Exhibition Game Schedule Released

HALIFAX - The Halifax Mooseheads announced their pre-season schedule for the upcoming season.

Our Mooseheads will play six times against three different teams over the month before the real matches begin. Not sure why but Halifax starts the pre-season with 4 games in less than a week before having a break for two weeks and finishing a home and home with the Moncton Wildcats.

All three home games will be held at the local arenas around the city including one at the recently redone Dartmouth Sportsplex.

Here is the 2019-20 pre-season schedule:
August 18 at 4pm - vs. Cape Breton Screaming Eagles (Dartmouth Sportsplex)
August 20 at 7pm - at Cape Breton Screaming Eagles (Centre 200)
August 22 at 7pm - vs. Saint John Sea Dogs (RBC Centre - Dartmouth, NS)
August 23 at 7pm - at Saint John Sea Dogs (Garcelon Civic Centre - Saint Stephen, NB)
September 6 at 7pm - at Moncton Wildcats (Superior Propane Centre - Moncton, NB)
September 13 at 7pm - vs. Moncton Wildcats (Halifax Forum)

The regular season schedule was also released today.

Huskies Win National Title

Photo - Vincent Ethier

Well, the QMJHL's 50th season has come to an end and it couldn't have finished any better I'm sure as both league representative's in the tournament were in the championship game.

The Rouyn-Noranda Huskies defeated our Halifax Mooseheads for the sixth time in the month of May to claim it's first Memorial Cup trophy on Sunday night. Halifax got out to a 2-0 lead in the final match of the year before the Huskies came back to score 4 unanswered goals to win a trophy once again on Scotiabank Centre ice. Rouyn-Noranda were crowned the President Cup winners earlier this month while the Mooseheads were the tournament hosts. The two teams finished the round-robin with 2-1 records, Halifax was given a bye to the last game because of the tie-breaker rules while the Huskies had to defeat the Guelph Storm (OHL) in the semi-final. Peter Abbandonato scored what would end up being the game winning goal just 3:02 into the third period to help his team get a 4-2 victory.

Congratulations to the Huskies on being 2019 national champs!


In other news...

• With the best goals against average and save percentage of the tournament, Alexis Gravel was named the Top Goaltender. He was also named to the all-star team along with teammate Benoit-Olivier Groulx 
• The Stanley Cup finals are underway and there is one former Moosehead still playing; Brad Marchand and the Boston Bruins are taking on the St. Louis Blues for the holy grail. Marchand leads the Bruins with 8 goals and 19 points through 18 games in this year's playoffs 
• Herd alumni Ladislav Nagy played his last international game last Tuesday, representing Slovakia at the 2019 IIHF World Championships. Nagy, who turns 40 on Saturday, scored the shootout winner for the Slovaks against Denmark in the country's final round robin game as the team did not advance to the playoff round this year

Memorial Cup Championship Game

GAMEDAY

2019 Memorial Cup Game Eight

Championship

Rouyn-Noranda Huskies at Halifax Mooseheads

May 26 - 8:00pm

Scotiabank Centre

The biggest game to be played in Moose Country is happening tonight with our Halifax Mooseheads taking on the Rouyn-Noranda Huskies at 8pm. After 10 more days of hockey, the 2018-19 junior hockey season will come to an end today. This is the 8th time this month that these two teams have met each other and just like 15 days ago, a trophy is on the line. Rouyn-Noranda is looking to win their first Memorial Cup in club history while Halifax will be hoping to repeat what happened exactly six years ago when they won the Mooseheads only national championship. The Huskies are coming off a big 6-3 victory over the OHL champion Guelph Storm in Friday's semi-final game to get to this game. It's a sell out crowd for this evening but you can watch the match on Sportsnet if you don't have tickets.

Rouyn-Noranda: 1st West Division, 1st Western Conference, 1st QMJHL 59-8-0-1=119 points

Joel Teasdale (14G & 20A), Felix Bibeau (14G & 15A), Noah Dobson (8G & 21A)

Samuel Harvey 16-3-1-0, 1.97 GAA, 0.924 SAV%

def. Shawinigan Cataractes (4-2, 1st round), Victoriaville Tigres (4-0, quarters), Rimouski Oceanic (4-0, semis), Halifax Mooseheads (4-2, finals)

Coached by Mario Pouliot

Halifax: 1st Maritimes Division, 1st Eastern Conference, 3rd QMJHL 49-15-2-2=102 points

Raphael Lavoie (20G & 12A), Arnaud Durandeau (10G & 10A), Maxim Trepanier (6G & 14A)

Alexis Gravel 14-8-0-0, 2.73 GAA, 0.917 SAV%

def. Quebec Remparts (4-3, 1st round), Moncton Wildcats (4-0, quarters), Drummondville Voltigeurs (4-2, semis), by Rouyn-Noranda Huskies (4-2, finals)

Coached by Eric Veilleux

ROUYN-NORANDA WINS

May 24, 2019

Guelph Storm vs. Rouyn-Noranda Huskies

Attendance: 10,595

In what was most certainly a pro-Guelph crowd on Friday evening, the Rouyn-Noranda Huskies battled and defeated the Storm 6-4 to earn a spot in the Memorial Cup championship game on Sunday. The Huskies got off to a quick start, with Alex Beaucage scoring just under five minutes into the game on a power-play, but Guelph came back with two goals by Isaac Ratcliffe and Jack Hanley 60 seconds apart to take the lead. It seemed like we were going to get a even higher scorer game as it was tied 3-3 with 23:11 remaining but defence came into play in the later part of the second period. Felix Bibeau scored twice in the third to give Rouyn-Noranda a two goal lead before Ratcliffe made it interesting with 73 seconds to go. With the loss, the Storm's quest for another trophy has come to an end with a semi-final defeat.

Final: Rouyn-Noranda 6 at Guelph 4
Shot count: Storm - 38, Huskies - 39
Goal scorers: Alex Beaucage ROU (1) P1 4:58(PP), Isaac Ratcliffe GUE (2) P1 6:28, Jack Hanley GUE (1) P1 7:28, Joel Teasdale (ROU (3) P1 9:31, Cedric Ralph GUE (1) P2 5:53, Tyler Hinam ROU (3) P2 6:49, Felix Bibeau ROU (3) P3 5:40, Felix Bibeau ROU (4) P3 12:33, Isaac Ratcliffe GUE (3) P3 18:47, Rafael Harvey-Pinard ROU (1) P3 19:57(EN)
Powerplay: ROU 1/1, GUE 0/2
3 stars: 3. Noah Dobson ROU, 2. Dmitri Samorukov GUE, 1. Felix Bibeau ROU

MEMORIAL CUP GAME #7: Semi-final

GAMEDAY

2019 Memorial Cup Game Seven

Semi-final

Rouyn-Noranda Huskies at Guelph Storm

May 24 - 8:00pm

Scotiabank Centre

Rouyn-Noranda: 1st West Division, 1st Western Conference, 1st QMJHL 59-8-0-1=119 points

Joel Teasdale (14G & 20A), Felix Bibeau (14G & 15A), Noah Dobson (8G & 21A)

Samuel Harvey 16-3-1-0, 1.97 GAA, 0.924 SAV%

def. Shawinigan Cataractes (4-2, 1st round), Victoriaville Tigres (4-0, quarters), Rimouski Oceanic (4-0, semis), Halifax Mooseheads (4-2, finals)

Coached by Mario Pouliot

Guelph: 2nd Midwest Division, 4th Western Conference, 8th OHL 40-18-6-4=90 points

Nick Suzuki (16G & 26A), Isaac Ratcliffe (15G & 15A), Dmitri Samorukov (10G & 18A)

Anthony Popovich 16-7-1-0, 3.12 GAA, 0.894 SAV%

def. Kitchener Rangers (4-0, quarters), London Knights (4-3, semis), Saginaw Spirit (4-3, finals), Ottawa 67's (4-2, OHL finals)

Coached by George Burnett

Rouyn-Noranda wins

May 22, 2019 
Rouyn-Noranda Huskies vs. Halifax Mooseheads

Attendance: 10,004

The Halifax Mooseheads celebrated despite losing a close game against the Rouyn-Noranda Huskies to finish the round robin on Wednesday night. Because of the way the Canadian Hockey League decides their tie-break scenarios for first place if three teams have 2-1 records, the Herd needed to lose by one goal with the score 4-3 or lower, if they couldn't win, to secure a bye to the Memorial Cup championship game. That 4-3 result was how the match would end after the Huskies dominated in the third period and were able to get two goals past Alexis Gravel. It looked like Rouyn-Noranda might get the result they wanted to get the bye as they led 2-0 after twenty minutes with goals from Felix Bibeau and Joel Teasdale but Halifax took the intermission to regroup and had a very strong period. The Mooseheads scored three times in the middle frame, including a power play goal from Antoine Morand, which was his third of the tournament, coming with just 43 seconds left. William Rouleau picked up his first at the 10:!3 mark, making a lot of the 10,000 fans nervous. Jakub Lauko scored in the final minute to give his team the victory.

Final: Halifax 3 at Rouyn-Noranda 4
Shot count: Huskies - 40, Mooseheads - 27
Goal scorers: Felix Bibeau ROU (2) P1 14:38, Joel Teasdale ROU (2) P1 15:50, Benoit-Olivier Groulx HAL (1) P2 0:48, Arnaud Durandeau HAL (1) P2 7:34, Antoine Morand HAL (3) P2 19:!7, William Rouleau ROU (1) P3 10:13, Jakub Lauko ROU (2) P3 19:05
Powerplay: HAL 1/3, ROU 0/2
3 stars: 3. Jakub Lauko ROU, 2. Benoit-Olivier Groulx HAL, 1. Peter Abbandonato ROU

MEMORIAL CUP GAME #6: Hosts vs. QMJHL

GAMEDAY

2019 Memorial Cup Game Six

Round Robin

Halifax Mooseheads at Rouyn-Noranda Huskies

May 22 - 8:00pm

Scotiabank Centre 

It's a President Cup rematch tonight at the Memorial Cup as the round robin portion closes out. There's big stakes with this evening's game as a bye to the final is on the line. A win from our Halifax Mooseheads will give them a 3-0 record while a loss would leave three teams with 2-1 records and it would get complicated to determine who would get first in the standings. The Rouyn-Noranda Huskies will be the designated home team for the game and will be looking to win another contest on Scotiabank Centre ice but the Mooseheads will want some revenge. Even though it's a mid-week affair, I imagine the arena will be electric. Let's cheer on the boys Moose Country to a victory.

Halifax: 1st Maritimes Division, 1st Eastern Conference, 3rd QMJHL 49-15-2-2=102 points

Raphael Lavoie (20G & 12A), Arnaud Durandeau (10G & 10A), Maxim Trepanier (6G & 14A)

Alexis Gravel 14-8-0-0, 2.73 GAA, 0.917 SAV%

def. Quebec Remparts (4-3, 1st round), Moncton Wildcats (4-0, quarters), Drummondville Voltigeurs (4-2, semis), by Rouyn-Noranda Huskies (4-2, finals)

Coached by Eric Veilleux

Rouyn-Noranda: 1st West Division, 1st Western Conference, 1st QMJHL 59-8-0-1=119 points

Joel Teasdale (14G & 20A), Felix Bibeau (14G & 15A), Noah Dobson (8G & 21A)

Samuel Harvey 16-3-1-0, 1.97 GAA, 0.924 SAV%

def. Shawinigan Cataractes (4-2, 1st round), Victoriaville Tigres (4-0, quarters), Rimouski Oceanic (4-0, semis), Halifax Mooseheads (4-2, finals)

Coached by Mario Pouliot

GUELPH WINS

May 21, 2019

Prince Albert Raiders vs. Guelph Storm

Attendance: 9,248

The Guelph Storm have ended the season for the Prince Albert Raiders after a 5-2 victory on day 5 of the Memorial Cup. Guelph won their second game of the tournament to improve to 2-1 for the round robin while Prince Albert finished with a 0-3 record. Because of this, there will be no tie-breaker game on Thursday. The Raiders looked out of place in all three of their matches and it seemed like they didn't get any luck at all. The Storm looked dominate all game long and were led by Nick Suzuki  who scored the last goals. Toronto Maple Leafs prospect Fedor Gordeev picked up his first goal of the tournament as he beat fellow Leafs prospect Ian Scott to open the scoring. Prince Albert and the Storm would trade goals after that and the score was tied at 2-2 after 20 minutes. Liam Hawel scored on the power play just 1:21 into the second period to give the Ontario Hockey League champs the lead and they never looked back.

Final: Guelph 5 at Prince Albert 2
Shot count: Raiders - 21, Storm - 25
Goals scorers: Feder Gordeev GUE (1) P1 9:42, Sean Montgomery PA (1) P1 11:32, Isaac Ratcliffe GUE (1) P1 15:18, Dante Hannoun PA (1) P1 19:16, Liam Hawel GUE (1) P2 1:21(PP), Nick Suzuki GUE (2) P2 5:02, Nick Suzuki GUE (3) P3 6:42
Powerplay: GUE - 1/3, PA - 1/2
3 stars: 3. Brayden Pachal PA, 2. Nick Suzuki GUE, 1. Isaac Ratcliffe GUE

ROUYN-NORANDA WINS

May 20, 2019

Prince Albert Raiders vs. Rouyn-Noranda Huskies

Attendance: 9,186

Final: Rouyn-Noranda 6 at Prince Albert 3
Shot count: Raiders - 33, Huskies - 33
Goal scorers: Tyler Hinam ROU (1) P1 4:34, Cole Fonstad PA (1) P1 8:32, Brayden Pachal PA (1) P1 13:47, Joel Teasdale ROU (1) P1 18:32(PP), Felix Bibeau ROU (1) P2 12:59, Noah Gregor PA (2) P2 17:43, Tyler Hinam ROU (2) P3 15:28, Peter Abbandonato ROU (1) P3 16:53, Noah Dobson ROU (1) P3 18:19(EN)
Powerplay: ROU 1/3, PA 0/3
3 stars: 3. Rafael Harvey-Pinard ROU, 2. Tyler Hinam ROU, 1. Noah Gregor PA

MEMORIAL CUP GAME #4: QMJHL vs. WHL

GAMEDAY

2019 Memorial Cup Game Four

Round Robin

Rouyn-Noranda Huskies at Prince Albert Raiders

May 19 - 8:00pm

Scotiabank Centre

Rouyn-Noranda: 1st West Division, 1st Western Conference, 1st QMJHL 59-8-0-1=119 points

Joel Teasdale (14G & 20A), Felix Bibeau (14G & 15A), Noah Dobson (8G & 21A)

Samuel Harvey 16-3-1-0, 1.97 GAA, 0.924 SAV%

def. Shawinigan Cataractes (4-2, 1st round), Victoriaville Tigres (4-0, quarters), Rimouski Oceanic (4-0, semis), Halifax Mooseheads (4-2, finals)

Coached by Mario Pouliot

Prince Albert: 1st East Division, 1st Eastern Conference, 1st WHL 54-10-2-2=112 points

Brett Leason (10G & 15A), Dante Hannoun (14G & 10A), Noah Gregor (13G & 11A)

Ian Scott 16-6-1-0, 1.96 GAA, 0.925 SAV%

def. Red Deer Rebels (4-0, quarters), Saskatoon Blades (4-2, semis), Edmonton Oil Kings (4-2, finals), Vancouver Giants (4-3, WHL finals)

Coached by Marc Habscheid

HALIFAX WINS

May 19, 2019

Guelph Storm vs. Halifax Mooseheads

Attendance: 10,036

The Halifax Mooseheads have put themselves in very good position for the 'playoff' portion of the 2019 Memorial Cup tournament. Halifax defeated the OHL champion Guelph Storm on Sunday night 4-2 with Alex Gravel making 33 saves. The victory improved the Mooseheads record to 2-0 so they will at least play in the semi-final game on Friday. Antoine Morand got the Herd, who were the designated visiting team in this one, on the board with 5:10 gone in the game. A few penalties by Halifax gave the Storm a bit a life as they outshot our guys 16-8 in the opening frame. Guelph was rewarded for their hard work as Sean Durzi got one past Gravel with 50 seconds remaining in the first to tie the match. Halifax controlled the play in the middle period and received a few man advantages but a short-handed goal by Raphael Lavoie put them up 2-1 than Maxim Trepanier extended the lead. Durzi and Asselin traded goals in the third and that would be how it would finish.

Final: Halifax 4 at Guelph 2
Shot count: Storm - 35, Mooseheads - 42
Goal scorers: Antoine Morand HAL (2) P1 5:10, Sean Durzi GUE (1) P1 19:10, Raphael Lavoie HAL (1) P2 6:48(SH), Maxim Trepanier HAL (1) P2 10:34, Sean Durzi GUE (2) P3 1:07(PP), Samuel Asselin HAL (2) P3 7:20
Powerplay: HAL 0/6, GUE 1/6
3 stars: 3. Antoine Morand HAL, 2. Nick Suzuki GUE, 1. Alexis Gravel HAL

GUELPH WINS

May 18, 2019

Guelph Storm vs. Rouyn-Noranda Huskies

Attendance: 9,509

Alexey Toropchenko had a great game and helped lead his Guelph Storm to a 5-2 win over the Rouyn-Noranda Huskies in the first battle of champions at the 2019 Memorial Cup. The 19-year-old had a hat trick in the Storm's opening game as the OHL champs came back once again. Rouyn-Noranda, the QMJHL title winners, got out to a quick start with Vincent Marleau scoring just over two minutes into the game. Toropchenko picked up his first of the match while the Huskies were on the powerplay to tie it at 1s. He had a natural hat trick before the first period came to an end. All the scoring was done in the first 40 minutes as the third was just about keeping the lead for Guelph.

Final: Rouyn-Noranda 2 at Guelph 5
Shot count: Storm - 29, Huskies - 24
Goal scorers: Vincent Marleau ROU (1) P1 2:17, Alexey Toropchenko GUE (1) P1 11:00(SH), Alexey Toropchenko GUE (2) P1 13:07, Alexey Toropchenko GUE (3) P1 18:23, MacKenzie Entwistle GUE (1) P2 3:20, Jakub Lauko ROU (1) P2 11:16, Nick Suzuki GUE (1) P2 19:15
Powerplay: ROU 0/2, GUE 0/2
3 stars: 3. Jakub Lauko ROU, 2. Sean Durzi GUE, 1. Alexey Toropchenko GUE

MEMORIAL CUP GAME #2: QMJHL vs. OHL

GAMEDAY

2019 Memorial Cup Game One

Round Robin

Rouyn-Noranda Huskies at Guelph Storm

May 18 - 4:30pm

Scotiabank Centre

Rouyn-Noranda: 1st West Division, 1st Western Conference, 1st QMJHL 59-8-0-1=119 points

Joel Teasdale (14G & 20A), Felix Bibeau (14G & 15A), Noah Dobson (8G & 21A)

Samuel Harvey 16-3-1-0, 1.97 GAA, 0.924 SAV%

def. Shawinigan Cataractes (4-2, 1st round), Victoriaville Tigres (4-0, quarters), Rimouski Oceanic (4-0, semis), Halifax Mooseheads (4-2, finals)

Coached by Mario Pouliot

Guelph: 2nd Midwest Division, 4th Western Conference, 8th OHL 40-18-6-4=90 points

Nick Suzuki (16G & 26A), Isaac Ratcliffe (15G & 15A), Dmitri Samorukov (10G & 18A)

Anthony Popovich 16-7-1-0, 3.12 GAA, 0.894 SAV%

def. Kitchener Rangers (4-0, quarters), London Knights (4-3, semis), Saginaw Spirit (4-3, finals), Ottawa 67's (4-2, OHL finals)

Coached by George Burnett

HALIFAX WINS

May 17, 2019

Halifax Mooseheads vs. Prince Albert Raiders

Attendance: 9,926

The 2019 Memorial Cup hosts opened the tournament with a big victory over the Prince Albert Raiders on Friday night. Fans at the Scotiabank Centre were right into the game from the drop of the puck, even before when the pre-game ceremony happened. Jean-Sebastien Giguere, who was the first Halifax Moosehead ever drafted to the National Hockey League, came out for the ceremony. Halifax started off a bit undisciplined with three straight penalties but at the 10:49 mark of the first period, Samuel Asselin got his team on the board. Before the first was done, Xavier Parent scored to make it 2-0. Prince Albert looked a bit tired and not as fast as the Herd but the Raiders only had three days to recuperate and they were on a plane coming from the west coast during that. Noah Gregor got Prince Albert on the board midway through the second period but Halifax got two more goals including an empty net from Antoine Morand to send the almost 10 thousand fans home happy.

Final: Prince Albert 1 at Halifax 4
Shot count: Mooseheads - 37; Raiders - 24
Goal scorers: Samuel Asselin HAL (1) P1 10:46, Xavier Parent HAL (1) P1 18:44, Noah Gregor PA (1) P2 10:46, Jake Ryczek HAL (1) P2 15:52(PP), Antoine Morand HAL (1) P3 18:07(EN)
Powerplay: PA 0/4, HAL 1/6
3 stars: 3. Gregor PA, 2. Trepanier HAL, 1. Asselin HAL

MEMORIAL CUP GAME #1: WHL vs. Hosts

GAMEDAY

2019 Memorial Cup Game One

Round Robin

Prince Albert Raiders at Halifax Mooseheads

May 17 - 8:00pm

Scotiabank Centre

It's finally here! It's the opening game of the Memorial Cup here in Halifax and it will begin with our Halifax Mooseheads taking on the WHL champion Prince Albert Raiders tonight at 8pm. Even though the Herd have known for more than a year that they will be in this tournament on the national stage, they still wanted to show that they are a competitor during it and made it all the way to the QMJHL finals. Prince Albert won the Western Hockey League just on Monday so it's a quick turn around for the Raiders who had to get the Game 7 victory in overtime. The Raiders goaltender Ian Scott was named CHL goaltender of the week the other day and was also given the MVP trophy for the WHL playoffs. He has the best save percentage and the lowest goals against average out of the remaining four net keepers so the Mooseheads will have to shoot a lot and get Scott moving. Just like regular season records don't really matter in the playoffs, you can throw post-season records out as well now that we're in the Memorial Cup because it's so quick.

Prince Albert: 1st East Division, 1st Eastern Conference, 1st WHL 54-10-2-2=112 points

Brett Leason (10G & 15A), Dante Hannoun (14G & 10A), Noah Gregor (13G & 11A)

Ian Scott 16-6-1-0, 1.96 GAA, 0.925 SAV%

def. Red Deer Rebels (4-0, quarters), Saskatoon Blades (4-2, semis), Edmonton Oil Kings (4-2, finals), Vancouver Giants (4-3, WHL finals)

Coached by Marc Habscheid 

Halifax: 1st Maritimes Division, 1st Eastern Conference, 3rd QMJHL 49-15-2-2=102 points

Raphael Lavoie (20G & 12A), Arnaud Durandeau (10G & 10A), Maxim Trepanier (6G & 14A)

Alexis Gravel 14-8-0-0, 2.73 GAA, 0.917 SAV%

def. Quebec Remparts (4-3, 1st round), Moncton Wildcats (4-0, quarters), Drummondville Voltigeurs (4-2, semis), by Rouyn-Noranda Huskies (4-2, finals)

Coached by Eric Veilleux

Welcome to Halifax

While the Halifax Mooseheads have known for 13 months that they will participate in the 2019 Memorial Cup because they were named the host team, the three other teams are now determined as well. The league finals wrapped up last night after the Prince Albert Raiders defeated the Vancouver Giants in overtime of Game 7 to win the Ed Cheynoweth Cup.

So I thought I would do a little preview to get you set up for the tournament. It will run from May 16 to May 26 here in Halifax.

TEAMS
A host club plus the three league champions participate in the 10-day tournament. This year the Rouyn-Noranda Huskies (QMJHL), Guelph Storm (OHL), Prince Albert Raiders (WHL) and our Halifax Mooseheads (hosts) will look to become national junior champions.

HOW THEY GOT HERE
Many people thought that Halifax would take the back door into the tournament as hosts, especially after the team lost their first two playoff games but the Mooseheads rebounded and made it all the way to President Cup finals. The club even showed that they could hang with the top dogs as they defeated the CHL's best Rouyn-Noranda Huskies twice during the last series. They defeated the Quebec Remparts in 7 games, swept the Moncton Wildcats in the quarter-finals, beat the Drummondville Voltigeurs in 6 matches before losing to the Huskies.

The biggest story would have to be the Guelph Storm, who have been the come back kids all playoffs long. The Storm swept the Kitchener Rangers in the first round before finding themselves down 0-3 in the second round to the London Knights which they ended that series in 7 games. Guelph defeated the Saginaw Spirit in 7 games to take the Western conference than pulled off 4 straight wins to finish the Ottawa 67's in 6 matches to get the J. Ross Robertson Cup.

Prince Albert also swept their first round, defeating the Red Deer Rebels in 4 games, then they took down the Saskatoon Blades in 6 matches before dispatching the Edmonton Oil Kings also in 6 to win the Eastern conference title. The Raiders were up 3-1 in the final series before the Vancouver Giants won two straight to force a Game 7 which as I mentioned above went to extra time with Dante Hannoun scoring the game winner.

The Rouyn-Noranda Huskies didn't have an easy time getting out of the opening round either as they defeated the last place Shawinigan Catactes in 6 games but defeated the Victoriaville Tigres and Rimouski Oceanic both in four matches. They won the President Cup in 6 games on Scotiabank Centre ice.


CHAMPIONSHIP FINAL
This is great. The last game will be an exciting one no matter who is in it.

SCHEDULE
We've known for a couple of months the dates and times but now we can put the teams in. Our Mooseheads will take on Prince Albert in the opening game of the tournament on Friday.

May 17   Prince Albert       Halifax              8:00pm/AT
May 18   Rouyn-Noranda   Guelph              4:30pm/AT
May 19   Halifax                 Guelph              8:00pm/AT
May 20   Rouyn-Noranda   Prince Albert    8:00pm/AT
May 21   Guelph                 Prince Albert    8:00pm/AT
May 22   Halifax                Rouyn-Noranda  8:00pm?AT

May 23   Tie-breaker       8:00pm/AT

May 24   Semi final       8:00pm/AT

May 26   Championship      8:00pm/AT

TICKETS
There are still tickets available for the round robin matches. As far as I know you can still get two game packs, there are three options for these all of which include at least one Mooseheads game. Single game tickets are also on sale and have been since April 9, they start as low as $35 plus a ticket Atlantic service charge. You can buy them at the box office, online or by calling 902-451-1221.


GOOD LUCK! It certainly should be #OneToRemember

4 Alum at Worlds

Photo - Nico Hischier Facebook page

The Halifax Mooseheads have a few former players at the IIHF Men's World Championships that begun on Friday in Kosice and Bratislava. Alumni Jakub Voracek, Nico Hischier and Ladislav Nagy will represent their countries during the tournament.

This is the first time that Hischier has participated at the Worlds while Nagy and Voracek have played in their home colours on multiple occasions, eight and six times respectively. Nico joins a Switzerland team that finished second in last year's competition and will be looking to at least repeat that this month. Jakob meanwhile will captain the Czech Republic and Ladislav is an alternate captain for the host Slovakian club. Hischier and Voracek with their respective teams will play each other on the last day of round robin competition on May 21.

Congrats to all three players, Moose Country will be cheering you on for the next two weeks. Good luck guys!

Below are the stats for the guys through 4 days of competition (as of May 13)
Jakub Voracek   3GP  0G  4A  0PIM  -1
Nico Hischier   2GP  2G  2A  0PIM  +4
Ladislav Nagy   3GP  1G  1A  0PIM  +3

Huskies Take It In Moose Country

Game Six Recap

ROU wins series 4-2

HALIFAX - The Rouyn-Noranda Huskies are President Cup champions. Unfortunately for the Halifax faithful they won it at the Scotiabank Centre on Saturday evening by a 4-0 score. After the buzzer went, the fans that stayed did get to congratulate Mooseheads on a great 25th season. Rouyn-Noranda got on the board first when Halifax native Tyler Hinam scored at the 13:32 mark of the first period. Both goaltenders were good the whole game, especially Samuel Harvey who made some really nice saves on Herd chances to keep the shutout. The Huskies came out of the gate flying and commanded the opening frame outshooting the Moose 16-7. Halifax turned it around in the second period but were unable to tie the game before the away team doubled their lead to 2-0 with 9:40 left in the frame. Benoit-Olivier Groulx took a nice pass from Jocktan Chainey soon after and ripped the puck past Harvey but the referees quickly reviewed it, determining it was offside. That would be the only rubber that the 20 year old goalie would allow by him while his team scored two more goals in the third to put it away. Being down 3-0, Eric Vellieux decided to pull Alexis Gravel with four and a half minutes remaining but the home team couldn't get anything through despite a few chances. Rafael Harvey-Pinard clinched Rouyn-Noranda's second league championship in club history with an empty net goal.

FINAL: Huskies 4 at Mooseheads 0
Stars: 3. Tyler Hinam ROU | 2. Alexis Gravel HAL | 1. Samuel Harvey ROU
Attendance: 9,602

GAME LOG
First period
13:32 ROU Tyler Hinam (4) | A: Hrehorcak & Dobson

Second period
10:20 ROU Rafael Harvey-Pinard (12) | A: Bergeron & Dobson

Third period 
13:21 ROU Alex Beaucage (5) | A: Abbandonato
18:49 ROU Rafael Harvey-Pinard (13), EN | A: None

Powerplay: ROU - 0-for-0; HAL - 0-for-2
Shots: 35-28 in favour of Rouyn-Noranda

DID NOT PLAY - Kyle Petten, Samuel Dube, Brock McLeod, Cole Stewart, Alexis Sansfacon and Marcel Barinka were healthy scratches

UP NEXT - Halifax will now play host of the Memorial Cup and will start the tournament against the WHL champions. Puck drops at 8pm.

Mooseheads Even Up Series With Huskies

Game Four Recap

Series tied 2-2

HALIFAX - Our Halifax Mooseheads have pushed the 1st overall Rouyn-Noranda Huskies to a series split after a 5-1 victory in Game 4. Mooseheads goaltender Alexis Gravel was once again a difference maker for his team, stopping 29 shots in a game that saw the home team outshot Rouyn-Noranda 37-30. The biggest save being a glove save in the second period that kept the game at a 1-1 tie at that point and made the 8,216 fans in attendance give a big ovation. The first period was not really entertaining as both teams were not giving the other club much room but both teams traded goals to head to the dressing rooms with the score 1-1. In the second period, the Herd opened up the play and it saw a point shot from Justin Barron tipped in front by Samuel Asselin to bang it home with just over 12 minutes to go in the middle frame. Jocktan Chainey scored the insurance goal with 3:17 left in the second, which made it 3-1 Halifax. The Mooseheads were in control to start the third and the final 20 was just about keeping that lead. Late in the third BO Groulx sent Arnaud Durandeau on a breakaway and he split the defence before roofing the puck past Huskies goaltender Samuel Harvey. About a minute later, Maxime Trepanier put the game away as he scored a power play goal. Thirty-two seconds after the Trepanier goal, Rouyn-Noranda went on the man advantage themselves but they couldn't get anything else past Gravel. The victory has forced a Game 6 back in Halifax on Saturday afternoon.

FINAL: Huskies 1 at Mooseheads 5
Stars: 3. Samuel Asselin HAL | 2. Jocktan Chainey HAL | 1. Arnaud Durandeau HAL
Attendance: 8,216

GAME LOG
First period
3:43 HAL Benoit-Olivier Groulx (4) | A: Durandeau & Trepanier
14:37 ROU Peter Abandanatto (5), PP | A: Harvey-Pinard & Bibeau

Second period
7:54 HAL Samuel Asselin (8) | A: Barron
16:43 HAL Jocktan Chainey (3) | A: Trepanier & Durandeau

Third period 
17:12 HAL Arnaud Durandeau (9) | A: Groulx & McIssac
18:30 HAL Maxim Trepanier (6), PP | A: Getson & Ryzeck

Powerplay: ROU - 1-for-5; HAL - 1-for-4
Shots: 37-30 in favour of Halifax

DID NOT PLAY- Alexis Sansfacon, Cole Stewart, Marcel Barinka, and Samuel Dube were healthy scratches

UP NEXT - Game 5 will be played in Rouyn Noranda on Thursday night. Puck drops at 8:00pm

PLAYOFF GAME #21: vs. Rouyn-Noranda

PREVIEW

HALIFAX MOOSEHEADS VS ROUYN-NORANDA HUSKIES

Game Four of Round Four

Scotiabank Centre (10,595) ~ Halifax, NS

HALIFAX - Hopefully this will not be the last home game of the 2019 QMJHL playoffs for our Halifax Mooseheads. The team will look to even their series up once as they host the Rouyn-Noranda Huskies in Game 4 of the President Cup finals tonight at the Scotiabank Centre. Rouyn-Noranda was the better team last night and they took the match 5-2 but Halifax did show signs of being able to take the win. The Mooseheads will need to clean some things up if they want a chance to send this series back to Rouyn 2-2. We should be in for another good game. Get ready to be on the edge of your seats once again Moose Country. Don't forget puck drop is 8pm.

PLAYOFF SERIES
Game 1  May 2  Mooseheads 2 at Huskies 5
Game 2  May 3  Mooseheads 5 at Huskies 4 2OT
Game 3  May 6  Huskies 5 at Mooseheads 2
Game 4  May 7  Huskies at Mooseheads - 8pm
Game 5  May 9  Mooseheads at Huskies - 8pm
*Game 6  May 11  Huskies at Mooseheads - 4pm
*Game 7  May 13  Mooseheads at Huskies - 8pm

NOT DRESSED - Everyone is healthy again so expect some scratches because of that

OUT OF TOWN
Prince Albert at Vancouver (WHL championship)

NEXT GAME - The two teams will head back to Rouyn-Noranda for Game 5 on Thursday night. Puck drops at 8pm.

PLAYOFF GAME #18: at Rouyn-Noranda

PREVIEW

ROUYN-NORANDA HUSKIES VS HALIFAX MOOSEHEADS

Game One of Round Four

Arena Iamgold (3,500) ~ Rouyn-Noranda, QC

Series tied 0-0

ROUYN-NORANDA - Buckle up Moose Country. For the fourth time in franchise history, our Halifax Mooseheads are playing the President Cup finals. This year, they'll take on the Rouyn-Noranda Huskies and will begin the series as the road team. Both clubs already know they will be participating in the 2019 Memorial Cup but both want to go into the tournament on a winning note. There was a lot of talk all playoffs if the Mooseheads were going to do anything in the Memorial Cup and deserved to be there especially after finding themselves down 2-0 in the first round. However, they got their stuff together, came back to win Round 1 in 7 games and have won two more series to show they deserve to be playing in May. They'll have a tough competitor in the finals though as Rouyn-Noranda was the top team in the Canadian Hockey League during the regular season but despite picking up a QMJHL record 59 wins, the Huskies showed they have some cracks. Rouyn-Noranda had to win their opening series in 6 games to the last place Shawinigan Cataractes.

TALE OF THE TAPE
                         Rouyn-Noranda                 Halifax
Record:              59-8-0-1=119            49-15-2-2=102
Standing:            1st West, 1st                1st East, 3rd
Powerplay:           26.5% 4th                   28.1% 2nd
Penalty kill:          83.3% 2nd                  85.6% 1st
PIM:                          660                               819
Leading scorer: Abbandanoto (111pts)  Asselin (86pts)

NOTES

• The Halifax Star has their preview of the series 
• Rouyn-Noranda and Halifax have met three times previously in the playoffs, two times in the semis with the Herd winning both those in sweeps plus a first round match up in 2017 where the Huskies took it in 6 
• Tickets for the two home games next week, go on sale today at 11am at the normal spots. Click here for online tickets 
• Alex Gravel was also named the CHL goaltender of the week on Tuesday

OUT OF TOWN

Guelph at Ottawa - 8:00pm (OHL championship)

NEXT GAME - The two teams will meet for Game 2 on Friday night in Rouyn-Noranda. Puck drops at 8pm. 

CHL League Finals Set

The individual league finals in the Canadian Hockey League are finally set. They became known on Monday night after the Ontario Hockey League Eastern conference final went to 7 games. The Guelph Storm came back from a 3-1 series deficit to defeat the Saginaw Spirit in Game 7. With our Halifax Mooseheads advancing to the QMJHL final, the Rouyn-Noranda Huskies will join the Herd and the winners of the other two leagues in Halifax in late May for the Memorial Cup.

2019 ED CHYNOWETH CUP FINAL
#E1 Prince Albert Raiders vs. #B1 Vancouver Giants; series starts Friday at 10:00pm

2019 ROSS ROBERTSON CUP FINAL
#E1 Ottawa 67's vs. #W4 Guelph Storm; series starts Thursday at 8:00pm

2019 PRESIDENT CUP FINAL
#1 Rouyn-Noranda Huskies vs. #3 Halifax Mooseheads; series starts Thursday at 8:00pm

Last games
Prince Albert: Game 6 Sunday Apr 28 Raiders 4 at Edmonton Oil Kings 2 (PA wins series 4-2)
Vancouver: Game 5 Friday Apr 26 Spokane Chiefs 2 at Giants 3 (VAN wins series 4-1)
Ottawa: Game 4 Wednesday Apr 24 67's 2 at Oshawa Generals 1 OT (OTT wins series 4-0)
Guelph: Game 7 Monday Apr 29 Storm 3 at Saginaw Spirit 2 (GUE wins series 4-3)
Rouyn-Noranda: Game 4 Wednesday Apr 24 Huskies 6 at Rimouski Oceanic 3 (ROU wins series 4-0)
Halifax: Game 6 Sunday Apr 28 Drummondville Voltigeurs 1 at Mooseheads 2 OT (HAL wins series 4-2)