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.