Halifax Gets Victory in New Arena

The Halifax Mooseheads are a perfect 4-0 to begin the season after they defeated the Moncton Wildcats on Sunday afternoon. It was the first time that the Herd visited the new Avenir Centre in the New Brunswick city and they skated away with a big 4-2 win. Moncton got off to an early lead when Adam Cappennelli scored the opening goal 4:04 into the match. A few penalties proceeded the goal and it was back and forth for most of the first period until Antoine Morand scored a nice short-handed goal with under five minutes to play. With seconds left in the frame, Morand's teammate with Bathurst, Jordan Maher broke in on a breakaway and put the puck in the back of the net. In the second, fans weren't even back in their seats before the Wildcats tied the game 17 seconds into the middle frame. Halifax retook the lead though before the period was finished. The third period was a physical one as it looked like the home team was not happy by some calls (or non-calls) but it went both ways. Despite having a 4 minute powerplay (which lasted not long as Halifax evened it up taking a penalty) and receiving a 5 minute PP as well, the Mooseheads were unable to score with the man-advantage and actually Moncton didn't score on their 3 powerplay opportunities either. Defenceman Jocktan Chainey scored mid-third period which clinched the game for the away club. With a couple hundred fans in attendance, Halifax saluted them by raising their sticks at the end of the game.

FINAL: Mooseheads 4 at Wildcats 2
Stars: 3. Antoine Morand HAL | 2. Alexander Khovanov | 1. Arnaud Durandeau HAL
Attendance: 5,822
MC's Top Herd: n/a

GAME LOGFirst period4:04 MON Adam Cappennelli (1) | A: Cyr & McKenna
15:38 HAL Antoine Morand (1), SH | A: none
19:59 HAL Jordan Maher (1) | A: Morand & Durandeau

Second period0:17 MON Simon Le Colture (1) | A: Khovanov & Hudson
19:18 HAL Arnaud Durandeau (4) | A: Groulx & Chainey

Third period10:07 HAL Jocktan Chainey (1) | A: Groulx & Durandeau

Shots: 37-34 in favour of Halifax
Powerplay: HAL 0-for-7; MON 0-for-3

NOT DRESSED - Samuel Dube, Jared McIsaac, Joel Bishop and Kyle Petten were out with injuries

UP NEXT - Halifax will head to Quebec for the first time this season to take on the Quebec Remparts on Wednesday. Puck drops at 8pm.

Sept 30: Wildcats vs. Mooseheads preview

MONCTON WILDCATS VS HALIFAX MOOSEHEADS
September 30, 2018 at 4:00pm
TV: Webcast | Radio: News 95.7 | Live: @MC_MooseCountry
Avenir Centre (8,800) ~ Moncton, NB

It's the first trip for our Halifax Mooseheads to the new 8,000+ seat arena in Moncton, the Avenir Centre. The arena hosted the Wildcats' home opener on Friday evening and it was quite a spectacle according to the different social media accounts. Halifax heads to Moncton with a lot of offence added to front end after a couple of more trades last weekend but the club is still dealing with some minor injuries. The Mooseheads have never begun a season with three straight wins in team history before this year, they have gone undefeated twice before in their first 3 games but those were all ties. Halifax has the offense to extend their win streak this afternoon when they visit the Moncton Wildcats but questions about goaltending and defence have been swarming around the club since the opening of training camp. However, as the season goes on and the Herd continue to pick up victories, the questions will go away. The Wildcats have a number of new players on their team as well this year including to new goaltenders. Moncton is back stopped by an overager and a 16 year old rookie in net which is different. With the offense of the Moose and the younger talent of the Cats, the thousands of fans in attendance (including almost 100 Moose fans) should be in for a good game.

This is the first meeting between these two teams. Halifax was 6-2-1-0 against the Wildcats last year while Moncton had a 3-4-2-0 record versus the Mooseheads. The last matchup saw the Mooseheads pick up a 7-4 victory in the final weekend of the season on March 16 where Raphael Lavoie scored twice and assisted on another while Blade Mann-Dixon made 26 saves for the home win. 

Overall Records
Mooseheads: 3-0-0-0 = 6pts (3rd overall, 1st in Maritimes division)
Wildcats: 2-1-0-0 = 4pts (7th overall, 3rd in Maritimes division)

Leading Scorers
MON: Jeremy McKenna 6pts (1G & 5A), Jordan Spence 4pts (1G & 3A), Adam Capannelli 4pts (4A)
HAL: Arnaud Durandeau 5pts (3G & 2A), Raphael Lavoie 4pts (3G & 1A), Patrick Kyte 4pts (2G & 2A)

Previous Games
Halifax is coming off a 4-2 victory in Cape Breton on Friday evening against the Screaming Eagles. Raphael Lavoie had a couple of goals to get the Mooseheads started while Alexis Gravel made 28 saves to get the win.

Moncton christened their new digs with a 5-2 win over the visiting Sea Dogs. European Alexander Khovanov scored twice to help lead the Wildcats while veteran Francis Leclerc stopped 22 of 24 Saint John shots on Friday.

Head-to-Head
September 30  4pm  Mooseheads at Wildcats
October 17  7pm  Mooseheads at Wildcats
November 4  2pm  Wildcats at Mooseheads
December 14  7pm  Wildcats at Mooseheads
January 19  7pm  Wildcats at Mooseheads
January 26  7pm  Mooseheads at Wildcats
February 2  7pm  Mooseheads at Wildcats
March 9  7pm  Mooseheads at Wildcats
March 13  7pm  Wildcats at Mooseheads

Out of Town
Victoriaville vs. Shawinigan - 5:00pm

After the Buzzer
Halifax will head back to New Brunswick to take on the Moncton Wildcats for the first time at their new arena; the Avenir Centre on Sunday. Puck drops at 4pm.

TRADE: Herd Make Another Move

Photo - nhl.com

The Halifax Mooseheads made another move to help bolster an already impressive lineup on Monday. Halifax announced that they have acquired 19 year old Ostap Safin and a fourth round pick in 2021 from the Saint John Sea Dogs for a first-rounder in 2020. Ostap was recently returned to Saint John from the Edmonton Oilers and it forced the Dogs to make a move with two Europeans already on their team.

He has scored 26 goals and 58 points in 61 games. Safin also represented his country at the world juniors in December and collected a goal and two assists for the Czech Republic.

Welcome to the team Ostap.

TRADE: Moose Acquire Another From Bathurst

Photo - Getty Images

Big news came from the Halifax Mooseheads brass this afternoon just hours before the team's first regular season match. The club announced that they have acquired 20 year old Samuel Asselin from the Acadie-Bathurst Titan on Friday. Samuel was on the team that won the President's Cup and Memorial Cup last season and was in attendance when Bathurst raised it's championship banners last night. Halifax is Asselin's third team in his QMJHL career, the L'Assomption, QC native also spent two and a half years with the Shawinigan Cataractes. He has scored 34 goals and 114 points in 179 games.

Halifax traded prospects Cole Larkin and Yannic Barstarche and a draft pick to the Titan. This is the third transaction the Mooseheads have made with Acadie-Bathurst in the last 10 months, after getting the rights to Jake Ryczek in December and acquiring Jordan Maher and Antoine Morand back in June.

Welcome to the team Samuel.

Sept 21: Sea Dogs vs. Mooseheads preview

SAINT JOHN SEA DOGS VS HALIFAX MOOSEHEADS
September 21, 2018 at 7:00pm
TV: Webcast | Radio: News 95.7 | Live: @station_nation
Harbour Station (6,308) ~ Saint John, NB

In 8 months, your Halifax Mooseheads will have a chance to win a second Memorial Cup, this time as hosts, but before they can do that, the team has a lot of work to do and it begins with the regular season opener tonight! That's right, another season is here and ready to start. For our Herd it starts with a trip to New Brunswick to take on rivals Saint John Sea Dogs who are in a rebuild and will be looking to improve on their last place finish from last season. The Sea Dogs received permission from the QMJHL to have FIVE 16-year-olds on their roster and as such are one of the youngest teams in the Canadian Hockey League. Halifax meanwhile are a more experienced team this year but still have eight new players on the roster. A 15 game road trip to start the season will give the boys plenty of time to bond. The addition of Antoine Morand and Jordan Maher, who won the President's Cup and Memorial Cup with Acadie-Bathurst last year, and Samuel Dube should provide a replacement for departing players Max Fortier, Otto Somppi and Filip Zadina. With the moves Cam Russell and the brass made over the summer and being a year older, the Mooseheads were ranked the #1 team in the CHL's pre-season Top 10 rankings on Wednesday.

Overall Records
Mooseheads: 0-0-0-0 = 0pts (T-1st overall, T-1st in Maritimes division)
Sea Dogs: 0-0-0-0 = 0pts (T-1st overall, T-1st in Maritimes division)

Leading Scorers
SNB: n/a
HAL: n/a

Head-to-Head
September 21  7pm  Mooseheads at Sea Dogs
October 12  7pm  Mooseheads at Sea Dogs
November 16  7pm  Sea Dogs at Mooseheads
December 7  7pm  Sea Dogs at Mooseheads
February 18  2pm  Mooseheads at Sea Dogs
February 23  7pm  Sea Dogs at Mooseheads
March 10  2pm  Mooseheads at Sea Dogs
March 15  7pm  Sea Dogs at Mooseheads

Not Dressed - Arnaud Durandeau (NHL camp), Ben Higgins (injured), Jocktan Chainey (NHL camp), Jared McIsaac (injured), Antoine Morand (NHL camp), Kyle Petten (injured) and Benoit-Olivier Groulx (NHL camp)

Out of Town
Charlottetown vs. Cape Breton - 7:00pm
Val-d'Or vs. Gatineau - 8:00pm
Rouyn-Noranda vs. Drummondville - 8:30pm
Chicoutimi vs. Baie-Comeau - 8:30pm
Shawinigan vs. Sherbrooke - 8:30pm
Blainville-Boisbriand vs. Victoriaville - 8:30pm

After the Buzzer
Halifax will head to the island to take on the Charlottetown Islanders tomorrow evening. Puck drops at 7pm.

Herd in Pre-Season Top 10

Before the season begins, the Canadian Hockey League announced it’s BMO Top 10 Rankings Wednesday evening. Not only were the Halifax Mooseheads amount the teams named to the top 10 for the pre-season, but they were on top of the rankings. Halifax is one of three teams that many project will be in the President's Cup final in May.

CHL Top 10 - Pre-season
1. Halifax Mooseheads
2. London Knights
3. Lethbridge Hurricanes
4. Drummondville Voltigeurs
5. Niagara IceDogs
6. Spokane Chiefs
7. Portland Winterhawks
8. Saginaw Spirit
9. Rimouski Oceanic
10. Ottawa 67's

Honourable mention - Cape Breton Screaming Eagles, Vancouver Giants, Oshawa Generals

We should see the Mooseheads in the top 10 quite a bit this season. Keep checking back here or on social media as I'll keep you updated all year long.

Eastlink Showing 14 Herd Games

Eastlink released it's QMJHL television schedule and your Halifax Mooseheads will have fourteen games broadcast on the Atlantic Canada channel. Cape Breton, Charlottetown and Halifax all have select matches that are shown on Friday Night Hockey broadcasts.

The first broadcast involving the Herd will be on September 28 when the Mooseheads travel to Cape Breton to take on the Screaming Eagles. There will also be one special Saturday evening match and one Thursday evening match.

Below is the full schedule (all games 7pm):
September 28 at Cape Breton Screaming Eagles
October 11 at Charlottetown Islanders
October 26 at Cape Breton Screaming Eagles
November 3 vs. Val-D'or Fourers
November 9 vs. Cape Beton Screaming Eagles
November 16 vs. Saint John Sea Dogs
December 14 vs. Moncton Wildcats
December 28 at Charlottetown Islanders
January 4 vs. Rimouski Oceanic
January 11 at Cape Breton Screaming Eagles
January 18 vs. Acadie Bathurst Titan
February 1 vs. Sherbrooke Pheonix
February 15 vs. Gatineau Olympiques
March 15 vs. Saint John Sea Dogs
You can view the full schedule here.

#Our18: Halifax Mooseheads

The QMJHL has been doing some previews of each of their 18 teams this month and today they did our Halifax Mooseheads. Three questions were asked to the team brass about what's coming up for this season and the league interviewed Samuel Dube, Jared McIsaac and head coach Eric Veilleux.

From QMJHL.ca

All eyes are on the Mooseheads who will be hosting the next Memorial Cup tournament. How will the players manage the pressure that comes with all that attention? 

“These kids, it’s not solely up to them. I think it’s our job is to manage the expectations and stress that go along with hosting the Memorial Cup”, explained Russell. “We have to be very patient, it’s going to be a long season. We know we are going to be playing to the end of May.”

“You can’t win the Memorial Cup in September or November, so it’s going to be a season where we have to keep the expectations in check”, added Halifax’s general manager. “There’s a lot of great teams in our league and even in our division. We will make sure that’s it’s a team effort to manage all that.”


'The Mooseheads have a tradition of building championship teams and producing future National Hockey League stars. This year’s version of the ‘Herd’ boasts a plethora of high-profile NHL Draft Picks, NHL Draft Prospects, skilled young players coming into their prime and a great mix of impactful veterans.' According to another article the Q post.

Even though the Herd will be without their leading scorers from last year in Maxime Fortier and Otto Somppi and most likely Filip Zadina, the team brought in two veterans who won the Memorial Cup last season in Jordan Maher and Antoine Morand which should help. Plus after the year Raphael Lavoie had in 2017-18, expect the almost 18-year-old to make even more progress on the scoresheet this year, with the Q site saying he 'could eclipse the 50-goal plateau given his size, high skill set, skating ability and willingness to go to the dirty areas to contribute offensively.'

See what the head coach had to say about this upcoming season here.

PRESEASON: Stats Sunday (on Monday)

Games played: 6

Record: 2-2-2-0, 6pts

Scores*: 1-5, 2-3 OT, 6-3, 1-4, 1-2, 1-2 OT
Goals for/against: 15 / 16

Powerplay %: 18.8

Penalty kill %: 92.0

Shutouts: none

 

Top 3 leading scorers

Points: Marcel Barinka (5pts), Jordan Maher (4pts), Xavier Parent (4pts)

Goals: Marcel Barinka (3G), Jordan Maher (3G), Raphael Lavoie (2G)

Assists: Xavier Parent (4A), Antoine Morand (3G), Jocktan Chainey (2A)

Penalty minutes: Patrick Kyte (6mins), Justin Barron (6mins), Curtis Heffernan (6mins)

Plus/minus: Marcel Barinka (+2), Antoine Morand (+2), Felix Gascon (+2)

Rookie scoring: Marcel Barinka (5pts), Sonny Kabatay (3pts), Cole Stewart (2pts)

 

Goaltending stats

Alexis Gravel    1-0-0-0    0.66 GAA    0.975 SAV%
Cole McLaren    0-2-1-0    2.29 GAA    0.929 SAV%
Joel Goguen    1-0-0-0    4.93 GAA    0.872 SAV%
Jonathan Pickrem    0-0-1-0    5.91 GAA    0.813 SAV%

 

*Mooseheads score is first

Around the CHL ~ volume #1 preview edition #7

The Canadian Hockey League regular season begins in less than a week so to get you ready I thought I would recap how last season went. Check back all year long for more stories about the CHL and your Mooseheads.

here are last year’s winners:
Division champions 2017-18
WHL – Moose Jaw Warriors (East) 72 games played, 52-15-2-3 record, 109 points, 326 goals for/216 goals against; Everett Silvertips (U.S.) 72 games played, 47-20-2-3 record, 99 points, 246 goals for/167 goals against; Kelowna Rockets (B.C.) 72 games played, 43-22-5-2 record, 93 points, 280 goals for/249 goals against; Medicine Hat Tigers (Central) 72 games played, 36-28-8-0 record, 80 points, 260 goals for/252 goals against
OHL – Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds (West) 68 games played, 55-7-3-3 record, 116 points, 317 goals for/186 goals against; Hamilton Bulldogs (East) 68 games played, 43-18-4-3 record, 93 points, 252 goals for/207 goals against; Kitchener Rangers (Midwest) 68 games played, 90 points, 43-21-3-1 record, 246 goals for/218 goals against; Barrie Colts (Central) 68 games played, 89 points, 42-21-4-1 record, 297 goals for/229 goals against
QMJHL – Blainville-Boisbriand Armada (West) 68 games played, 50-11-4-3 record, 107 points, 276 goals for/184 goals against; Acadie-Bathurst Titan (Maritimes) 68 games played, 43-15-8-2 record, 96 points, 270 goals for/183 goals against; Rimouski Oceanic (East) 68 games played, 42-17-6-3 record, 93 points, 231 goals for/174 goals against

League championships 2018
President’s Cup – Blainville-Boisbriand Armada vs. Acadie-Bathurst Titan (Titan won series 4 games to 2 games)
J. Ross Robertson Cup – Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds vs. Hamilton Bulldogs (Bulldogs won series 4 games to 2game)
Ed Chynoweth Cup – Everett Silvertips vs. Swift Current Broncos (Broncos won series 4 games to 2 games)

Memorial Cup 2018
Teams – Acadie-Bathurst (QMJHL champion), Hamilton (OHL champion), Regina (hosts), Swift Current (WHL champion)

Final May 27, 2018 Acadie-Bathurst vs. Regina 3-0

ACADIE-BATHURST TITAN WIN 2018 MEMORIAL CUP!!!


Acadie-Bathurst will look to repeat as Memorial Cup champions. The Halifax Mooseheads will be celebrating their 25th anniversary by hosting the national championship in May. The 2019 Sherwin-Williams CHL/NHL Top Prospects game will be hosted by the Red Deer Rebels on January 23.

McLaren Stands Tall But Takes Loss

Photo - Myles Dennis

Rookie back up goaltender Cole McLaren, who received the start in tonight's pre-season match because Alexis is in Chicago currently, showed the Halifax faithful that the team brass made the right decision in selecting him for this year's roster. The 18 year old made an incredible 47 saves on Saturday evening as the Mooseheads hosted the Moncton Wildcats and were defeated 2-1 in overtime. Veteran Raphael Lavoie s on the board first with just over 5 minutes left in the opening frame despite Halifax being outshot 25-7. Two Wildcat powerplays gave the away team a big advantage at the start of the period and they continued it into the second tying the game with 26 seconds left. Shots were low for both teams in the third but the frame certainly wasn't boring. In overtime, Moncton was awarded a penalty shot after Nicolas Kinsbury-Fournier was tripped up and he had no problems roofing the puck to end the game. Next up regular season.


Moncton-Halifax Game at a Glance
FINAL: Moncton 2 at Halifax 1 OT
Moncton scorers: Jeremy McKenna, Nicolas Kinsbury-Fournier
Halifax scorers: Raphael Lavoie
Powerplay: MON - 0/4, HFX - 0/2
Shots: Wildcats - 49, Mooseheads - 17
Attendance: 1,300

Pre-season Gameday vs Moncton

Opponent: Moncton Wildcats
Where: Halifax Forum
When: September 15, 2018
Time: 7:00pm
Tickets: $10.00

Moncton Wildcats
Preseason record: 3-5-1-0, 7pts
Goals for: 22
Goals against: 35
Head coach: Darren Rumble
Scoring leader: Adam Capannelli (2G & 4A)
Leading goaltender: Charles-Antoine Lavallee (0.919 SAV%)

Halifax Mooseheads
Preseason record: 2-2-1-0, 5pts
Goals for: 14
Goals against: 14
Head coach: Eric Vielleaux
Scoring leader: Jordan Maher (3G & 1A)
Leading goaltender: Alexis Gravel (0.975 SAV%)

Notes

• The Mooseheads have called up several players; Liam MacKinnon, Matthew Raike, Brock McLeod, Ian Watt, Feaghus MacDonald, Sonny Kabatay, Cole Larkin, Zack Byard, Jonathan Pickrem.
• This is the last pre-season game for Halifax.
• Moncton has played quite a few exhibition games this year as they were also a part of the Kitchener pre-season showcase at the beginning of September.
• I'll be live tweeting tonight so follow me at @MC_MooseCountry.

Zadina, Other Herd in Prospects Tournaments

Believe it or not, it's the beginning of September which means the professional hockey season is around the corner. Training camps for NHL teams start this week with rookies reporting. There are quite a few Halifax Mooseheads players who are attending rookie camps this weekend. None will surprisingly be heading to camps for Canadian teams.

Photo - Detroit Red Wings website

The Chicago Blackhawks have three players on their prospect tournament roster that wore a Mooseheads jersey last season. Alexis Gravel, Jake Ryczek and Connor Moynihan are among the 25 players listed for the Traverse City tournament. Gravel and Ryczek were drafted by the Hawks in 2018 and 2016 respectively while Moynihan was recently signed by the Rockford IceDogs (Chicago's AHL affiliate). Chicago will go against prospects from Carolina, Columbus, Dallas, Detroit, Minnesota, New York Rangers and St. Louis.

Speaking of Columbus and Detroit, these two teams will have a few Herd players on their rosters as well. Filip Zadina and Jared McIsaac will be part of the 21 player Red Wings team that is hosting this tournament which will be held from September 7-11. The big story will most surely be Zadina who had a great rookie season for Halifax scoring 44 goals and will be looking to make the big club this year. Alumni Maxime Fortier will play for the Blue Jackets. Fortier signed a contract with Columbus' AHL affiliate, the Cleveland Monsters earlier this summer and is expected to play for them this season.

In another tournament; the Las Vegas Rookie Faceoff will have a few players participating. Antoine Morand and Benoit-Olivier Groulx will suit up for the Anaheim Ducks who will be joined by host Vegas, Arizona, Colorado, Los Angeles and San Jose. Both Groulx and Morand are expected to be offensive forces for Halifax this year. Antoine was drafted by the Ducks in 2017 during the second round while Benoit was picked 54th overall back in June. The Sharks announced their roster and it includes alumni Cavan Fitzgerald and Cody Donaghey. 22 year old Fitzgerald will try to impress the San Jose brass for a spot with the big club as he has spent the last two seasons with their AHL affiliate. The 6 teams will go head to head from September 8 to the 11th.

Other Mooseheads players who are attending rookie camps this week:
Jocktan Chainey - New Jersey Devils
Walter Flower - Tampa Bay Lightning
Arnaud Durandeau - New York Islanders
Otto Somppi - Tampa Bay Lightning

Good luck to all the current and former Mooseheads participating in rookie camps. Hopefully we'll see some of them in main camps as well.