Champs Again

Back to back. How does that sound Moose Country? Your Halifax Mooseheads had a much better game this afternoon on home ice and cruised to a big 7-1 victory over their provincial rivals to claim the club's second Hurley Cup in as many years. Captain Antoine Morand accepted the trophy on behalf of his teammates after the third period finished and also played a part in getting the win. The 19 year old scored in the first period to give Halifax a 3-0 lead. Draft eligible forward Raphael Lavoie had a good game today, starting the scoring off with two goals in the first 4 minutes and also picking up an assist. After 20 minutes, the home team were up 4-0 and in complete control. It seemed like in the middle frame the Herd sat back and as a result gave up the lone goal in the 2nd period. Leon Gawanke broke Alex Gravel's shutout with 1:25 left in the second to get the Cape Breton Screaming Eagles on the board. It would be the only puck that would find the back of the net for the away team. Samuel Asselin scored his team leading 28th marker as the Mooseheads put in three more during the third period. Halifax won both games during the post-Christmas break series to claim the Hurley Cup last season and retained the title this year. What a way to end 2018, Happy New Year Halifax! Always remember Go Moose Go ☺️.

FINAL: Screaming Eagles 1 at Mooseheads 7
Stars: 3. Jake Ryczek HAL | 2. Samuel Asselin HAL | 1. Raphaël Lavoie HAL
Attendance: 10,154MC's Top Herd: Raphael Lavoie

GAME LOG
First period
2:13 HAL Raphael Lavoie (16) | A: Asselin
3:50 HAL Raphael Lavoie (17), PP | A: Trépanier & Morand
5:07 HAL Antoine Morand (13) | A: McGovern & Ryczek
10:00 HAL Xavier Parent (7), PP | A: Gravel

Second period
18:35 CAP Leon Gawanke (11) | A: Francis

Third period
3:29 HAL Benoit-Olivier Groulx (19)

Shots: tied at 30 a piece
Powerplay: CAP - 0-for-3; HAL - 3-for-5

NOT DRESSED - Jared McIsaac (World Juniors), Ostap Safin (injured), Jocktan Chainey (injured), Kyle Petten (healthy), Marcel Barinka (injured), Cole Stewart (healthy)

SCORES
Islanders 4 at Sea Dogs 1
Titan 3 at Wildcats 6
Huskies 2 at Foreurs 3
Remparts 1 at Oceanic 7
Armada 2 at Voltigeurs 7
Drakkar 11 at Cataractes 3
Olympiques 2 at Phoenix 5
Sagueneens 6 at Tigres 4

UP NEXT - The first game of 2019 will see your Mooseheads hosting the Rimouski Oceanic on January 4. Puck drops at 7pm.

Dec 31: Mooseheads vs. Screaming Eagles preview

HALIFAX MOOSEHEADS VS CAPE BRETON SCREAMING EAGLES
December 31, 2018 at 2:00pm
TV: Webcast | Radio: News 95.7 | Live: @MC_MooseCountry
Scotiabank Centre (10,595) ~ Halifax, NS

It's the last game of 2018. Wow, this year has gone by so fast and your Halifax Mooseheads will look to end it on a high note. The final match of the year will be a big one as the winner may be able to have bragging rights for the next year with today's tilt being the second game of the Hurley Cup. It's also the last time that Moose Country will see the Herd's provincial rivals; the Cape Breton Screaming Eagles this season as the final two games in their head-to-head will be played in Sydney. The annual Battle of Nova Scotia series has taken an extra bit of fun with the addition of the Hurley Cup trophy. A big story was the return of Samuel Dube who had played just two games before doctors found a blood clot in his leg which forced the rookie to sit out 30+ games. It should be a fun game to end the year, hopefully we won't see another match with extra time.

This is the seventh game between these two teams. Halifax is 4-1-0-1 against the Screaming Eagles while Cape Breton has a 2-3-0-1 record versus the Mooseheads. The last matchup was December 30, where Halifax won 3-2 in a shootout. Samuel Asselin scored twice in regulation while Benoit-Olivier Groulx scored the shootout winner.

Overall Records
Eagles: 22-12-1-2 = 47pts (7th overall, 4th in Maritimes division)
Mooseheads: 25-8-1-1 = 52pts (3rd overall, 1st in Maritimes division)

Leading Scorers
HAL: Samuel Asselin 45pts (27G & 18A), Raphael Lavoie 36pts (15G & 21A), Benoit-Olivier Groulx 35pts (18G & 17A)
CAP: Mitchell Balmas 46pts (22G & 24A), Mathias Laferriere 43pts (18G & 25A), Derek Gentile 35pts (7G & 28A)

Previous Games
See above.

Head-to-Head
September 28  Mooseheads 4 at Screaming Eagles 2
October 26  Mooseheads 4 at Screaming Eagles 3
October 27  Screaming Eagles 5 at Mooseheads 2
November 9  Screaming Eagles 2 at Mooseheads 5
December 12  Screaming Eagles 3 at Mooseheads 2 SO
December 30  Mooseheads 3 at Screaming Eagles 2 SO
December 31  2pm  Screaming Eagles at Mooseheads
January 11  7pm  Mooseheads at Screaming Eagles
February 9  7pm  Mooseheads at Screaming Eagles

Out of Town
Saint John vs. Charlottetown - 2:00pm
Moncton vs. Acadie-Bathurst - 2:00pm
Val-d'Or vs. Rouyn-Noranda - 2:00pm
Rimouski vs. Quebec - 3:00pm
Drummondville vs. Blainville-Boisbriand - 3:00pm
Shawinigan vs. Baie-Comeau - 3:00pm
Sherbrooke vs. Gatineau - 3:00pm
Victoriaville vs. Chicoutimi - 3:00pm

After the Buzzer
Halifax will have their first game in the new year on January 4, hosting the Rimouski Oceanic. Puck drops at 7pm.

Dec 28: Islanders vs. Mooseheads preview

CHARLOTTETOWN ISLANDERS VS HALIFAX MOOSEHEADS
December 28, 2018 at 7:00pm
TV: Eastlink | Radio: News 95.7 | Live: @HFXMooseheads
Eastlink Centre (3,717) ~ Charlottetown, PEI

Christmas break is over meaning that hockey is back. Your Halifax Mooseheads start the second half of the season tonight when they head to Charlottetown to take on the Islanders. The Mooseheads are on top of the Maritimes division with 50 points after going 7-0-0-1 before the break and are one of the hottest teams lately. Cam Russell and the brass have made a couple of moves so far during the winter trade period, picking up two forwards. Maxim Trepanier, who the Herd acquired from Gatineau yesterday, will make his debut tonight while Halifax brought in Keith Getson, who will play his former team this evening after being traded by Charlottetown a couple days before Christmas. It looks like the Islanders are in rebuilding mode after trading 3 of their top 5 scorers, which included shipping captain Pierre-Olivier Joseph to Drummondville on Thursday. Will the new guys have a big impact on today's match? Head coach Eric Veilleux and the Moose Country faithful sure hopes so.

This is the sixth game this season between these two teams. Halifax is 5-0-0-0 against the Islanders while Charlottetown has a 0-4-1-0 record versus the Mooseheads. The last matchup was December 15, the last game before the break, in Halifax where the Herd cruised to a 6-2 victory. Jordan Maher, who was traded a few days ago, had two goals to lead the home team while Alex Gravel made 30 saves for the win.

Overall Records
Mooseheads: 24-7-1-1 = 50pts (3rd overall, 1st in Maritimes division)
Islanders: 20-10-2-1 = 43pts (8th overall, 4th in Maritimes division)

Leading Scorers
CHA: Daniel Hardie 39pts (22G & 17A), Nikita Alexandrov 29pts (14G & 15A), Kevin Gursoy 22pts (6G & 16A)
HAL: Samuel Asselin 42pts (24G & 18A), Benoit-Olivier Groulx 35pts (18G & 17A), Arnaud Durandeau 34pts (17G & 17A)

Previous Games
See above.

Head-to-Head
September 22  Mooseheads 3 at Islanders 2
October 11  Mooseheads 8 at Islanders 2
November 20  Islanders 3 at Mooseheads 4 OT
December 9  Mooseheads 2 at Islanders 1
December 15  Islanders 2 at Mooseheads 6
December 28  7:30pm  Mooseheads at Islanders
February 6  7pm  Islanders at Mooseheads
February 16  4:30pm  Islanders at Mooseheads
March 16  4:30pm  Islanders at Mooseheads

Out of Town
Acadie-Bathurst vs. Saint John - 7:00pm
Cape Breton vs. Moncton - 7:00pm
Victoriaville vs. Shawinigan - 8:00pm
Quebec vs. Sherbrooke - 8:00pm
Chicoutimi vs. Rimouski - 8:30pm
Gatineau vs. Val-d'Or - 8:30pm
Baie-Comeau vs. Drummondville - 8:30pm
Blainville-Boisbriand vs. Rouyn-Noranda - 8:30pm

After the Buzzer
Halifax will head to Sydney to take on the Cape Breton Screaming Eagles on Saturday in the first game of the Hurley Cup. Puck drops at 2pm.

Herd Word

Photo - Shawn Davidson

LAVOIE
On the same day he had been cut from the World Junior team, 18 year old Raphael Lavoie found out he would participate in the 2019 Sherwin-Williams Top Prospects game next month. "The 24th annual showcase of the CHL’s top prospects eligible for the NHL Draft will be played on Wednesday January 23, 2019, at the ENMAX Centrium, home of the Western Hockey League’s Red Deer Rebels.  The 40 competing players were chosen by NHL clubs and include talent from across the WHL, the Ontario Hockey League, and Quebec Major Junior Hockey League." according to the press release. It hasn't been the season most expected Lavoie to have after the Montreal, QC native had 30 goals and 63 points in a full season last year however he still has 34 points in 31 games so far.

Congrats to Raphael, go show those scouts that you deserve to be a top 10 draft pick.

TOP 10
The KIA Canadian Hockey League Top 10 for Week 14 was announced on December 19 and your Halifax Mooseheads found themselves going into the holiday break ranked 7th in the country after a 2-0-0-1 record that week.

Full rankings below
1. Prince Albert Raiders (31-2-0-1)
2. Rouyn-Noranda Huskies (28-6-0-1)
3. Ottawa 67's (25-6-3-1)
4. London Knights (23-5-2-1)
5. Everett Silvertips (27-7-1-1)
6. Drummondville Voltigeurs (25-7-1-0)
7. Halifax Mooseheads (24-7-1-1)
8. Vancouver Giants (22-8-2-0)
9. Baie-Comeau Drakkar (23-9-1-1)
10. Niagara IceDogs (20-7-5-0)

Honourable mentions: Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds (21-8-4-1), Sudbury Wolves (21-9-1-1), Moncton Wildcats (23-10-2-1)

FIRST HALF
Despite injuries and a few games that they really should've won, the Mooseheads finished the first half of the 2018-19 season in a pretty good place. Halifax is on top of the Maritimes division having won 24 of their first 33 games. They are third in QMJHL with an even 50 points. Halifax also has the third best power play so far this season while their penalty killing is the best in the league at 88.7%. Samuel Asselin, who was acquired from the Bathurst Titan after the season began, leads the Herd with 24 goals and 42 points which is good enough for 15th in the Q. Third year goaltender Alex Gravel finds himself in the top 5 of a few categories; save percentage (4th - 0.918), wins (2nd - 18) and shutouts (T-2nd - 2).

Halifax's last match before the break was against the Charlottetown Islanders where the Mooseheads skated to a 6-2 victory on home ice. Jordan Maher scored twice while Gravel made 30 saves.

TEAM OF THE WEEK
For the week ending December 17, 2018 the QMJHL announced the players on it's team of the week and there were two Mooseheads among them.

FUCALE
It was announced earlier this week that former Moose goaltender Zach Fucale had been named to the Canadian Spengler Cup team. The majority of Team Canada for this tournament is made up of players who play overseas now because their options to play pro in North America have dried up. Canada will play 2 preliminary matches against European clubs than head to the medal round. Fucale made 24 saves yesterday to help his team to a 2-1 victory against host HC Davos. Zach was apart of the team that won the gold medal two years ago at this tournament.

Good luck to Zach and Team Canada this week!

Photo - Avs website

MACKINNONWith it being December, attention has turned to the NHL All-Star game that will be held by the San Jose Sharks on Kanuary 27. Over the last couple of weeks, fans have been able to vote who they think should be named the captains of each of the division teams. Well the NHL announced the results of that vote this morning and former Herd star forward Nathan MacKinnon was voted as the C for the Central division. Kid Mack has been playing on what many have called the best line in hockey this season and has recorded 22 goals and 59 points. This will be Nathan's third All-Star appearance in his NHL career. He joins Auston Matthews (Toronto - Atlantic), Connor McDavid (Edmonton - Pacific) and Alexander Ovechkin (Washington - Metropolitan) as the captains.

WJC: Herd Have Two Named

The most wonderful time of the year is upon us. For junior hockey fans, Boxing Day signifies the start of the Under-20 World Ice Hockey Championships and their favourite part of the hockey season. Our Halifax Mooseheads had a few players have a chance to represent their countries with Raphael Lavoie, Jared McIsaac and Ostap Safin being asked to join pre-competition camps. From those three, only McIsaac ended up making his country's team. Lavoie was among the first players to be cut from Team Canada last weekend while it seems like Safin was still too injured to play right now. For more info, check out the official U20 website here.

Canada started the tournament on Boxing Day with a 14-0 win over Denmark and will play 3 more times in the preliminary round on Dec 27 (vs. SUI), Dec 29 (vs. CZE) and Dec 31 (vs. RUS) before the medal round begins on January 2. All game times are 9pm AT.

Mooseheads fans should be particularly interested in the December 29th game as it will pit McIsaac against a former teammate with alum Filip Zadina making the Czech Republic squad. Zadina has played this season in the AHL so far this season with Grand Rapids recording 8 goals and 17 points. The 19-year-old is making his second straight appearance at the World Juniors after helping the Czechs to a 4th place finish last year in Buffalo with 7 goals and an assist. They'll look to improve on that this year.


Congrats to Jared McIsaac and Filip Zadina on making their respective teams. I'll try to keep you updated during the tournament.

Gravel Shuts the Door on Cats

Photo - Myles Dennis

The Halifax Mooseheads have played 32 games and have recorded their 5th shutout of the season, which is five times the number of shutouts the team had last year. Chicago Blackhawks prospect Alex Gravel picked up his third career perfect game with a 33-save performance on Friday night to help the Herd to a 2-0 victory. It was also teddy bear toss game this evening and fans had to wait until the second period to throw their stuffed animals onto the ice. Halifax started off slow, getting outplayed in the first period but found themselves in a scoreless tie after 20 minutes despite being outshot 14-4 in the opening frame. Centre Raphael Lavoie travelled all day from Victoria after getting cut from Team Canada's world junior team last night and arrived at Scotiabank Centre just minutes before puck drop. The 18-year-old dressed quickly and received a big round of applause when he stepped on the ice during his line's first shift of the match. In the second, Halifax got a bit of momentum after killing off a late first period penalty that continued into the middle frame and Benoit-Olivier Groulx scored the opening goal almost 3 and a half minutes in to start the bear toss. That seemed to swing the pendulum from Moncton's way to the home team. Gravel still had to be strong at times and made some spectacular saves yet again while Francis Leclerc made some nice saves as well.

FINAL: Wildcats 0 at Mooseheads 2
Stars: 3. Raphael Lavoie HAL | 2. Francis Leclerc MON | 1. Alexis Gravel HAL
Attendance: 7,716
MC's Top Herd: Alexis Gravel

GAME LOG
First period
None

Second period
3:37 HAL Benoit-Olivier Groulx (18) | A: Lavoie & Bishop

Third period
12:55 HAL Samuel Asselin (23) | Morand & Toner

Shots: 33-31 in favour of Moncton
Powerplay: MON - 0-for-4; HAL - 0-for-2

NOT DRESSED - Jared McIsaac (WJC camp), Cole Stewart (healthy), Ostap Safin (WJC camp) and Samuel Dube (injured)

SCORES
Islanders 4 at Sea Dogs 6
Screaming Eagles 8 at Titan 4
Huskies 3 at Phoenix 4 SO
Cataractes 1 at Remparts 2
Tigres 3 at Sagueneens 2
Foreurs 1 at Voltigeurs 7
Armada 0 at Olympiques 4
Drakkar 4 at Oceanic 3

UP NEXT - Halifax will play their last game before the Christmas break tomorrow night as they host the Charlottetown Islanders. Puck drops at 7pm.

Dec 14: Mooseheads vs. Wildcats preview

HALIFAX MOOSEHEADS VS MONCTON WILDCATS
December 14, 2018 at 7:00pm
TV: Eastlink | Radio: News 95.7 | Live: @MC_MooseCountry
Scotiabank Centre (10,595) ~ Halifax, NS

It’s teddy bear toss night! When the Mooseheads score their first goal of the match, get those teddy bears flying. All bears collected with be given to Ronald McDonald House Charity and other local charities. Once again it is the battle of the top two teams in the Maritimes division. These clubs have been among the elite this season and will look to keep the momentum going into the new year. Moncton has fallen a bit of late and were not a part of the Top 10 teams in the Canadian Hockey League this week. However, that has given our favourite team an opportunity to stay really close behind the Wildcats especially since the Herd have been a hot team winning 5 straight games before a shootout loss on Wednesday. The Moose will be in tough though with Moncton seemingly icing a full lineup while Halifax are still without Jared McIsaac and Ostap Safin. The two young men are at their respective country's world juniors camp. After being released last night from Team Canada it is unknown if forward Raphael Lavoie will be in the lineup this evening. We should be in for a good game just days before the Christmas break.

This is the fourth meeting between these two teams. Halifax is 2-0-1-0 against the Wildcats this season while Moncton has a 1-1-1-0 record versus the Mooseheads. The last matchup saw Moncton pick up a 3-2 overtime win back on November 4th where Alex Khovanov scored the winner for the visitors.

Overall Records
Wildcats: 22-9-2-1 = 47pts (3rd overall, 1st in Maritimes division)
Mooseheads: 22-7-1-1 = 46pts (5th overall, 2nd in Maritimes division)

Leading Scorers
HAL: Samuel Asselin  40pts (22G & 18A), Benoit-Olivier Groulx 34pts (17G & 17A), Arnaud Durandeau 33pts (16G & 17A)
MON: Jeremy McKenna 57pts (25G & 32A), Jakob Pelletier 46pts (19G & 27A), Alexander Khovanov 43pts (19G & 24A)

Previous Games
Moncton is coming off a 5-4 shootout loss to the Islanders on Wednesday morning. Jeremy McKenna led the charge for the Wildcats with a hat trick while goaltender Charles-Antoine Lavallee made 18 saves in relief of Francis Leclerc in Charlottetown.

Halifax is coming off a 3-2 shootout loss to the Screaming Eagles on Wednesday evening. Samuel Asselin and Ben Higgins had the goals for the Mooseheads while Alexis Gravel made 17 saves against Cape Breton in the loss.

Head-to-Head
September 30  Mooseheads 4 at Wildcats 2
October 17  Mooseheads 5 at Wildcats 4 OT
November 4  Wildcats 3 at Mooseheads 2 OT
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
Saint John vs. Charlottetown - 7:00pm
Acadie-Bathurst vs. Cape Breton - 7:00pm
Sherbrooke vs. Rouyn-Noranda - 8:00pm
Quebec vs. Shawinigan - 8:00pm
Chicoutimi vs. Victoriaville - 8:30pm
Drummondville vs. Val-D'or - 8:30pm
Gatineau vs. Blainville-Boisbriand - 8:30pm
Rimouski vs. Baie-Comeau - 8:30pm

After the Buzzer
Halifax will welcome the Charlottetown Islanders to town to finish off the first half of the season. Puck drops at 7pm.

Moose Win Big Against Sea Dogs

Photo - Myles Dennis

The Saint John Sea Dogs are the last place team in the QMJHL and your Halifax Mooseheads handled them quite easily on Friday evening, picking up a 10-2 victory. Halifax got out to a quick start scoring just 78 seconds into the match when Samuel Asselin picked up his 19th goal of the season. Shots during the whole game were close but it was another bad night for the Sea Dogs backend with overager Mikhail Denisov giving up 5 goals on 16 shots before being pulled almost half way through the middle frame. The 20 year old picked up the loss despite playing less minutes than rookie Tommy DaSilva who came in to replace him. Justin Barron wasn't productive tonight by scoring goals but he helped other players score by picking up 4 assists during the evening and was named third star. Alexis Gravel was solid in nets, only letting in two goals on 25 shots. Halifax built up a 7-0 lead before Saint John was able to get one past the Chicago Blackhawks prospect. It was a big night for rookie defenceman Denis Toner who recorded his first career goal, potting the Mooseheads 10th goal, while also being a +5 on the night.

FINAL: Sea Dogs 2 at Mooseheads 10
Stars: 3. Justin Baron HAL | 2. Jake Ryczek HAL | 1. Joel Bishop HAL
Attendance: 7,915MC's Top Herd: n/a

GAME LOG
First period
1:18 HAL Samuel Asselin (19) | A: Bishop & Higgins
13:40 HAL Patrick Kyte (4) | A: Barron & Bishop
15:57 HAL Jake Ryczek (3), PP | A: Barron & Barinka

Second period
5:09 HAL Patrick Kyte (5) | Barron & McLeod
8:30 HAL Arnaud Durandeau (14) | A: Groulx & Maher
9:56 HAL Samuel Asselin (20) | A: Bishop & Higgins
15:06 HAL Jordan Maher (4), SH | A: Groulx
17:48 SNB Nicholas Deakin-Poot (4) | A: Cajkovic & Larose

Third period
3:07 SNB Jeremie Jacob (3) | A: Cajkovic
8:30 HAL Benoit-Olivier Groulx (15) | A: Ryczek
12:49 HAL Antoine Morand (11) | A: Lavoie & Barron
16:21 HAL Denis Toner (1) | A: Parent & Lavoie

Shots: 25-31 in favour of Halifax
Powerplay: SNB 0-for-4; HAL 1-for-2

NOT DRESSED – Cole Stewart (injured), Ostap Safin (injured), Jocktan Chainey (illness) and Samuel Dube (injured)

SCORES
Islanders 4 at Wildcats 3
Titan 2 at Screaming Eagles 4
Sagueneens 3 at Foreurs 2
Oceanic 9 at Cataractes 1
67's 1 at Olympiques 2
Tigres 1 at Drakkar 7
Voltigeurs 6 at Armada 3

UP NEXT – Halifax will welcome the Acadie-Bathurst Titan to town for a battle tomorrow evening. Puck drops at 7pm.

Stats Sunday: November

Games played: 10
Record: 6-3-1-0, 13pts
Goals for/against:44/25
Powerplay*: 26.3%
Penalty kill*: 88.0%
Shutouts: one

Top 5 leading scorers
Points: Samuel Asselin 16, Benoit-Olivier Groulx 14, Jared McIssac 11, Antoine Morand 10, Raphael Lavoie 10
Goals: Samuel Asselin 9, Benoit-Olivier Groulx 8, Arnaud Durandeau 5, Antoine Morand 3, Raphael Lavoie 3
Assists: Jared McIssac 8, Antoine Morand 7, Samuel Asselin 7, Ostap Safin 7, Raphael Lavoie 7
Penalty minutes: Joel Bishop 16, Walter Flower 10, Patrick Kyte 10, Ben Higgins 10, Jared McIsaac 10
Plus/minus: Walter Flower +7, Benoit-Olivier Groulx +5, Arnaud Durandeau +4, Marcel Barinka +4,Joel Bishop +4
Rookie scoring: Marcel Barinka 5pts, Cole Stewart 0pts, Cole McLaren 0pts

Goaltending stats*
Cole McLaren: 5-1-0-0    1.65 GAA    0.939 SAV%
Alexis Gravel: 13-6-1-0    2.94 GAA    0.907 SAV%


*overall

Dec 2: Oceanic vs. Mooseheads preview

RIMOUSKI OCEANIC VS HALIFAX MOOSEHEADS
Puck drops at 4:00pm
TV: Webcast | Radio: News 95.7 | Live: @HFXMooseheads
Colisée de Rimouski (5,062) ~ Rimouski, QC

Your Halifax Mooseheads are back in action and will be facing another tough opponent this afternoon in the Rimouski Oceanic as they travel to Rimouski to finish up the road trip in Quebec. The Oceanic have been a hot team as of late with a 7-1-1 record after a slow start to the season. Rimouski and Halifax have very similar records with the Oceanic having two extra losses and the Moose having one more win on them. The Mooseheads had a much better game Friday night which saw their three game losing streak snapped in favor of their 5-2 win over the Cataractes. Rimouski has the fourth best goaltender in the league so far this season in Chase Ellis who has a 2.44 goals against average and 12 victories while Halifax has reached the century goal mark they will be looking to start the next century out strong. Alexis Lafrenière has played very well for the Oceanic and looks to be on pace to surpass his career high in points, he has 46 points in 27 games in 2018-19. The Herd will need to shut him down this afternoon if they have any chance of winning. In goal, I would be surprised if we don’t see Ellis versus Alex Gravel.

Overall Records
Oceanic: 16-9-2-0 = 34pts (7th overall, 2nd in East division)
Mooseheads: 18-7-1-0 = 37pts (5th overall, 2nd in Maritimes division)

Leading Scorers
HAL: Samuel Asselin 33pts (18G & 15A), Benoit-Olivier Groulx 29pts (14G & 15A), Raphael Lavoie 28pts (14G & 14A)
RIM: Alexis Lafrenière 46pts (16G & 30A), Jimmy Huntington 37pts (20G & 17A), Charle-Edward D'Astous 36pts (8G & 28A)

Previous Games
Rimouski is coming off of a 6-1 victory Friday evening against Victoriaville. Jimmy Huntington led the charge for the Oceanic with two goals while Carmine-Anthony Pagliarulo made 22 saves to pick up the win against the Tigres.

Halifax is coming off a 5-3 victory on Friday evening against the Cataractes on the road. Samuel Asselin had a hat trick and an assist to lead the way for the Mooseheads while Alex Gravel took the win, stopping 14 of  Shawinigan’s 16 shots.

Head-to-Head
December 2  4pm  Mooseheads at Oceanic
January 4  7pm  Oceanic at Mooseheads

Out of Town
Acadie-Bathurst vs. Rouyn Noranda - 3:00pm
Charlottetown vs. Val-D'or - 3:00pm
Drummondville vs. Blainville-Boisbriand - 4:00pm
Sherbrooke vs. Victoriaville - 4:00pm
Chicoutimi vs. Baie-Comeau - 5:00pm

After the Buzzer
Halifax will travel home to take on the Saint John Sea Dogs to open up a five game home stand to close out the first half of the season. Puck drops at 7pm.

Streak Snapped at Three

Photo - Halifax Mooseheads Twitter

After a slow start to the game as well as the road trip, the Herd are back in the win column. Tonight's victory between the pipe for Alex Gravel was a milestone win which was the 50th of his Q career. The win puts him in a tie for third for most wins by a goalie with Danny Dallaire and is behind J-S Giguere and Zach Fucale who are in first and second respectively. The Mooseheads fell behind late in the first period when forward Mathieu Boulianne who blocked a shot from the point to race down the ice on a breakaway to beat goalie Alex Gravel. In the second Halifax started to dominate outshooting Shawinigan 17-1 and that is where veteran Samuel Asselin carried the team on his back scoring three goals and adding an assist in his return to Shawinigan since being traded in January. Xavier Parent and Raphael Lavoie added the other goals for the Herd. Shawinigan would add a goal from Gabriel Denis in the third to make it a two goal game but couldn't come any closer than that. It was announced late today that forward Ostap Safin left the team to travel to Edmonton to meet with the team doctors to see about his lower-body injury. All of the other injuries have stayed the same as the previous game.

FINAL: Mooseheads 5 at Cataractes 2
Stars: 3. Antoine Coulombe SHA | 2. Raphael Lavoie HAL | 1. Samuel Asselin HALAttendance: 2,910
MC’s Top Herd: Samuel Asselin

GAME LOG
First period
16:51 SHA Mathieu Boulianne (4) | A: none

Second period
11:19 HAL Samuel Asselin (16) | A: Higgins & McIssac
17:00 HAL Xavier Parent (5) | A: Lavoie & Morand
18:19 HAL Raphael Lavoie (14) | A: Parent & Asselin

Third period
3:17 HAL Samuel Asselin (17) | A: Higgins & Bishop
7:18 SHA Gabriel Denis (6), SH | A: Denny & Coulombe
19:55 HAL Samuel Asselin (18), EN | A: Bishop

Shots: 42-16 in favour of Halifax

NOT DRESSED – Cole Stewart (injured), Ostap Safin (injured), Jake Ryczek (injured) and Samuel Dube (injured)

SCORES
Foreurs 3 at Sea Dogs 4 OT
Titan 1 at Islanders 2
Wildcats 6 at Phoenix 3
Tigres 1 at Oceanic 6
Remparts 3 at Sagueneens 2 OT
Olympique 3 at Voltigeurs 7

UP NEXT – Halifax will travel to Rimouski Sunday afternoon to take on the Oceanic to complete the Quebec road trip. Puck drops at 4pm.