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.