STATS SUNDAY: January

Games played: 11
Record: 9-1-1-0, 19pts
Goals for/against:51/42
Powerplay*: 20.1%
Penalty kill*: 82.1%
Shutouts: none

Top 5 leading scorers
Points: Otto Somppi 20, Raphael Lavoie 18, Maxime Fortier 14, Jared McIsaac 11, Jake Ryzcek 10
Goals: Raphael Lavoie 10, Otto Somppi 6, Maxime Fortier 5, Benoit-Olivier Groulx 5, Connor Moynihan 3
Assists: Otto Somppi 14, Maxime Fortier 9, Jared McIsaac 9, Raphael Lavoie 8, Jake Ryzcek 8
Penalty minutes: Benoit-Olivier Groulx 23, Connor Moynihan 16, Joel Bishop 13, Arnaud Durandeau 12, Jared McIsaac 10
Plus/minus: Raphael Lavoie +7, Otto Somppi +6, Jared McIsaac +4, Maxime Fortier +4, Walter Flower +3
Rookie scoring: Filip Zadina 7pts, Patrick Kyte 6pts, Xavier Parent 3pts, Kyle Petten 2pts, Justin Barron 1pt

Goaltending stats*
Blade Mann-Dixon: 20-4-2-0    2.87 GAA    0.906 SAV%
Alexis Gravel: 12-7-3-1    3.22 GAA    0.895 SAV%


*overall

Back to Back Victories Over Saint John

Pure domination. That's how you win against a team that's one of the lowest in the league. For the second straight game, your Halifax Mooseheads recorded 40+ shots as they skated to a big 8-2 victory on Sunday afternoon. After scoring the first goal in last night's matchup between these two teams, Saint John had a tougher start to the game today as they found themselves down 3-0 before even recording a shot on goal. Otto Somppi extended his lead in team scoring with three points today and the 19 year old got the Mooseheads on the board early, putting the puck in for a power play goal less than 5 minutes into the first period. The Sea Dogs recorded shot number one when there was 2:46 left in the frame but were able to get more pucks to the net in the second period and put two goals past Alexis Gravel. That would be only goals the big goaltender would allow as Gravel picked up his 12th win of the season. Overager Connor Moynihan scored for the first time in 7 games to make it 2-0. In the third, the Sea Dogs tried to get back in the game but Alexis stood tall and with just over seven minutes to go in regulation, Kyle Petten scored is second goal of the season to put the game away.

FINAL: Sea Dogs 2 at Mooseheads 8
Stars: 3. Walter Flower HAL | 2. Benoit-Olivier Groulx HAL | 1. Otto Somppi HAL
Attendance: 8,079
MC’s Top Herd: Benoit-Olivier Groulx

GAME LOG
First period
4:23 HAL Otto Somppi (17), PP| A: Groulx & Ryczek
7:28 HAL Connor Moynihan (15) | A: Barron
15:34 HAL Maxime Fortier (24) | A: Ryczek & Groulx

Second period
1:24 Benoit-Olivier Groulx (20) | A: Durandeau & Moynihan
6:28 SNB Ostap Saffin (16) | A: Plamondon & Gursoy
12:06 SNB Robbie Burt (9), PP | A: Salda & Pare
14:56 HAL Otto Somppi (18) | A: Fortier & McIssac

Third period
12:55 HAL Kyle Petten (2) | A: Somppi & Fortier
13:40 HAL  Benoit-Olivier Groulx (21), PP | A: McIssac & Kyte
19:58 HAL Jared McIssac (6) | A: Ryczek & Crossley

Shots: 46-17 in favour of Halifax
Powerplay: SNB – 1-for-4; HAL – 2-for-8

NOT DRESSED – Cooper Jones (healthy), Filip Zadina (suspended) and Ryan Barbosa (healthy)

SCORES
Rimouski 3 at Bathurst 4
Gatineau 3 at Blainville 8
Drummondville 4 at Quebec 1
Val'Dor 1 at Rouyn Noranda 10
Chicoutimi 3 at Baie Comeau 2
Moncton 4 at Shawinigan 3 OT

UP NEXT: Halifax will travel to Moncton Friday night to take on the Wildcats. Puck drops at 7pm.

Fortier Leads Herd Past Dogs

After getting one point in his last 5 games, captain Maxime Fortier had a four point night on Saturday evening to help lead the Halifax Mooseheads to a 5-2 victory over the 17th place Saint John Sea Dogs. The Herd rebounded big time tonight after getting whooped a week ago in Bathurst against the Titan, outshooting the away team 7-1 early in the game. However, Saint John scored the first goal of the game a little over 6 minutes in. Fortier jammed the puck in past Truro, NS native Matthew Williams which prompted a delay as loads of teddy bears were thrown on to the Scotiabank Centre ice. The bags full of stuffed animals will be given to Ronald MacDonald House and than passed out to sick kids. With 16 seconds left in the first period, Arnaud Durandeau picked up his 15th goal of the season to put the Herd up 2-1 after 20 minutes while Halifax outshot the Sea Dogs 20-7 in the frame. In the second the boys in blue came out to play and tied the game late in the middle frame. The Moose found another gear again in the third scoring 3 goals on 15 shots in the final twenty. With Benoit-Olivier Groulx and Kevin Mason both off for goaltender interference at the same time, which I've never seen happen before, Max picked up his second goal of the match to put the insurance goal away. Rookie Justin Barron also played his first game of 2018, after being off all this month because of injury.

FINAL: Sea Dogs 2 at Mooseheads 5
Stars: 3. Mat,thew Williams SNB | 2. Otto Somppi HAL | 1. Maxime Fortier HAL
Attendance: 8,518
MC's Top Herd: Max Fortier

GAME LOG
First period
6:15 SNB Cedric Pare (11) | A: Boucher & Poirier
10:47 HAL Maxime Fortier (22) | A Kyte & Moynihan
19:44 HAL Arnaud Durandeau (15), PP | A: McIsaac & Lavoie

Second period
16:08 SNB Kevin Gursoy (10), PP | A: Safin & Salda

Third period
3:19 HAL Otto Somppi (16) | A: Fortier & Flower
14:08 HAL Maxime Fortier (23) | A: McIsaac & Somppi
19:48 HAL Raphael Lavoie (21), EN | A: Fortier & Flower

Shots: 40-25 in favour of Halifax
Powerplay: SNB - 1-for-5; HAL - 1-for-3

NOT DRESSED - Cooper Jones (healthy), FIlip Zadina (suspended) and Ryan Barbosa (healthy)

SCORES
Cape Breton 2 at Charlottetown 1
Quebec 3 at Sherbrooke 6
Moncton 5 at Chicoutimi 4
Victoriaville 8 at Val-d'Or 7

UP NEXT: Saint John and the Mooseheads will stay in Halifax as they both play again tomorrow afternoon. Puck drops at 3pm.

Moose Sophomores on CSS Mid-Term Rankings

The National Hockey League and Central Scouting Services announced their mid-term rankings for the 2018 NHL draft. There are four Halifax Mooseheads players on the list.

With a strong performance at the 2018 Under-20 World Championships, Filip Zadina is ranked as the 2nd best North American prospect. The 18 year old has 27 goals and 53 points this season in just 38 games. He is joined by three of his teammates in the rankings. Defenseman Jared McIsaac is the next highest QMJHL skater on the list, at #12 while forward Benoit-Olivier Groulx comes in at number 18.

Drummondville Voltigeurs forward Joseph Veleno is the only other Q league player among the top 31 NA skaters.

Goaltender Alexis Gravel is the top ranked goaltender for ones playing on American and Canadian teams.

The 4 young men will be participating in the CHL/NHL Top Prospects game on Thursday in Guelph before heading back to Halifax as the Herd welcome the Saint John Sea Dogs for two games this weekend. Good luck to the boys in Guelph and the rest of the season.

Former Herd Players Having Great Season

Photo - Avalanche Twitter

A few former Halifax Mooseheads players are having a great season and find themselves on top of the National Hockey League leaderboards.

Nathan MacKinnon, who played for the Herd from 2011-2013, is in a big bounce back season and is leading the Colorado Avalanche in scoring for the second straight year. The 22 year old has scored 23 goals and recorded 59 points in 46 games this season. With a nine game point streak that ended on Monday night against Toronto, Kid Mack finds himself in second place in league scoring. Colorado is also on a 10 games win streak now and are in a playoff spot. Nathan was named first star of the week ending January 21, 2018.

Also having a good year is Jakub Voracek who leads the league in assists with 45 helpers. The Kladno, Czech Republic native is second on his team with 53 points through 47 games. Jake played for Halifax between 2006 and 2008.

Brad Marchand of the Boston Bruins is the NHL leader for plus/minus with a +24. He leads his team in scoring with 20 goals and 48 points. The Halifax, Nova Scotia native has played in only 37 games this year but have had quite a few multi-point games including a 4 assist outing against the Carolina Hurricanes on January 6. Marchand joined the Moose in 2008 for the second half plus playoffs. Brad was named third star of the week ending January 21, 2018.

Below is how all the Herd alumni are doing in the NHL:

Name	Team	GP	G	A	Pts
Nathan MacKinnon	Colorado	46	23	36	59
Jakub Voracek	Philadelphia	47	8	45	53
Brad Marchand	Boston	37	20	28	48
Nikolaj Ehlers	Winnipeg	48	19	16	35
Nico Hischier	New Jersey	46	8	20	28
Jonathan Drouin	Montreal	42	6	16	22
Martin Frk	Detroit	38	8	9	17
Timo Meier	San Jose	45	10	6	16
MacKenzie Weegar	Florida	28	1	3	4

Chainey Hero In 4th Straight OT Game

Photo - Myles Dennis

A new hero emerged on Friday evening as your Halifax Mooseheads played in their fourth straight overtime game, this time against the Cape Breton Screaming Eagles. In the two clubs last meeting of the season, the game had everything; lead changes, hitting, interesting calls and of course OT. Jocktan Chainey scored on the power play with 21 seconds to go in the extra frame to get the victory for the Herd. Otto Somppi scored his 14th of the season to get the home team on the board first but seconds later Raphael Lavoie took a hooking penalty that allowed Cape Breton to get back in the match and tie it up. A crazy few minutes in the middle of the first period also included a high sticking penalty by Jordan Ty Fournier and he drew Somppi's blood so the Mooseheads had a 4 minute power play but it wasn't long before the guys took advantage of it. In the second period Lavoie continued his hot play scoring his 20th goal of the season, which gives Halifax 3 players with 20+ goals and I'm sure we'll have more by March 17. The Screaming Eagles were able to use some sloppy play by the other team to tie the game and then a breakaway short handed with less than 6 minutes to go in regulation gave the boys in black and gold their first lead of the game. 20 year old Somppi wasn't going to let the provincial rival team get away with a victory in our house and posted his 15th goal. Both teams had chances in overtime but with a 4 minutes power play, it looked a little grim for Halifax but the guys in white were able to kill it off and then received a power play with 36 seconds to go.

FINAL: Screaming Eagles 4 at Mooseheads 5 OT
Stars: 3. Jocktan Chainey HAL | 2. Mathias Laferrière CAP | 1. Otto Somppi HAL
Attendance: 8,258
MC’s Top Herd: Otto Somppi

GAME LOG
First period
8:15 HAL Otto Somppi (14) | A: Lavoie
9:06 CAP Leon Gawanke (4), PP | A: Miller & Martineau
10:20 HAL Jake Ryczek (3), PP | A: Durandeau & Chainey

Second period
6:36 HAL Raphael Lavoie (20) | A: Somppi & Flower
8:28 CAP Ian Smallwood (1) | A: Laferrière
11:09 CAP Declan Smith (14), PP | A: Laferrière & Kalmikov

Third period
14:53 CAP Jordan Ty Fournier (13), SH | A: Hylland & Gawanke
16:27 HAL Otto Somppi (15), PP | A: Ryczek & Zadina

Overtime4:39 HAL Jocktan Chainey (6), PP | A: Lavoie & Somppi

Shots: 41-34 in favour of Halifax
Powerplay: CAP – 2-for-7; HAL – 3-for-5

NOT DRESSED – Ryan Barbosa, Joel Bishop and Justin Barron were out with injuries

SCORESQuebec 5 at Moncton 2
Acadie-Bathurst 7 at Saint John 3
Rimouski 1 at Sherbrooke 2
Charlottetown 4 at Baie-Comeau 5
Victoriaville 3 at Drummondville 2

UP NEXT: Halifax will travel to Bathurst now and take on the Titan for some Saturday night hockey. Puck drops at 7pm.

GAMEDAY #45: vs. Moncton

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

Mid-week hockey in the snow, what could be better? Your Halifax Mooseheads are back home after two games on the road and will look to get their 9th straight win when they host the Moncton Wildcats tonight. While the teams won't actually be playing in the snow, it is finally feeling like winter in Moose Country with the first real snow fall continuing today. The Mooseheads have been the hottest team of late with a 9-1-0-0 record going into this evening's match while Moncton has a .500 record in their last 10 (3-3-2-2). If you look at Halifax's schedule you would think this was the second game of a home and home series however the Wildcats welcomed Charlottetown on Sunday after picking up a point against the Herd on Saturday. A big story for the home team has been the play of Raphael Lavoie who has been HOT since the turn of the calendar with 13 points in the first 6 games of 2018. The 17 year old has scored 8 goals so far this month and half of them have been game winners. During this win streak, which began with a victory in the Battle of NS game on December 30, Halifax have gotten help from some unlikely players and have just found ways to win despite being down late in some games or digging deep to not let the other teams get back in to matches. Every game has been entertaining so make sure you come out and support the boys.

This is the fifth game between these two teams. Halifax is 3-1-0-0 against the Wildcats while Moncton has a 1-2-1-0 record versus the Mooseheads. The last matchup was on Saturday January 14 with the away Herd getting the overtime victory because of a goal by Raphael Lavoie while Patty Kyte tied the game with just a little over 3 minutes to go in regulation.

OVERALL RECORDS
Moncton: 17-19-5-3 = 42 points (5th in Maritimes division, 13th overall)
Halifax: 29-10-4-1 = 63 points (1st in Maritimes division, 1st overall)

LEADING SCORERS
HFX: Filip Zadina 51pts (27G & 24A), Otto Somppi 49pts (12G & 37A), Maxime Fortier 48pts (21G & 27A)
MON: Jeremy McKenna 48pts (23G & 25A), James Phelan 44pts (18G & 26A), Jakob Pelletier 35pts (10G & 25A)

PREVIOUS GAMES
Moncton is coming off a 4-1 victory over Charlottetown on Sunday at home. James Phelan had a goal and an assist to lead the Wildcats while Dakota Lund-Cornish stopped 20 of the Islanders' 23 shots to get the win.

See above.

HEAD-TO-HEAD
October 11  Halifax 2 at Moncton 3
October 17  Moncton 1 at Halifax 5
November 21  Moncton 5 at Halifax 6
January 13  Halifax 3 at Moncton 2 OT
January 17  Moncton at Halifax - 7pm
February 2  Halifax at Moncton - 7pm
February 16  Moncton at Halifax - 7pm
March 11  Halifax at Moncton - 4pm
March 16  Moncton at Halifax - 7pm

OUT OF TOWN
Screaming Eagles vs. Remparts     7:00pm
Armada vs. Drakkar     8:00pm
Olympiques vs. Phoenix     8:30pm

AFTER THE BUZZER
Halifax will stay home and welcome the Cape Breton Screaming Eagles on Friday night for the last match up between the two clubs this season. Puck drops at 7pm.

Sweet Six

Photo - Myles Dennis

Your Halifax Mooseheads have won six in a row! In Filip Zadina's return, the 18 year old had two goals to help the Herd pick up a 6-3 victory over the Charlottetown Islanders on Thursday night. It was the first game in a three game-3 day stretch that Halifax will have this week. The Mooseheads got off to a good start, shooting out to a 3-0 lead after the first period with goals by Patrick Kyte, Connor Moynihan and Zadina. Goaltender Alexis Gravel made some pretty nice saves in the first frame to give the boys a fighting chance. In the second, the Islanders fought back to tie the game while also outshooting the Moose 17-11 in the middle frame. 17 year old Raphael Lavoie continued his hot streak, scoring his 5th goal in the last four games, giving the home team a 4-3 lead with less than 6 minutes left in the second and the team never looked back. An empty net goal in the third was the only puck to hit the back of the net in the final twenty.

FINAL: Islanders 3 at Mooseheads 6
Stars: 3. Walter Flower HAL | 2. Brett Budgell CHA | 1. Filip Zadina HAL
Attendance: 6,277
MC's Top Herd: FIlip Zadina

GAME LOG
First period
7:37 HAL Patrick Kyte (4) | A: Durandeau & Bishop
13:18 HAL Connor Moynihan (14), PP | A: Lavoie & Somppi
16:16 HAL Filip Zadina (26) | A: Ryczek & Somppi

Second period
4:33 CHA Brett Budgell (3) | A: Gentile & Desjardins
6:34 CHA Pierre-Olivier Joseph (7), PP | A: Gentile & Budgell
9:41 CHA Brett Budgell (4) | A: Alexandrov & Gentile
14:36 HAL Raphael Lavoie (16) | A: Flower & Zadina
19:29 HAL Filip Zafina (27) | A: Somppi & McIsaac

Third period
19:29 HAL Arnaud Durandeau (14), EN | A: McIsaac

Shots: 36-30 in favour of Charlottetown
Powerplay: CHA - 1-for-3; HAL - 1-for-2

NOT DRESSED - Ryan Barbosa, Kyle Petten and Justin Barron were out with injuries

SCORES
Cape Breton 6 at Quebec 1
Val-d'Or 5 at Shawinigan 6 OT
Saint John 2 at Victoriaville 5
Acadie-Bathurst 4 at Chicoutimi 1

UP NEXT: Halifax will travel to Charlottetown and take the on the Islanders again tomorrow night. Puck drops at 7pm.

GAMEDAY #42: vs. Charlottetown

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

After participating in the 2018 IIHF World Junior Championship and returning to the Halifax Mooseheads lineup on Sunday afternoon, Moose Country gets to welcome back rookie sensation Filip Zadina tonight when he and the Herd take on the Charlottetown Islanders. The 18 year old was outstanding for a Czech Republic team that ended the tournament 4th, scoring 7 goals and added a helper in 7 games played. Halifax is coming in to this evening's contest as winners of five straight games and have catapulted to being in a tie for first place in the QMJHL. Charlottetown and the Mooseheads will play a home and home set this week with the Islanders hoping to close the gap between the two teams as there is only 5 points between these divisional rivals. The Isles have kind of surprised people the last couple of months after starting the season 1-6-1-0 before going on a 14-1-0-0 run in late October and early November. Who will come out on top? Come on out to see the return of Zadina and after you can go to Cheers if you are a student as it's also student night at the Scotiabank Centre. This will also be the last home game versus Charlottetown that the Moose have this season unless the two clubs meet in the playoffs. With a victory, the CHL 7th ranked Herd can take over sole procession of first place in the league once again as Blainville-Boisbriand are not playing tonight.

This is the sixth game this season between these two teams. Halifax is 3-1-1-0 against the Islanders while Charlottetown has a 2-3-0-0 record versus the Mooseheads. The last matchup was on December 28th where the Isles took a 2-0 victory away from the Herd while Blade Mann-Dixon stopped 21 shots to take the loss for Halifax.

OVERALL RECORDS
Islanders: 25-12-1-0 = 52 points (2nd in Maritimes division, 6th overall)
Mooseheads: 26-10-4-1 = 57 points (1st in Maritimes division, 2nd overall)

LEADING SCORERS
HAL: Filip Zadina 48pts (25G & 23A), Maxime Fortier 48pts (21G & 27A), Otto Somppi 43pts (12G & 31A)
CHA:  Derek Gentile 36pts (15G & 21A), Pierre-Olivier Joseph 31pts (5G &25A), Daniel Hardie 30pts (12G & 18A)

PREVIOUS GAMES
Charlottetown is coming off a 4-1 win on home ice on Monday in a game that was rescheduled against Baie-Comeau. Newcomer Derek Gentile led the Islanders with a goal and two assists while Dakota Lund-Cornish stopped 30 of the Drakkar's 31 shots to pick up the win.

Halifax is coming off a 6-5 win in Acadie-Bathurst on Sunday afternoon in a match that saw the Titan come back from being down 5-1. Raphael Lavoie had a 4 point night (2G & 2A) receiving third star honours and Filip Zadina scored the game winner while Blade Mann-Dixon was a beast for the Mooseheads making 42 saves.

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 2 at Halifax 0
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
Remparts vs. Screaming Eagles    8:00pm
Cataractes vs. Foreurs     8:00pm
Tigres vs. Sea Dogs     8:00pm
Sagueneens vs. Titan     8:30pm

AFTER THE BUZZER
The two teams will travel to Charlottetown for a Friday night tilt that will finish this home and home series. Puck drops at 7pm.

Herd in Top 10 to Start 2018

With 3 victories in 4 games over the past week, your Halifax Mooseheads find themselves back in the CHL BMO Top 10 Rankings in Week 15. This was all without the service of Filip Zadina, the team's leading goal scorer. The CHL announced the rankings earlier Wednesday evening with 5 QMJHL clubs on the list. Check it out below.

Week 15's CHL Top 10

1. Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds (32-3-2-0) last week: 1
2. Moose Jaw Warriors (30:6-1-2) last week: 2
3. Blainville-Boisbriand Armada (25-8-2-0) last week: 3
4. Swift Current Broncos (26-10-2-0) last week: 4
5. Brandon Wheat Kings (25-11-0-1) last week: 5
6. Hamilton Bulldogs (23-8-3-3) last week: 8
7. Kitchener Rangers (25-11-2-0) last week: n/a
8. Halifax Mooseheads (24-10-4-1) last week: n/a
9. Sarnia Sting (25-11-2-0) last week: 6
10. Rouyn-Noranda Huskies (22-9-4-2) last week: 10
    Honourable mention
    Rimouski Oceanic (23-10-4-0)
    Drummondville Voltigeurs (24-12-1-1)
    Kelowna Rockets (23-11-2-1)

Moose Clear Up Back End With Trade

Photo - Mooseheads website

Earlier today, the Halifax Mooseheads announced their second trade of the winter trading period. The team traded defenceman Jordan Lepage to the Rimouski Oceanic for a first round draft pick in 2018. With this trade, it clears up the backlog on the back end since the trade for Jake Ryzeck from the Titan.

The Mooseheads originally drafted Jordan in the 3rd round in 2015. In 88 games with the Mooseheads which also includes 6 playoff games, the 18-year-old registered 1 goal and 19 assists as well as 162 penalty minutes. The Rimouski native missed the first 19 games due to offseason hip surgery. The Oceanic and Mooseheads have not played a game against each other yet this season, the first game is set for February 19th which is the Family Day matinee.

All the best in Rimouski Jordan!

Zadina Scores, Help Czechs Advance to Semis

Filip Zadina is on fire!

The 18 year old scored two nice goals on Tuesday afternoon to propel his Czech Republic team to the semi finals at the 2018 World Juniors in Buffalo, USA. Czech Republic went into their quarter-final match up against Finland as the under dogs but were victorious in a shootout, winning 4-3. Zadina got the Czechs on the board first just 6:20 into the game with a power play goal but in the second period, the Finns bounced back with two goals before Kristian Riechel tied it for the white, blue and red. In the third, Filip tipped in the puck with under 3 minutes to go in regulation to send the match to overtime.

The Czechs now wait the winner of the Canada-Switzerland game. Good luck to Zadina and the Czechs in the semi finals.