16 HAL Connor Moynihan (11) | A: Fortier & Groulx

Powerplay: CAP – 0-for-3, HAL – 1-for-6
Shots: 29-29

MISSING IN ACTION – Ryan Barbosa, Jocktan Chainey and Filip Zadina

SCORES
Sherbrooke 2 at Blainville 5
Victoriaville 3 at Drummondville 5
Bathurst 3 at Moncton 2 SO
Rimouski 3 at Baie Comeau 2 OT
Chicoutimi 3 at Shawinigan 7
Saint John 4 at Charlottetown 3 OT
Val D'or 2 at Rouyn Noranda 4

UP NEXT: Halifax will welcome the Islanders to town to open up the second half of the season. Puck drops at 7pm.

Jumbotron Fails But The Mooseheads Don't

Photo - Shawn Davidson

In a game that would decide who was first in the Maritimes division for tonight, the evening began a little strange. The score board at the Scotiabank Centre went black during the playing of the pre-game video and did not work the rest of the night. For fans it was annoying but it didn't bother your Halifax Mooseheads who cruised to a second straight 5-2 victory, this time defeating the Acadie-Bathurst Titan on Friday night. Another problem that did end up effecting the players a little bit was the ice surface which seemed to be affected by the basketball game played yesterday evening as the boys on both teams kept falling with no one around them. Bathurst came out strong and had the first two shots on net but Connor Moynihan drew first blood for your Herd on their second shot less than 5 minutes into the match. After that Halifax and the Titan played a pretty good defensive game with shots 10-9 for the away team after 20 minutes however Alexis Gravel was able to outplay Reilly Pickard in net and it helped the home team get a 2-0 lead though one. In the middle frame Gravel was the difference yet again especially on Acadie-Bathurst's power plays which allowed Max Fortier get a short handed goal to give the Herd a 5-0 after 40 minutes. It was Fortier's 4th shortie of the season and came on his 20th birthday. Rookie Patrick Kyte tipped in a nice back handed pass from Arnaud Durandeau to pick up his first junior league goal. In the third the Titan had some life after the decided to replace Pickard to start the frame and were able to get two goals past Gravel but it didn't matter in the end.

FINAL: Titan 2 at Mooseheads 5
Stars: 3. Jordan Lepage HAL | 2. Patty Kyte HAL | 1. Otto Somppi HAL
Attendance: 6,158
MC’s Top Herd: Patty Kyte

GAME LOG
First period
4:43 HAL Connor Moynihan (10) | A: Lepage & McIssac
17:21 HAL Xavier Parent (7), PP | A: Lavoie & Groulx

Second period
9:13 HAL Patty Kyte (1) | A: Somppi & Durandeau
15:48 HAL Arnaud Durandeau (13) | A: Somppi
18:30 HAL Maxime Fortier (18), SH | A: none

Third period
2:12 BAT German Rubstov (8) | A: Viel & Drolet
14:29 BAT Felix-Antoine Drolet (1) | A: Crossman & MacIssac

Shots: 31-26 in favour of Bathurst
Powerplay: BAT – 0-for-5; HAL – 1-for-8

NOT DRESSED – Filip Zadina (WJC), Jocktan Chainey (injury) and Walter Flower (healthy)

SCORES
Cape Breton 1 at Charlottetown 6
Saint John 4 at Moncton 3 OT
Shawinigan 2 at Victoriaville 7
Rimouski 0 at Baie-Comeau 2
Blainville-Broisand 6 at Drummondville 3
Chicoutimi 2 at Gatineau 4
Quebec 4 at Rouyn-Noranda 7

UP NEXT: The Mooseheads will welcome their provincial rivals to town as they take on the Cape Breton Screaming Eagles tomorrow night. Puck drops at 7pm.

GAMEDAY #34: vs. Acadie-Bathurst

GAMEDAY 
HALIFAX MOOSEHEADS VS ACADIE-BATHURST TITAN
Puck drops at 7:00pm
TV: Webcast | Radio: News 95.7 | Live: @MC_MooseCountry
Scotiabank Centre (10,595) ~ Halifax, NS

Once again top spot in the Maritimes division is up for grabs when these two teams are meeting. Almost 3 weeks ago, the Mooseheads and Titan faced off in Bathurst for the division lead where the home team got the victory and the clubs have been switching places since than. Acadie-Bathurst and Halifax are tied with 43 points after playing 33 games so far this season. The Herd will be without the services of team leading scorer Filip Zadina tonight and for the rest of this month as he is participating in the 2018 World Juniors with the Czech Republic. Halifax might also be without Blade Mann-Dixon and Maxime Fortier as they are still recovering from injuries but they may be game time decisions. Bathurst has been the hotter team of late going 3-0-2 in their last five games while Halifax has a streak of 1 win but when these two clubs meet they are exciting games and in recent history have been very close. Who will come out on top? Well head down to the Scotiabank Centre for some Friday night hockey and the second to last contest before the holiday break.

This is the fourth game this season between these two teams. Halifax is 1-2-0-0 against the Titan while Acadie-Bathurst has a 2-1-0-0 record versus the Mooseheads. The last matchup was November 26 where the home Titan picked up a 5-4 victory on the back of Noah Dobson's three point night. Otto Somppi (2G&1A) and Raphael Lavoie (1G&2A) had 3 point nights as well to lead Halifax in scoring while Alex Gravel was the busier goalie stopping 40 of Bathurst's shots.

OVERALL RECORDS
Titan: 18-8-5-2 = 43 points (T-1st in Maritimes division, 3rd overall)
Mooseheads: 19-9-4-1 = 43 points (T-1st in Maritimes division, 6th overall)

LEADING SCORERS
HFX: Filip Zadina 46pts (24G & 22A), Maxime Fortier 38pts (17G & 21A), Otto Somppi 33pts (11G & 22A)
BAT: Antoine Morand 37pts (14G & 23A), Noah Dobson 31pts (4G & 27A), Adam Holwell 30pts (8G & 22A)

PREVIOUS GAMES
Acadie-Bathurst is coming off a 3-2 overtime loss on home ice Wednesday night against Charlottetown. Liam Murphy and Samuel L'Italien each had a goal while Reilly Pickard made 27 stops as the Islanders outshot the Titan.

Halifax is coming off a big 5-2 victory over their provincial rivals in Sydney on Wednesday. Four different players record a goal and an assist each for Halifax to lead the team while Alexis Gravel was strong making 25 saves against the Cape Breton Screaming Eagles.

MISSING IN ACTION - Max Fortier (injury), Filip Zadina (world juniors) and Blade Mann-Dixon (injury)

HEAD-TO-HEAD
September 27  Halifax 3 at Acadie-Bathurst 5
September 30  Acadie-Bathurst 3 at Halifax 4
November 26  Halifax 4 at Acadie-Bathurst 5
December 15  Acadie-Bathurst at Halifax - 7pm
January 7  Halifax at Acadie-Bathurst - 3pm
January 20  Halifax at Acadie-Bathurst - 7pm
February 3  Acadie-Bathurst at Halifax - 7pm
March 10  Halifax at Acadie-Bathurst - 7pm
March 17  Acadie-Bathurst at Halifax - 4pm

OUT OF TOWN
Islanders vs. Screaming Eagles     7:00pm
Wildcats vs. Sea Dogs     7:00pm
Tigres vs. Cataractes     8:00pm
Drakkar vs. Oceanic     8:30pm
Voltigeurs vs. Armada     8:30pm
Olympiques vs. Sagueneens     8:30pm
Huskies vs. Remparts     8:30pm

AFTER THE BUZZER
Halifax will stay at home this weekend with another game against the Cape Breton Screaming Eagles on Saturday night. Puck drops at 7pm.

Four Mooseheads named to Top Prospects game

The Canadian Hockey League along with the Guelph Storm and Sherwin-Williams announced the 40 players that will be participating in the upcoming CHL/NHL Prospects Game. For the sixth straight year, your Halifax Mooseheads have players named to the rosters. Halifax has 4 members who will participate this season, a record for the Moose and the most of any team this year. Alex Gravel, Jared McIssac and Benoit-Olivier Groulx were named to team one and Filip Zadina was named to team two for the game that will be held in Guelph, Ontario on January 25, 2018. The coaches will be named at a later date but most likely they will be Bobby Orr and Don Cherry. Team captains will be announced closer to the match.

The game will be yet another opportunity for Gravel, Groulx, McIssac, and Zadina to show National Hockey League scouts what they have and get their draft stock even higher. At the beginning of the season, Jared, Filip, and Benoit-Olivier had an 'A' rating meaning they are projected to go in the first round of the 2018 NHL draft in June, while Alex was a top-ranked NA goalie. On Sportsnet's list for December, SN has Filip ranked at number four, Benoit-Olivier is ranked at #27, Jared is ranked at number 10 while Alex is ranked as the second NA goalie for the draft.

Congratulations to Filip, Benoit-Olivier, Jared, Alex and the rest of the players named to Team Cherry and Team Orr. For the full release check here.

QMJHL Names Scholastic POM

Every month, the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League announces a Scholastic Player of the Month which recognizes a player on each team with his performance on ice and in the classroom. The player is selected based on their school results, their implication, the school-hockey conciliation, their team spirit and their on-ice performances.

For your Halifax Mooseheads, Justin Barron was named the Scholastic Player of the Month for November 2017. Barron receives the award even with being away for a couple weeks for the U17 World Hockey Challenge while he recorded one assist and a +1 rating in 6 games with the Herd in November.

Here is the full list:

BAC	Gabriel Fortier	Cégep de Baie-Comeau	Human and Administrative Sciences
BAT	Olivier Desroches	Académie Les Estacades	Secondary 5
BLB	Anthony Poulin	Cégep de Saint-Jérôme	Human Sciences
CAP	Gabriel Proulx	Cégep correspondance	Cégep correspondance
CHA	Matthew Welsh	University of Prince Edward Island	Business
CHI	Zachary Lavigne	Cégep de Chicoutimi	Human Sciences
DRU	Xavier Bernard	Cégep de Drummondville	Human Sciences, Administration profile
GAT	Alexandre Landreville	Cégep de l’Outaouais	Police Techniques
HAL	Justin Barron	Halifax West High School	Secondary 4 – French Immersion
MON	Brady Pataki	Crandall University	Business
QUE	Andrew Coxhead	Nova Scotia Correspondance Study	Grade 12
RIM	Anthony D’Amours	Cégep de Rimouski	Industrial Maintenance Technique
ROU	Jacob Neveu	Cégep de l’Abitibi-Témiscamingue	Nature Sciences
SHA	Simon Dubois	Collège de Shawinigan	Nature Sciences
SHE	Brendan Cregan	St-Mary’s University	Business and Administration
SNB	William Poirier	Cégep correspondace	Nature Sciences
VDO	Yan Dion	Cégep de l’Abitibi-Témiscamingue	Human Sciences
VIC	Tristan Côté-Cazenave	Cégep de Victoriaville	Human Sciences

Herd Cruise Past Huskies

For the 9th time this season, Moose Country heard 'All I do is win' blaring on the PA system at the Scotiabank Centre as your Halifax Mooseheads cruised past the Rouyn-Noranda Huskies Friday evening.

Halifax started off really strong, something they seem to have been lacking the last few games, picking up a 2-0 lead after the first period. Captain Maxime Fortier scored a power play goal 5 and a half minutes into the frame and than recorded a helper on Benoit-Olivier Groulx's goal that made it 2-0. Starting goaltender Blade Mann-Dixon didn't have much to do in the first period (Halifax outshot Rouyn 11-6) but when he did face shots, the 20 year old came up big including a couple of times with Huskies players on top of him. In the second, Filip Zadina and Raphael Lavoie scored to give the home team a 4-0 lead before Rouyn-Noranda could really even get going. Defenceman Chris McQuaid picked up his first two goals of the season tonight, including one I am sure Mann-Dixon would like to have back that took away the shutout for Blade. The Huskies put on the pressure quite a few times in the final period, which saw the away team bring in rookie goalie William Lagrange for the rest of the game, but Rouyn could only get past the Blade Mann once during the frame.

FINAL: Huskies 2 at Mooseheads 6Stars: 3. Chris McQuaid ROU | 2. Filip Zadina HAL | 1. Raphael Lavoie HALAttendance: 6,242MC's Top Herd: Raphael Lavoie

GAME LOG
First period
5:27 HAL Maxime Fortier (17), PP | A: None
13:35 HAL Benoit-Olivier Groulx (15) | A: Moynihan & Fortier

Second period
2:03 HAL Filip Zadina (20) | A: Somppi & Chainey
7:33 HAL Raphael Lavoie (8) | A: Zadina & Somppi
13:05 ROU Chris McQuaid (1) | A: Boucher & Marleau
16:17 HAL Raphael Lavoie (9), PP | A: Mann-Dixon

Third period
4:57 ROU Chris McQuaid (2) | A: Cyr & Despres
14:29 HAL Filip Zadina (21) | A: Lavoie

Shots: 33-29 in favour of Halifax
Powerplay: ROU - 0-for-4; HAL - 2-for-6

NOT DRESSED - Kyle Petten, Ryan Barbosa and Cooper Jones were all healthy scratches

SCORES
Val-d'Or 1 at Acadie-Bathurst 5
Cape Breton 4 at Moncton 3
Charlottetown 1 at Blainville-Boisbraind 6
Baie-Comeau 0 at Chicoutimi 4
Rimouski 5 at Drummondville 2
Saint John 1 at Gatineau 2

UP NEXT: The Mooseheads will welcome the Val-d'Or Foreurs to the Scotiabank Centre tomorrow night. Puck drops at 7pm.

Former Herd Named a Star for November

Some congratulations are in order for a former Halifax Mooseheads forward today after the NHL announced it's three stars for the month of November. Herd alumni Nathan MacKinnon was named the first star of the month! In November, MacKinnon had 20 points, which broke down to 5 goals and 15 assists in 12 games played. Nathan's month was highlighted by a 5 point game on November 16, which if I remember correctly is the most points recorded in one match by a Colorado Avalanche player. Kid Mack was also a +11 during the month.






The 22 year old's 28 points this season leads the Avalanche. Since he was drafted 1st overall in 2013, he has played 323 regular season games scoring 83 goals and 151 assists for a total of 234 points.


Congrats Nathan! Keep up the good work.

STATS SUNDAY: November

Games played: 11
Record: 5-4-2-0, 12pts
Goals for/against: 42/41
Powerplay*: 18.5%
Penalty kill*: 82.6%
Shutouts: none

Top 5 leading scorers
Points: Filip Zadina 14, Otto Somppi 14, Maxime Fortier 13, Benoit-Olivier Groulx 9, Jocktan Chainey 9
Goals: Filip Zadina 7, Maxime Fortier 5, Benoit-Olivier Groulx 6, Otto Somppi 6, Arnaud Durandeau 4
Assists:  Maxime Fortier 8,  Otto Somppi 8,  Jocktan Chainey 8, Jared McIsaac 8, Filip Zadina 7
Penalty minutes: Connor Moynihan 24, Jordan Lepage 17, Maxime Fortier 15, Benoit-Olivier Groulx 14, Jocktan Chainey 14
Plus/minus: Jocktan Chainey +5, Jordan Lepage +5, Otto Somppi +4, Connor Moynihan +4, Xavier Parent +4
Rookie scoring: Filip Zadina 14pts, Xavier Parent 4pts, Justin Barron 1pt, Ryan Barbossa 1pt, Patrick Kyte 1pt

Goaltending stats*
Blade Mann-Dixon: 11-2-2-0    2.69 GAA     0.910 SAV%
Alexis Gravel: 4-6-2-0    3.48 GAA     0.888 SAV%



*overall

GAMEDAY #25: at Charlottetown

GAMEDAY
CHARLOTTETOWN ISLANDERS VS HALIFAX MOOSEHEADS
Puck drops at 7pm
TV: Eastlink | Radio: News 95.7 | Live: @HFXMooseheads
Eastlink Centre (3,717) ~ Charlottetown, PE

Your Halifax Mooseheads open up a big 3 in 3 weekend against the Maritimes division. After going 3-2 in the five-game homestand, the Moose will look to continue their strong play as of late. This weekend will be a big task for the Moose as they look to stay in first place in the division. With each team heating up in their own ways the Moose need to look to stay out of the box and play in their structure. This should be a good matchup between the two teams with Charlottetown starting near the bottom of the standings but have heated up as of late to be in the middle of the pack. After the last two matchups that we have seen at the Scotiabank Centre this will be a good matchup between these two teams. Charlottetown will be without one of their top defencemen Hunter Drew as he got an automatic one-game suspension after an altercation in their game against the Sea Dogs. Your Mooseheads will look to their top forwards and the solid goaltending they have gotten all season as they take on the Islanders tonight.

This is the fourth meeting between the two teams this season. Halifax is 3-0-0-0 against the Islanders while Charlottetown has a 0-3-0-0 record versus the Mooseheads. The last matchup was on October 29 where the home team picked up a 6-2 victory in Halifax. Justin Barron had a goal and an assist to lead the Herd and Blade Mann-Dixon made 27 saves to claim the victory.

OVERALL RECORDS
Islanders: 13-8-1-0 = 27 points (4th in Maritimes division, 9th overall)
Mooseheads: 14-7-3-0 = 31 points (1st in Maritimes division, 3rd overall)

LEADING SCORERS
HAL: Filip Zadina 35pts (18G & 17A), Maxime Fortier 31pts (14G & 17A), Otto Somppi 21pts (7G & 14A)
CHA: Saku Vesterinen 19pts (3G & 16A), Keith Getson 18pts (9G & 9A), Pierre-Olivier Joseph 18pts (2G & 16A)

PREVIOUS GAMES
Charlottetown is coming off a 6-2 victory over the Saint John Sea Dogs on Sunday afternoon. Keith Getson led the way with a goal and two assists, Matt Welsh made 33 saves in the win.

Halifax is coming off a huge 6-5 victory against the Moncton Wildcats on Tuesday night. Arnaud Durandeau lead the way for the Herd with a goal and two assists, Blade Mann-Dixon made 33 saves in the win.

ALUM ON ISLANDERS
None

MISSING IN ACTION – Barrett Dachsyshn, Ryan Barbossa, Cooper Jones

HEAD-TO-HEAD
September 23  Halifax 3 at Charlottetown 2
October 1  Charlottetown 0 at Halifax 3
October 29  Charlottetown 2 at Halifax 6
November 24  Halifax at Charlottetown – 7pm
December 28  Charlottetown at Halifax – 7pm
January 11  Charlottetown at Halifax – 7pm
January 12  Halifax at Charlottetown – 7pm
February 6  Halifax at Charlottetown – 7pm
February 21  Halifax at Charlottetown – 7pm

OUT OF TOWN
Screaming Eagles at Titan   7:00pm
Voltigeurs at Tigres    8:00pm
Drakkar at Armada    8:30pm
Sagueneens at Oceanic    8:30pm
Foreur at Cataracts    8:30pm

AFTER THE BUZZER
Halifax will travel to Saint John to continue their three in three as they take on the Sea Dogs on Saturday evening. Puck Drops at 7pm.

Around the CHL ~ volume #2 season edition #8

We're at the third way point of the season and their are some players who are leading more than one category. Your Halifax Mooseheads are on top of their division, tied for the lead with 31 points. GO Moose GO!

League leaders
Goals – Tyler Steenbergen 31 goals (WHL Swift Current Broncos), Aaron Luchuk 21 goals (OHL Windsor Spitfires), Filip Zadina 18 goals (QMJHL Halifax Mooseheads)
Assists – Aleksi Heponiemi 41 assists (WHL Swift Current Broncos), Jordan Kyrou 30 assists (OHL Sarnia Sting), Nicholas Welsh 22 assists (QMJHL Moncton Wildcats)
Points – Aleksi Heponiemi 57 points (WHL Swift Current Broncos), Jordan Kyrou 48 points (OHL Sarnia Sting), Drake Batherson 37 points (QMJHL Cape Breton Screaming Eagles)
Defenceman points – Kale Clague 33 points (WHL Brandon Wheat Kings), Sean Durzi 32 points (OHL Owen Sound Attack), Olivier Galipeau 25 points (QMJHL Chicoutimi Sagueneens)
Rookie points – Filip Zadina 35 points (QMJHL Halifax Mooseheads ), Milos Roman 22 points (WHL Vancouver Giants), Cam Hillis 18 points (OHL Guelph Storm)
Goalie wins – Justin Fazio 15 wins (OHL Sarnia Sting), Cole Kehler 15 wins (WHL Portland Winterhawks), Samuel Harvey 13 wins (QMJHL Rouyn-Noranda Huskies)
Save percentage – Carter Hart 0.952 SAV% (WHL Everett Silvertips), Justin Fazio 0.928 SAV% (OHL Sarnia Sting), Samuel Harvey 0.927 SAV% (QMJHL Rouyn-Noranda Huskies)
Goals against average – Carter Hart 1.65 GAA (WHL Everett Silvertips), Tristan Berube 2.17 GAA (QMJHL Gatineau Olympiques), Matthew Villalta 2.41 GAA (OHL Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds)

Division leaders
WHL – Moose Jaw Warriors 38 points/19 wins (East division), Portland Winterhawks 34 points/17 wins (U.S. division), Victoria Royals 33 points/16 wins (B.C. division), Medicine Hat Tigers 30 points/15 wins (Central division)
OHL – Sarnia Sting 39 points/19 wins (West division), Kitchener Rangers 32 points/15 wins (Midwest division), Hamilton Bulldogs 29 points/12 wins (East division), Barrie Colts 28 points/13wins (Central division)
QMJHL – Blainville-Boisbriand Armada 34 points/16 wins (TELUS West division), Quebec Remparts 33 points/16 wins (TELUS East division), Halifax Mooseheads 31 points/14 wins (Maritimes division)

BMO CHL top ten ~ week 10
1. Sarnia Sting {18-4-1-0} week 9: #1
2. Moose Jaw Warriors {19-5-0-0} week 9: #2
3. Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds {17-3-2-0} week 9: #4
4. Portland Winterhawk {16-4-0-0} week 9: #5
5. Blainville-Boisbriand Armada {15-4-2-0} week 9: #3
6. Swift Current Broncos {15-5-1-0} week 9: #6
7. Kitchener Rangers (15-6-2-0} week 9: n/a
8. Quebec Remparts {16-7-1-0} week 9: #8
9. Rouyn-Noranda Huskies {14-5-3-2} week 9: n/a
10. Brandon Wheat Kings {14-6-0-1} week 9: n/a
Honourable mentions: Barrie Colts {13-6-1-1}, Medicine Hat Tigers {14-7-0-0}, Drummondville Voltigeurs

First Place in Division

Photo - Myles Dennis

At least for a couple of days. In a game that would determine who would sit atop the Maritimes division until Thursday evening, Halifax came out on top with a gritty 6-5 victory over the Moncton Wildcats. Both teams went into tonight's match with 29 points, which also is how many the Acadie-Bathurst Titan have too. With the win, the Mooseheads now have 31 points and sit alone as first in the division, while the Wildcats and Titan will play against each other on Thursday. Now on to the game. These two teams don't like each other and you could tell it was going to be a rough one when Jordan Lepage and Brady Pataki dropped the gloves just 20 seconds into the 1st period. Moncton received a penalty shortly after giving Halifax a man advantage which Otto Somppi capitalized on, sending the Moose Country faithful cheering. After 20 minutes the game was tied as Jeremy McKenna scored his 14th of the year. The Wildcats had their first power play of the game in the middle frame and scored to tie the game at 2 goals a piece. Through the first 21 games of the season, Halifax had one of the best penalty kill percentage in the league however in the last three matches the team has gone 8-for-16. Before the second period ended, the Mooseheads put two more in to lead 4-2 after 40 minutes. During the third period goaltender Blade Mann-Dixon held his team in the game as Moncton poured it on trying to get the victory, stopping 18 of 21 shots.

FINAL: Wildcats 5 at Mooseheads 6
Stars: 3. Maxime Fortier HAL | 2. Jeremy McKenna MON | 1. Arnaud Durandeau HAL
Attendance: 5,060
MC's Top Herd: Arnaud Durandeau

GAME LOG
First period
2:48 HAL Otto Somppi (7), PP | A: Chainey & Parent
18:32 MON Jeremy McKenna (14) | A: Pelletier & Arsenault

Second period
6:12 HAL Arnaud Durandeau (6) | A: Bishop & Mann-DIxon
9:57 MON Mike Cyr (15), PP | A: Pelletier & Welsh
11:06 HAL Filip Zadina (18), PP | A: Fortier & McIsaac
15:39 HAL Benoit-Olivier Groulx (13) | A: Fortier & Moynihan

Third period
0:55 MON Jacob Hudson (4), SH | A: None
2:46 HAL Xavier Parent (5) | A: Durandeau & Chainey
4:45 MON Jonathan Aspirot (5), PP | A: McKenna
4:51 HAL Joel Bishop (4) | A: Durandeau
13:58 MON Julien Tessier (6), PP | A: None

Powerplay: MON - 3-for-5, HAL - 2-for-5
Shots: 38-24 in favour of Moncton

NOT DRESSED - Cooper Jones, Ryan Barbosa & Barrett Dachyshyn were healthy scratches

SCORES
Victoriaville 2 at Rouyn-Noranda 3 SO

UP NEXT - Halifax will now go on the road for a Maritime division 3 games in 3 nights trip starting with a match against the Charlottetown Islanders on Friday. Puck drops at 7pm.

GAMEDAY #22: vs. Saint John

GAMEDAY
HALIFAX MOOSEHEADS VS SAINT JOHN SEA DOGS

Puck drops at 7pm

TV: Eastlink | Radio: News 95.7 | Live: @MC_MooseCountry

Scotiabank Centre (10,595) ~ Halifax, NS

On Saturday we remembered those who have fought for our country's freedom, tonight we say thank you to those who are currently defending it. The Halifax Mooseheads host their annual DND Appreciation Night game this evening with the Saint John Sea Dogs visiting. It's a battle of two teams going basically in different directions. Halifax is near the top of the standings and are looking to start a winning streak once again but are 6-3-1 in their last 10 games. Saint John meanwhile are in last place in the league and have found themselves on the losing end of quite a few one goal games, however they do have points in 5 of their last 10 games. The two groups are led by import rookies in Filip Zadina (Mooseheads) and Ostap Safin (Sea Dogs) who have 30 and 23 points respectively, Should be a good game between these division rivals and I am sure their will be plenty of NHL scouts in attendance with 6 draft eligible young men playing in tonight's matchup. The Herd will have a few healthy scratches for this evening since Justin Barron, Xavier Parent, Jared McIsaac, Arnaud Durandeau, Benoit-Olivier Groulx and Jocktan Chainey have returned from the U17 Challenge and Canada-Russia Series. Come out and support the province's military and Camp Hill Veterans Hospital as your Mooseheads take on the Sea Dogs at Scotiabank Centre. Go Moose Go!

This is the second game between these two teams this season. Halifax is 1-0-0-0 against the Sea Dogs while Saint John has a 0-1-0-0 record versus the Mooseheads. The last matchup was in the season opener where Saint John raised it's championship banner however Halifax took a 4-1 victory with Maxime Fortier recording two goals and an assist to lead the Herd.

OVERALL RECORDS
Sea Dogs: 4-12-4-2 = 14 points (6th in Maritimes division, 18th overall)
Mooseheads: 12-6-3-0 = 27 points (2nd in Maritimes division, 6th overall)

LEADING SCORERS
HAL: Filip Zadina 30pts (16G & 14A), Maxime Fortier 28pts (13G & 15A), Otto Somppi 18pts (6G & 12A)
SNB: Ostap Safin 23pts (7G & 16A), Joe Veleno 21pts (4G & 17A), Daniel Hardie 19pts (7G & 12A)

PREVIOUS GAMES
Saint John is coming off a 4-3 defeat at the hands of the Drakkar a week ago on home ice. Daniel Hardie led the Sea Dogs with a goal and an assist while Alex D'Orio made 29 saves to take the overtime loss against Baie-Comeau.

Halifax is coming off a big 3-2 overtime victory on Remembrance Day at home against Sherbrooke. Raphael Lavoie scored the game winner while Jared McIsaac led the team with 2 assists to help the Mooseheads get the win for Blade Mann-Dixon who saved 21 shots.

ALUM ON SEA DOGS
None

HEAD-TO-HEAD
September 21  Halifax 4 at Saint John 1
November 17  Saint John at Halifax – 7pm
November 25  Halifax at Saint John – 7pm
January 6  Halifax at Saint John – 7pm
January 27  Saint John at Halifax – 7pm
January 28  Saint John at Halifax – 3pm
February 9  Halifax at Saint John – 7pm
March 14  Saint John at Halifax – 7pm

OUT OF TOWN
Remparts vs. Cataractes   8:00pm
Phoenix vs. Olympiques   8:00pm
Drakkar vs. Tigres   8:30pm
Voltigeurs vs. Armada   8:30pm
Huskies vs. Sagueneens   8:30pm

AFTER THE BUZZER
Halifax will welcome the Cape Breton Screaming Eagles tomorrow night for another round of the Battle of Nova Scotia. Puck drops at 2pm.

Herd Rookies Get Silver at U17s

Photo - U17 Challenge Twitter

Two Halifax Mooseheads rookies have returned home to Moose Country as silver medalists after Team Canada Red was defeated by Team USA on Saturday night at the World U17 Hockey Challenge.

16 year olds Justin Barron and Xavier Parent were among the 20 players named to Canada Red, which was one of three Canadian teams at the tournament. Canada's journey to the gold medal wasn't smooth but they received a lot of help from Parent who led the team with 7 points, along with two other players. The red team had 1 win and two losses in the preliminary round before beating Canada Black and the Czech Republic in the quarter finals and semis, respectively.

Check out the goal by Parent when they played Sweden on November 6 here.

The Americans showed that they have some good young talent coming up after going 2-1-0-0 in the prelims and just dominating during the medal round. USA got out to a 5-0 lead in the second period before Canada Red were able to close the gap by scoring three goals in six minutes. The final score ended up being 6-4 Team USA.

Congratulations to Parent and Barron on winning the silver medal and representing Canada well earlier this month.

QMJHL Names Scholastic POM

Every month, the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League announces a Scholastic Player of the Month which recognizes a player on each team with his performance on ice and in the classroom. The player is selected based on their school results, their implication, the school-hockey conciliation, their team spirit and their on-ice performances.

For your Halifax Mooseheads, Connor Moynihan7was named the Scholastic Player of the Month for October 2017. Moynihan had two assists in 11 games played in the month of October while also collecting 16 penalty minutes and was a plus-9.

Here's the full list:

BAC	Christopher Benoit	Cégep de Baie-Comeau	Natural Sciences
BAT	Reilly Pickard	Acadia University	Sciences
BLB	Alexandre Alain	Cégep de Saint-Jérôme	Natural Sciences
CAP	Phélix Martineau	Cégep correspondace	Cégep correspondance
CHA	Matthew Welsh	University of Prince Edward Island	Business
CHI	Zachary Bouthillier	Cégep de Chicoutimi	Human Sciences
DRU	Thomas Pelletier	Collège Saint-Bernard	Secondary 5
GAT	Charles-Antoine Roy	Cégep de l’Outaouais	Natural Sciences
HAL	Connor Moynihan	St. Mary’s University	Arts
MON	Matthew Waite	CCNB Dieppe, Université de Moncton	Physics/Math
QUE	Benjamin Gagné	Cégep de Limoilou	Human Sciences
RIM	Jimmy Lemay	Cégep de Rimouski	Human Sciences
ROU	Rafael Harvey-Pinard	Cégep de l’Abitibi-Témiscamingue	Natural Sciences
SHA	Samuel Blier	Collège de Shawinigan	Human Sciences, administration profile
SHE	Benjamin Tardif	Cégep de Sherbrooke	Natural Sciences
SNB	Matt Green	University of New Brunswick Saint John	Business Administration
VDO	Jérémy Michel	Polyvalente Le Carrefour	Sec. 5 with enriched math and science
VIC	James Phelan	Cégep de Victoriaville	Natural Sciences

GAMEDAY #21: vs. Sherbrooke

GAMEDAY
HALIFAX MOOSEHEADS VS SHERBROOKE PHOENIX
Puck drops at 7pm
TV: Webcast | Radio: News 95.7 | Live: @MC_MooseCountry
Scotiabank Centre (10,595) ~ Halifax, NS

It's gameday in Moose Country! Your Halifax Mooseheads continue their homestand as they welcome the Sherbrooke Phenoix to town. The Phoenix come into town at the end of a 3 in 3 nights Maritimes road trip. The Mooseheads are looking to get back in the win column after losing the last two games the Moose will look to the Phoenix's pretty good road record to get back on the right track. With one game under their belts veteran defenceman Jordan Lepage and Walter Flower will be looked to take the bigger role for the team. They will look to Alex Gravel to come up with the big start for the team to help them get on the right track. After just having one loss in regulation at home this season the Moose will look to continue their strong start at home against the Phoenix.

OVERALL RECORDS
Phoenix: 7-9-3-2 = 19 points (6th in West division, 15th overall)
Mooseheads: 11-6-3-0 = 25 points (3rd in Maritimes division, 7th overall)

LEADING SCORERS
HAL: Filip Zadina 30pts (16G & 14A), Maxime Fortier 28pts (13G & 15A), Otto Somppi 18pts (6G & 12A)
SHE: Nicolas Poulin 21pts (10G & 11A), Yaroslav Alexeyev 18pts (7G & 11A), Marek Zachar 16pts (10G & 6A)

PREVIOUS GAMES
Sherbrooke is coming off a 3-1 loss in Moncton on Friday night. Nicolas Poulin had the lone goal for the Phenoix. Evan Fitzpatrick stopped 22 of 25 shots in the loss.

Halifax is coming off a 3-2 loss to the Baie-Comeau Drakkar on Thursday night. Otto Somppi and Benoit-Olivier Groulx had the goals for the Herd. Alex Gravel stopped 26 of 29 shots in the loss.

ALUM ON PHOENIX
None

HEAD-TO-HEAD
October 21  Halifax 3 at Sherbrooke 1
November 11  Sherbrooke at Halifax - 7pm

OUT OF TOWN
Acadie Bathurst at Blainville    5pm
Val D'or at Drummondville    8pm
Victoriaville at Gatineau    8pm
Rouyn Noranda at Quebec    8pm

AFTER THE BUZZER
Halifax will stay home and welcome the Saint John Sea Dogs on Friday night for the annual DND appreciation night. Puck drops at 7pm.

GAMEDAY #20: vs. Baie-Comeau

GAMEDAY

HALIFAX MOOSEHEADS VS BAIE-COMEAU DRAKKAR

Puck drops at 7pm

TV: Webcast | Radio: News 95.7 | Live: @MC_MooseCountry

Scotiabank Centre (10,595) ~ Halifax, NS

Back at home! Your Halifax Mooseheads are back on Scotiabank Centre ice tonight for the first student night of the season. The Herd have played 7 of their last eight games on the road but will now play 5 straight at home, the team's longest homestand this year. Halifax has been really good to start the year in Moose Country, going without a regulation loss in seven games and the boys will try to keep that streak going when they host the Baie-Comeau Drakkar this evening. The Drakkar have been okay on the road this season and are in the midst of a three game - 3 day Atlantic trip. Baie-Comeau will have to deal with one of the top goaltenders in the league in Blade Mann-Dixon and the return of veteran defensemen Walter Flower and Jordan Lepage.

This is the first game of the season between the two teams. Halifax was 0-1-0-1 against the Drakkar last year while Baie-Comeau had a 2-0-0-0 record versus the Mooseheads in 2016-17. The last match was back on January 20 in Moose Country where Baie-Comeau received 2 goals from Jordan Martel to lead the team to a 7-4 win. Blade Mann-Dixon took the loss stopping 22 shots after taking over for Alexis Gravel who started for Halifax.

OVERALL RECORDS
Drakkar: 8-9-1-0 = 17 points (4th in East division, 14th overall)
Mooseheads: 11-5-3-0 = 25 points (2nd in Maritimes division, 6th overall)

LEADING SCORERS
HAL: Filip Zadina 29pts (16G & 13A), Maxime Fortier 27pts (13G & 14A), Otto Somppi 16pts (5G & 11A)
BAC: Jordan Martel 24pts ( 12G & 12A), Gabriel Fortier 19pts (9G & 10A), Bradley Lalonde 17pts (5G & 12A)

PREVIOUS GAMES
Baie-Comeau is coming off a 3-2 loss in Moncton on Wednesday. Jordan Martel led the Drakkar with a goal and an assist while Antoine Samuel made 29 saves against the Wildcats.

Halifax is coming off a 2-1 overtime loss on Saturday evening in Drummondville. Rookie Filip Zadina had the lone goal for the Mooseheads while Blade Mann-Dixon took the defeat stopping 34 of the Voltigeurs 36 shots.

ALUM ON DRAKKAR
None

HEAD-TO-HEAD
November 9  Baie-Comeau at Halifax - 7pm
March 4  Halifax at Baie-Comeau - 5pm

OUT OF TOWN
Sea Dogs vs. Phoenix   7:00pm
Tigres vs. Titan   8:00pm
Oceanic vs. Remparts   8:30pm

AFTER THE BUZZER
Halifax will stay home and welcome the Sherbrooke Phoenix on Saturday evening. Puck drops at 7pm.

Big Night for the Mooseheads in Gatineau

Tonight's game had some milestones in it, where it saw Benoit-Olivier Groulx have a big homecoming to rookie sensation Filip Zadina recording his first career hat trick. It was also announced tonight during the game that captain Max Fortier has signed an entry-level deal with the Columbus Blue Jackets. As we all have seen the last few years, this is a well deserving contract for the captain. This was a big effort out of the team where they lost the first game of this road trip to Quebec on Wednesday night. This game saw a complete team effort. Combined for most of the scoring it saw Max Fortier and Filip Zadina factor for 5G & 2A it was a treat for the Moosehead faithful that made the trip to see the team play. There was some solid goaltending from Blade Mann-Dixon that kept the Moose lead at times especially when the Herd took a 5 on 3 powerplay. The penalty kill stayed strong as they went 6 for 6 on the kill. The Mooseheads will look to finish the trip up strong as they head to Drummondville to take on the Volts tomorrow.

What a treat for this great crowd of Mooseheads fans in Gatieneau tonight. Zadina doing it all. #HatTrickpic.twitter.com/HyDG3jI1JJ

— Halifax Mooseheads (@HFXMooseheads) November 4, 2017

FINAL: Halifax 7 at Gatineau 5
Stars: 3. Max Fortier HAL | 2. Vitalii Abramov GAT | 1. Filip Zadina HAL
Attendance: 3,188
MC’s Top Herd: Filip Zadina

GAME LOG
First period
5:28 GAT Mitchell Balmas (9) | A: Abramov & Shestopalov
11:01 HAL Filip Zadina (13) | A: McIssac
15:08 GAT Vitalii Abramov (7) | A: Bilodeau & Durocher
16:49 HAL Max Fortier (12) | A: Durandeau & Chainey

Second period
4:32 HAL Filip Zadina (14) SH | A: Chainey & Somppi
5:16 HAL  Max Fortier (13) SH | A: Barbossa
10:24 GAT Jeffery Durocher (5) | A: Roy & Hatto
13:48 HAL Filip Zadina (15) | A: Moynihan

Third period
11:53 HAL Raphael Lavoie (5) | A: Zadina & Groulx
17:30 GAT Mikhail Shestopalov (3) | A: none
19:41 HAL Otto Somppi (5) SH | A: Fortier
19:48 GAT Samuel Hatto (2) | A: Roy & Malo

Powerplay: GAT – 0-for-6; HAL – 0-for-2
Shots: 30-29 in favour of Gatineau

NOT DRESSED – Walter Flower (injured), Jordan Lepage (injured), Xavier Parent (U-17's) and Justin Barron (U-17's)

SCORES
Cape Breton 3 at Acadie Bathurst 6
Moncton 3 at Quebec 5
Blainville 5 at Sherbrooke 3
Charlottetown 5 at Victoriaville 3
Saint John 0 at Chicoutimi 6
Drummondville 3 at Shawinigan 4
Rimouski 3 at Val D'or 2

UP NEXT: Halifax will travel to take on the Voltiguers tomorrow evening in Drummondville. Puck drops at 4pm.

Mooseheads Back in Top-10 rankings

After a couple of weeks off of the rankings, your Mooseheads have jumped up to number 10 on the Canadian Hockey League BMO Top 10 rankings. With two victories last week, the Herd jumped into the rankings this week. The CHL announced the rankings earlier this evening with five QMJHL on the list. Check it out below.

Week 7’s CHL Top 10

1. Sarnia Sting (14-1-0-0) last week: 1
2. Swift Current Broncos (10-2-1-0) last week: 2
3. Blainville Boisbriand Armada (10-3-1-0) last week: 10
4. Moose Jaw Warriors (11-4-0-0) last week: 4
5. Royun Noranda Huskies (10-2-2-2) last week: 3
6. Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds (10-3-2-0) last week: 6
7. Victoria Royals (12-4-1-0) last week: 9
8. Quebec Remparts (10-4-1-0) last week: 8
9. Portland Winterhawks (9-4-0-0) last week: 5
10. Halifax Mooseheads (10-4-2-0) last week: -

Honourable mention
Barrie Colts (9-4-1-0)
Moncton Wildcats (11-4-2-0)
Tri-City Americans (9-4-2-0)

GAMEDAY #17: at Quebec

GAMEDAY
HALIFAX MOOSEHEADS VS QUEBEC REMPARTS
Puck drops at 8:00pm
TV: Webcast | Radio: News 95.7 | Live: @HFXMooseheads
Centre Videotron (18,259) ~ Quebec City, QC

After having just one game at home your Mooseheads head back on the road to Quebec. With all of the injuries and the two players away with Hockey Canada, the Mooseheads announced that they have recalled goaltender Raphael Blais as well as forward Cole Stewart. After the game between these two teams at the Scotiabank Centre, its expected to be a tight playoff-like game. You can expect to see some good goaltending out of veteran goalie Blade Mann-Dixon like we have seen most of the season and more so now that Alex Gravel is gone down due to injury. This is the first of three games in Quebec for the Herd. With getting 8 of a possible 10 points in the last five games, your Mooseheads look to build on the early success that they have had already this season. As the last trip to Quebec was, this is going to be a big test for the young team. They will look for the continued offence from captain Maxime Fortier, rookie Filip Zadina as well as sophomore player Benoit-Oliver Groulx as well as others to help and keep the strong play going.

OVERALL RECORDS
Remparts: 11-4-1-0 = 23 points (1st in East division, 3rd overall)
Mooseheads: 10-4-2-0 = 22 points (2nd in Maritimes division, 4th overall)

LEADING SCORERS
HAL: Filip Zadina 24pts (12G & 12A), Maxime Fortier 23pts (11G & 12A), Benoit-Olivier Groulx 14pts (8G & 6A)
QUE: Matthew Boucher 20pts (7G & 13A), Derek Gentile 17pts (5G & 12A),  Philip Kurashev 15pts (5G & 10A)

PREVIOUS GAMES
Quebec is coming off a 4-3 overtime win against the Sherbrooke Phenoix. Matthew Boucher scored the overtime winner while Derek Gentile added a goal and an assist and Dereck Barribeau made 23 saves in the win.

Halifax is coming off a 6-2 win against the Charlottetown Islanders. Xavier Parent and Justin Barron added a goal and an assist each and Blade Mann-Dixon made 27 saves in the win.

ALUM ON REMPARTS
None

MISSING IN ACTION – Jordan Lepage, Walter Flower, and Alex Gravel are out with injuries. Justin Barron and Xavier Parent are gone with Hockey Canada for the U17's

HEAD-TO-HEAD
October 6  Quebec 3 at Halifax 2 OT
November 1 Halifax at Quebec – 8pm

OUT OF TOWN
Wildcats vs Olympiques    8:30pm
Oceanic vs Foreurs    8:30 pm

AFTER THE BUZZER
Halifax will continue on their three-game road trip on Friday night as they travel to Gatineau to take on the Olympiques. Puck drop is at 8:30pm.

STATS SUNDAY: October

Games played: 12
Record: 7-3-2-0, 16pts
Goals for/against: 45/31
Powerplay*: 16.9%
Penalty kill*: 89.0%
Shutouts: 1

Top 5 leading scorers
Points: Filip Zadina 17, Maxime Fortier 16, Otto Somppi 12, Benoit-Olivier Groulx 11, Arnaud Durandeau 10
Goals: Filip Zadina 9, Maxime Fortier 7, Benoit-Olivier Groulx 6, Connor Moynihan 5, Otto Somppi 4
Assists:  Maxime Fortier 9, Filip Zadina 8, Otto Somppi 8, Jocktan Chainey 8, Arnaud Durandeau 7
Penalty minutes: Jared MacIssac 20, Joel Bishop 16, Connor Moynihan 16, Benoit-Olivier Groulx 16, Barrett Dachyshyn 10
Plus/minus: Otto Somppi +16, Maxime Fortier +10, Connor Moynihan +9, Justin Barron +7, Filip Zadina +7
Rookie scoring: Filip Zadina 17pts, Justin Barron 6pts, Xavier Parent 4pts, Ryan Barbossa 3pts, Patrick Kyte 2pts

Goaltending stats*
Blade Mann-Dixon: 6-1-1-0    1.99 GAA     0.932 SAV%
Alexis Gravel: 4-2-1-0    3.14 GAA     0.891 SAV%



*overall

What Win Streak

Photo - Myles Dennis

Snapped. Your Halifax Mooseheads had another strong performance from overage goaltender Blade Mann-Dixon en route to a 6-2 victory over the Charlottetown Islanders on Sunday afternoon. The victory for Halifax snapped the Isles six game win streak, which began on October 13 with a victory over Bathurst. The home team got on the board first with a goal by rookie defenceman Justin Barron and that's all the scoring that would happen in the opening 20 minutes. Just like Saturday night, Halifax got off to a 3-0 lead however Charlottetown made it close towards the end of the second period scoring two goals in the last 4 minutes of the frame. In the third it was all Mooseheads and the offence started with a very quick goal by Filip Zadina who scored just 27 seconds into the final period. Halifax's power play was a bit stale today going 0 for 6 but their penalty kill was almost perfect yet again, only letting one goal on 7 opportunities.

FINAL: Charlottetown 2 at Halifax 6
Stars: 3. Maxime Fortier HAL | 2. Blade Mann-Dixon HAL | 1. Jared McIsaac HAL
Attendance: 6,657
MC's Top Herd: Benoit-Olivier Groulx

GAME LOG
First period
12:04 HAL Justin Barron (2) | A: Lavoie & Somppi

Second period
1:22 HAL Benoit-Olivier Groulx (8) | A: Fortier & Jones
14:26 HAL Arnaud Duradeau (5) | A: None
16:14 CHA Marcel Berube (1) | A: Vesterinen
19:28 CHA Hunter Drew (1), PP | A: Meisenheimer & Alexandrov

Third period
0:27 HAL Filip Zadina (12) | A: Somppi
3:58 HAL Connor Moynihan (6) | A: Barbosa
9:21 HAL Xavier Parent (4) | A: Barron & Lavoie

Powerplay: CHA - 1-for-7; HAL - 0-for-6
Shots: 32-29 in favour of Halifax

NOT DRESSED - Alexis Gravel (injured), Walter Flower (injured), Kyle Petten (healthy scratch) & Jordan Lepage (injured)

SCORES
Victoriaville 1 at Acadie-Bathurst 4
Rouyn-Noranda 4 at Saint John 5 OT
Sherbrooke 3 at Quebec 4 OT
Gatineau 1 at Rimouski 2
Shawinigan 3 at Baie-Comeau 4
Drummondville 1 at Chicoutimi 2 SO

UP NEXT: Halifax will travel to take on the Remparts on Wednesday evening in Quebec City. Puck drops at 8pm.

GAMEDAY #16: vs. Charlottetown

GAMEDAY
HALIFAX MOOSEHEADS VS CHARLOTTETOWN ISLANDERS
Puck drops at 3pm
TV: Webcast | Radio: News 95.7 | Live: @MC_MooseCountry
Scotiabank Centre (10,595) ~ Halifax, NS

After a four game road trip, your Halifax Mooseheads are back home for a single match. The Herd were able to get 6 of a possible eight points while away from the Scotiabank Centre and will look to get back on a winning streak after defeating the Eagles last night. Otto Somppi, a third year centre, has been a welcome return for Halifax after coming back from a shoulder injury, picking up 4 goals and 10 points in 7 games but has been held off the score sheet in the last two games. I'm sure he'll find offense again very soon. Charlottetown on the other hand are on a six game winning streak and have quietly moved up to 11th overall in the standings after starting the season with a 1-6-1-0 record. Moose Country will be hoping that the home team has what it takes to put an end to the Islanders hot streak and they'll need another strong game from Antigonish native Blade Mann-Dixon. The 20 year old goalie will most likely get his second start this weekend as Alexis Gravel is out day to day with an injury sustained during a practice last week. Cole McLaren has been called up to take his place. Come cheer on your Mooseheads in the team's last game of October.

This is the third meeting between the two teams this season. Halifax is 2-0-0-0 against the Islanders while Charlottetown has a 0-2-0-0 record versus the Mooseheads. The last matchup was on October 1 where the home team picked up a 3-0 victory in Halifax. Raphael Lavoie had a goal and an assist to lead the Herd and Blade Mann-Dixon made 31 saves to get a shutout. 

OVERALL RECORDS
Islanders: 7-6-1-0 = 15 points (5th in Maritimes division, 11th overall)
Mooseheads: 9-4-2-0 = 20 points (3rd in Maritimes division, 7th overall)

LEADING SCORERS
HAL: Filip Zadina 23pts (11G & 12A), Maxime Fortier 22pts (11G & 11A), Benoit-Olivier Groulx 13pts (7G & 6A)
CHA: Adam Marsh 13pts (4G & 9A), Saku Vesterinen 10pts (2G & 8A), Pierre-Olivier Joseph 10pts (2G & 8A)

PREVIOUS GAMES
Charlottetown is coming off a 2-0 victory over Rouyn-Noranda on the island last night. Keith Getson had a goal and was named first star of the game for the Islanders while Matthew Walsh stopped all 25 of the Huskies shots to get the win.

Halifax invaded Cape Breton on Saturday evening and came away with a 4-3 win. Benoit-Oliver Groulx scored twice and had 3 points to lead the Mooseheads while Blade Mann-Dixon stopped 38 of the Screaming Eagles 41 shots picking up his 5th victory.

ALUM ON ISLANDERS
None

MISSING IN ACTION - Jordan Lepage, Alexis Gravel and Walter Flower are out with injuries

HEAD-TO-HEAD
September 23  Halifax 3 at Charlottetown 2
October 1  Charlottetown 0 at Halifax 3
October 29  Charlottetown at Halifax - 3pm
November 24  Halifax at Charlottetown - 7pm
December 28  Charlottetown at Halifax - 7pm
January 11  Charlottetown at Halifax - 7pm
January 12  Halifax at Charlottetown - 7pm
February 6  Halifax at Charlottetown - 7pm
February 21  Halifax at Charlottetown - 7pm

OUT OF TOWN
Titan vs. Tigres    3:00pm
Sea Dogs vs. Huskies    3:00pm
Remparts vs. Phoenix    4:00pm
Oceanic vs. Olympiques    4:00pm
Drakkar vs. Cataractes    5:00pm
Sagueneens vs. Voltigeurs    5:00pm

AFTER THE BUZZER
Halifax will go on another Quebec road trip starting off with a game in the province's capital against the Remparts on Wednesday. Puck drops at 8pm.

Moose Players in Canada-Russia Series

Photo - CHL Twitter

Some big news came out of the CHL earlier this month when the league, along with the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League, announced it’s roster for the Canada-Russia series that will be played in 6 cities during November. Four Halifax Mooseheads players were among those listed on the team. Veterans Jocktan Chainey and Arnaud Durandeau will suit up for Team QMJHL along with sophomore teammates Jared McIsaac and Benoit-Olivier Groulx. They’ll be joined by other draft eligible players like Noah Dobson of the Acadie-Bathurst Titan and Saint John Sea Dog’s Joe Veleno. Other big names on the roster are goaltender Samuel Harvey of the Rouyn-Noranda Huskies and Cape Breton Screaming Eagles’ forward Drake Batherson.

The Canada-Russia series is an annual event where each league in the Canadian Hockey League plays two games against a Russian squad. It helps Hockey Canada determine which players they want to bring to the World Junior Hockey Championships which for 2019 will be held in Buffalo, NY. For the Q portion of the series, the Charlottetown Islanders and Moncton Wildcats will host a match each on November 14 and November 16 respectively. Former Mooseheads head coach Dominique Ducharme will be behind the bench once again to coach Team QMJHL.

Congratulations to Jocktan, Jared, Benoit and Arnaud on being named to the roster. Moose Country is excited to watch and cheer you guys on.

Offence Leads to PITR Win

Well that was a bunch of everything. Offence, lead changes, physicality. Just everything you would want in a game when the two teams from Nova Scotia battle it out on a Saturday night. The evening started out with a special ceremony where a father and son came out to drop the puck to honour their mother/wife who lost her battle with breast cancer. This puck drop was special because it was Pink in the Rink night at Scotiabank Centre, raising money for breast cancer research. Less than 3 minutes into the game, the big Connor Moynihan got the home faithful on their feet scoring a pretty nice goal. There was back and forth action in the first forty minutes with both periods ending in brawls at the buzzer. With under a minute to go in the middle frame Halifax native Justin Barron scored his first career goal in front of family and friends. In the third however, after going the first 12 minutes without a goal, the Mooseheads took over propelling the guys in pink to a big 9-5 victory over their provincial rivals.

FINAL: Screaming Eagles 5 at Mooseheads 9 
Stars: 3. Justin Barron HAL | 2. Filip Zadina HAL | 1. Max Fortier HAL
Attendance: 7,717
MC’s Top Herd: Justin Barron

GAME LOG
First period
2:26 HAL Connor Moynihan (3) | A: Fortier & Chainey
8:46 CAP Phelix Martineau (3), PP | A: McCormick & Kalmikov
10:51 CAP Drake Batherson (8) | A: Gawanke & Sokolov
17:35 HAL Benoit-Olivier Groulx (6) | A: Chainey & Fortier
19:07 HAL Raphael Lavoie (3) | A: Zadina & Jones

Second period
1:08 HAL Max Fortier (7) | A: Groulx
4:35 CAP Igor Sokolov (5) | A: none
9:11 CAP Jordan Ty Fournier (4) | A: MacDougall & Kalmikov
12:48 HAL Filip Zadina (7) | A: Somppi
13:45 CAP Jordan Ty Fournier (5) | A: none
19:31 HAL Justin Barron (1) | A: Fortier

Third period
12:53 HAL Joel Bishop (2) | A: McIssac
14:31 HAL Filip Zadina (8) | A: Somppi & Durandeau
19:10 HAL Otto Somppi (1) | A: Barbosa

Powerplay: CAP – 1-for-5, HAL – 0-for-4
Shots: 41-37 in favour of Halifax

MISSING IN ACTION – Walter Flower and Jordan Lepage were out with injuries and Ben Higgins

SCORES
Sherbrooke 8 at Drummondville 4
Chicoutimi 5 at Baie Comeau 2
Gatineau 1 at Blainville 2
Bathurst 3 at Charlottetown 4
Moncton 3 at Saint John 2
Rouyn Noranda 4 Val Dor 5
Shawinigan 4 at Victoriaville 2

UP NEXT: Halifax will welcome the Wildcats to town for the first matchup in Moose Country against Moncton on Tuesday. Puck drops at 7pm.