STATS SUNDAY: October

Games played: 11
Record: 6-4-1-0, 13pts
Goals for/against: 40/40
Powerplay*: 16.7%
Penalty kill*: 88.2%
Shutouts: none

Top 5 leading scorers
Points: Raphael Lavoie 21, Benoit-Olivier Groulx 16, Maxim Trepanier 14, Walter Flower 9, Zack Jones 8
Goals: Raphael Lavoie 9, Maxim Trepanier 9, Benoit-Olivier Groulx 5, Zack Jones 4, Senna Peeters 4
Assists: Raphael Lavoie 12, Benoit-Olivier Groulx 11, Walter Flower 8, Maxim Trepanier 5, Zack Jones 4
Penalty minutes: Patrick Kyte 26, Jason Horvath 20, Raphael Lavoie 18, Benoit-Olivier Groulx 14, Maxim Trepanier 14
Plus/minus: Maxim Trepanier +11, Jason Horvath +5, Raphael Lavoie +5, Benoit-Olivier Groulx +5, Walter Flower +5
Rookie scoring: Zack Jones 8pts, Senna Peeters 7pts, Jeffrey Burridge 3pts, Cameron Whynot 3pts, Jordan McKenna 2pts

Goaltending stats*
Cole McLaren: 5-3-0-0    3.03 GAA     0.904 SAV%
Alexis Gravel: 2-4-1-0    4.10 GAA     0.878 SAV%

*overall

Comeback Falls Short

Photo - Shawn Davidson

Our Halifax Mooseheads have their first overtime loss of the season after Alexander Khovanov scored with 67 seconds remaining in the extra frame to propel the Moncton Wildcats to a 5-4 OT victory. Khovanov continues to be a thorn in Halifax’s side as the Herd were minutes away from picking up a win before the Russian tied the game, stopping our comeback. 

Moncton got off to a good start and found themselves up 1-0 after 20 minutes on a goal from Haligonian Ozzie King. The opening period didn't end without some physical stuff. Jason Horvath and Sean Stewart dropped the gloves late in the 1st with Horvath winning the bout. The second period was entertaining with more hatred and a few more goals. Elliot Desnoyers scored for the visiting Wildcats before defenceman Cam Whynot recorded his first goal of his QMJHL career to get the good guys on the board. Max Trepanier sent the two clubs to the dressing rooms tied at 2 after 40 minutes with a goal at the 18:33 mark of the second period. Khovanov would not leave Raphael Lavoie alone when the two were on the ice together and Lavoie finally had enough, forcing the referees to give them both penalties at the end of the middle frame. Moncton retook the lead in the third before the home team scored back to back goals to make it a 4-3 Mooseheads lead.

FINAL: Wildcats 5 at Mooseheads 4 OT
Stars: 3. Alexander Khovanov MON | 2. Zachary L'Heureux MON | 1. Maxim Trepanier HAL
Attendance: 7,152
MC's Top Herd: n/a

Powerplay: MON - 0-for-2; HAL - 0-for-1
Shots: 41-39 in favour of Halifax

NOT DRESSED - Brandon Tomilson (healthy), Jared McIsaac (injured), Said Abi-Faycal (healthy) and Cole Foston (injured)

SCORES
Drummondville 4 at Quebec 1
Acadie-Bathurst 0 at Val-d'Or 10
Rimouski 1 at Shawinigan 2 

UP NEXT - The Mooseheads hit the road for a single game and visit the Saint John Sea Dogs tomorrow. Puck drops at 7pm. 

Oct 19: Mooseheads vs. Eagles preview

HALIFAX MOOSEHEADS VS CAPE BRETON EAGLES

Puck drops at 7:00pm

TV: Webcast | Radio: News 95.7 | Live: @MC_MooseCountry

Scotiabank Centre (10,595) ~ Halifax, NS

The Halifax Mooseheads host their first event of the season and it's the one raising money for breast cancer research; Pink in the Rink. The Cape Breton Eagles come to town for the second game of a home and home series as part of rivalry week. Like I said, these two clubs met last night with the Eagles coming away with a 5-3 victory in Sydney. Halifax had tied it in the third period at 3 goals a piece with a marker by Raphael Lavoie, who leads the team in scoring, but Derek Gentile scored with 12:29 minutes to go in the final frame to put Cape Breton ahead for good. The loss ended a 5 game win streak for the Mooseheads and they'll look to start another one tonight. Whichever goaltender is in nets for the home team this evening will have a big task of keeping the puck out as the Eagles are one of the top scoring teams in the league. Benoit-Olivier Groulx will be looking for his first win as the captain of the Herd. 

Overall Records
Eagles: 9-3-0-0 = 18pts (2nd in Maritimes division, 4th overall)
Mooseheads: 7-5-0-0 = 14pts (4th in Maritimes division, 10th overall)

Leading scorers
HAL: Raphael Lavoie 20pts (9G & 11A), Maxim Trepanier 14pts (7G & 7A), Benoit-Olivier Groulx 13pts (5G & 8A)
CAP: Egor Sokolov 21pts (10G & 11A), Ryan Francis 19pts (5G & 14A), Shawn Boudrais 17pts (9G & 8A)

Out of Town
Foreurs vs. Huskies    5:00pm
Drakkar vs. Sagueneens    5:00pm
Sea Dogs vs. Islanders    7:00pm
Wildcats vs. Titan    7:00pm

After the Buzzer
The Mooseheads will welcome the Moncton Wildcats to Halifax on Friday night. Puck drops at 7pm.

Hischier Signs Extension

Former Halifax Mooseheads forward Nico Hischier has signed an extension with the New Jersey Devils before his current entry level contract is over. The 20-year-old put his signature on the dotted line on a 7 year contract. It will come into effect at the beginning of the 2020-21 season and is worth 50.75 million dollars.

"I like the direction the organization is going in and the confidence they give me is all a player can ask for," said Hischier. "We have a young, exciting team, and I ma driven to try my best to help the team succeed every day. I was really welcomed here from day one, and I have always felt that I wanted to be part of the Devils."

Hischier has played 157 games so far (includes this year) and has recorded 101 points. The Brig, Switzerland native suited up for all 82 matches during his rookie season and scored 20 goals in 2017-18. He was originally drafted at the 2017 NHL draft and the Devils surprised some people by selecting him 1st overall.

Congratulations to Nico on being signed to a contract extension today and good luck in New Jersey.

Groulx Named Captain

Photo - Mooseheads website

The Halifax Mooseheads finally announced their captain for the 2019-20 season! 19 year old Benoit-Olivier Groulx was awarded the C by coach J.J. Daigneault today.

Halifax made the announcement by sharing a video on their social media accounts earlier this afternoon with Daigneault explaining the qualities he was looking for to the whole team after practice before showing a white jersey with Groulx's name on the back and the C on the front.

Many were expecting for the permanent leadership group to be named after Benoit was returned to the club from the Anaheim Ducks at the beginning of October but coach Daigneault wanted to wait and see who were good leaders himself before making a decision. "A good leader is somebody that the team comes first. Somebody that's selfless, somebody that's courageous, somebody who's focused on the task," said Daigneault. For the full video click here.

In the video, the new head coach is also heard mentioning that Patty Kyte will be a permanent alternate captain for the remainder of the season while the others will be announced later.

Congratulations to Benoit-Olivier and Patrick on being given letters.

Canada/Russia Series Rosters Announced

Photo - Harbour Station website

The Quebec Major Junior Hockey League along with the Canadian Hockey League, the hosting teams and Hockey Canada announced the roster for the upcoming Canada-Russia Series. Saint John, NB and Moncton, NB will host the first two games of the series on November 4 and 5, respectively.

Halifax has five players named to be apart of the team. I believe this is the most players that our Mooseheads have had be on the announced roster. However, Jared McIsaac is still out recovering from shoulder surgery and is not expected to return until at least the end of November so he most likely will not play. Other players on the roster from the Herd include; goaltender Alexis Gravel, defenseman Justin Barron, forwards Benoit-Olivier Groulx and Raphael Lavoie.

A number of 2020 NHL draft prospects cracked the roster, giving fans across the country a chance to see what they can do. All six games during the series will be broadcasted on Sportsnet at 8pm Atlantic time for the Q and OHL matches.

Full roster
GOALTENDERS
Gravel, Alexis (HAL)
Rodrigue, Olivier (MON)

DEFENSEMEN
Barron, Justin (HAL)
Bergeron, Justin (ROU)
Bolduc, Samuel (BLB)
Bouchard, Xavier (BAC)
Cormier, Lukas (CHA)
Guenette, Maxence (VDO)
McIsaac, Jared (HAL)
Poirier, Jeremie (SNB)
Spence, Jordan (MON)

FORWARDS
Beaucage, Alex (ROU)
Bourque, Mavrik (SHA)
Element, Shawn (BAT)
Fortier, Gabriel (BAC)
Groulx, Benoit-Olivier (HAL)
Laferriere, Mathias (CAP)
Lafreniere, Alexis (RIM)
Lapierre, Hendrix (CHI)
Lavoie, Raphael (HAL)
Legare, Nathan (BAC)
Mercer, Dawson (DRU)
Pelletier, Jakob (MON)
Poulin, Samuel (SHE)
Simoneau, Xavier (DRU)

Press release.

Q Team of the Week

The QMJHL released it's team of the week on Monday and there are three Halifax Mooseheads players on it. This is the first time this season that at least one Moosehead has been given the honour. The Q doesn't do the stars of the week anymore, just the top player for the week.

Raphael Lavoie, Benoit-Olivier Groulx and Walter Flower were among the 5 guys on the team of the week. Lavoie picked up 4 goals and 8 points in 3 games over Thanksgiving weekend while Groulx had five assists, eight points and a +5. Flower meanwhile had a goal and 5 points.

Lavoie was also put on the CHL team of the week as one of the forwards. He had a 4 point night on Sunday against the Val-d'Or Foreurs and was named the 2nd star of the game.

Congratulations to all three players and keep up the strong play.

Alumni Update: Where Are They Now?

Now that we're underway for the 2019-20 hockey season, I thought you would like to know where former Halifax Mooseheads have landed to start the year. There's no new alumni in the top league (NHL) but there are plenty of past Herd players on university teams with the Dalhousie Tigers leading the way with 6 guys. Once the season is a couple months in, check back for stats. Good luck to the guys who most recently moved on from the Mooseheads.

National Hockey League
Jonathan Drouin - Montreal Canadiens
Nikolaj Ehlers - Winnipeg Jets
Nico Hischier - New Jersey Devils
Nathan MacKinnon - Colorado Avalanche
Brad Marchand - Boston Bruins
Timo Meier - San Jose Sharks
Jakub Voracek - Philadelphia Flyers
MacKenzie Weegar - Florida Panthers

American Hockey League
Arnaud Durandeau - Bridgeport Sound Tigers
Martin Frk - Ontario Reign
Antoine Morand - San Diego Gulls
Otto Somppi - Syracuse Crunch
Filip Zadina - Grand Rapids Griffins

ECHL
Cody Donaghey - Orlando Solar Bears
Stefan Fournier - Wichita Thunder
Zachary Fucale - Orlando Solar Bears
Danny Moynihan - Tulsa Oilers
Connor Moynihan - Tulsa Oilers
Shawn O'Donnell - Allen Americans
Jake Ryczek - Indy Fuel
Ostap Safin - Wichita Thunder

Quebec Major Junior Hockey League
Mathieu Charlebois - Drummondville Voltigeurs
Jordan Lepage - Shawinigan Cataractes
Xavier Parent - Sherbrooke Phoenix

U Sports
Ryan Barbosa - University of Windsor Lancers
Kelly Bent - Dalhousie Tigers
Joel Bishop - Saint Mary's Huskies
Eric Brassard - Saint Mary's Huskies
Brett Crossley - Dalhousie Tigers
Taylor Ford - McGill Redmen
Keith Getson - Saint Mary's Huskies
Keigan Goetz - Waterloo Warriors
Austyn Hardie - Saint Mary's Huskies
Samuel Hunter - Queen's Gaels
Bradley Kennedy - Mount Royal Cougars
Jordan King - Lakehead Thunderwolves
Jesse Lussier - Dalhousie Tigers
Jordan Maher - UPEI Panthers
Blade Mann-Dixon - St. Francis Xavier X-Men
Matt Murphy - UNB Reds
Morgan Nauss - Acadia Axemen
Kevin Resop - Dalhousie Tigers
Andrew Shewfelt - Dalhousie Tigers
Anthony Sorrentino - Wilfred Laurier Golden Hawks
Zachary Taylor - Dalhousie Tigers

European leagues
Randy Gazzola - Ritten/Renon, AlpsHL
Jessyko Bernard - Liege Bulldogs, BeNeLiga
Tomas Knotek - HC Karlovy Vary, Czech
Jan Stransky - BK Mlada Boleslav, Czech
Petr Vrana - HC Ocelari Trinec, Czech
Konrad Abeltshauser - EHC München, DEL
Andrew Bodnarchuk - EHC München, DEL
Frederik Cabana - Bietigheim Steelers, DEL2
Stephen MacAulay - Lowen Frankfurt, DEL2
Cameron Critchlow - Manchester Storm, EIHL
Domenico Argento - Chalons, France3
Jan Steber - Lotos PKH Gdansk, Poland
Jake Coughler - HK Dukla Trencin, Slovakia
Gabriel Desjardins - ORG Beijing, VHL

Maritime Junior A
Caleb Rich - Amherst Ramblers
Kyle Petten - Campbellton Tigers
Ben Higgins - Truro Bearcats
Denis Toner - Grand Falls Rapids
Brock McLeod - Edmundston Blizzard

Other
Gabriel O'Connor - Saint-Georges-de-Beauce COOL-FM, LNAH
Jean-Sebastien Taillefer - Nicolet Condors, LHSAAAQ
Simon Desmarais - Saint-Georges-de-Beauce COOL-FM, LNAH
Dominic Beauchemin - St-Hubert Mustangs, LHSR
Mathieu Corbeil - Riviere-du-Loup 3L, LNAH
Frederic Piche - Joliette Sportis, LHSAAAQ
Marc-Olivier Daigle - Grant MacEwan Griffins, ECAC
Brian Lovell - Jonquiere Marquis, LNAH

Puling It Out

Frustrating to exhilaration to nail biting. It was a wave of emotions for fans on Thursday evening when our Halifax Mooseheads hit the ice for student night as they welcomed the Saint John Sea Dogs. The first period was back and forth with the home team getting on the board first when Maxim Trepanier scored his third goal of the season. Saint John got back to back goals from 2019 1st overall draft pick Joshua Roy and rookie Ben Badalamenti before Walter Flower scored late in the first period to end the frame 2-2. Despite outshooting the Sea Dogs 16-6 in the middle period, Halifax found themselves down 4-3 after 40 minutes. The Mooseheads came back stronger in the final frame, putting the puck in the back of the net three straight times in the span of six minutes. Rookie Senna Peeters picked up two more goals tonight and now leads the club with five. Jeremie Poirier scored with under 90 seconds remaining to make the Moose Country faithful nervous but after that Cole McLaren stood tall to get the victory.

FINAL: Sea Dogs 5 at Mooseheads 6
Stars: 3. William Villeneuve SNB | 2. Walter Flower HAL | 1. Senna Peeters HAL
Attendance: 5,866
MC's Top Herd: Senna Peeters

Powerplay: SNB - 2-for-3; HAL - 1-for-3
Shots: 35-24 in favour for Halifax

NOT DRESSED - Cole Foston (injured), Jared McIsaac (injured) and Alexis Gravel (injured)

SCORES
Rouyn-Noranda 4 at Acadie-Bathurst 3 OT
Shawinigan 3 at Chicoutimi 6

UP NEXT - Halifax will head to the province of New Brunswick to battle the Moncton Wildcats tomorrow night. Puck drops at 7pm.

Oct 10: Mooseheads vs. Sea Dogs preview

HALIFAX MOOSEHEADS VS SAINT JOHN SEA DOGS

Puck drops at 7:00pm

TV: Webcast | Radio: News 95.7 | Live: @MC_MooseCountry

Scotiabank Centre (10,595) ~ Halifax, NS

To kick off the weekend early, your Halifax Mooseheads will host the Saint John Sea Dogs for some Thursday night hockey. The Herd will play four games over five days and it begins with student night this evening. Saint John has had an interesting start to the season with winning three close matches but basically being blown out in their losses. Zachary Bouthillier and co. have let in the second most goals at 34 markers but they have scored a fair amount as well. They are being led by veteran Nicholas Deakin-Poot who has six goals and 9 points. Nicholas is often a thorn in the side of the Mooseheads and he'll hope to lead his team to another victory. Halifax hasn't had the offensive power quite yet but the club had a successful road trip to the province of Quebec, losing just their match against heavy favourite Chicoutimi. The Moose skated away with a close on Saturday evening though, when Maxim Trepanier scored the overtime winner to defeat the Baie-Comeau Drakkar 4-3.

This is the second game between these two teams this season. Halifax is 0-1-0-0 against the Sea Dogs while Saint John has a 1-0-0-0 record versus the Mooseheads. The last match-up was the season opener in the New Brunswick city with the home team winning 4-3. Marcel Barinka and Raphael Lavoie each had a goal and an assist in the loss while Alex Gravel made 21 saves. 

Overall records
Sea Dogs: 3-4-0-0 = 6pts (5th in Maritimes division, 12th overall)
Mooseheads: 3-4-0-0 = 6pts (4th in Maritimes division, 11th overall)

Leading scorers
HAL: Raphael Lavoie 9pts (3G & 6A), Maxim Trepanier 7pts (2G & 5A), Zack Jones 5pts (4G & 1A)
SNB: Nicholas Deakin-Poot 9pts (6G & 3A), Brady Burns 8pts (2G & 6A), Jeremie Poirier 8pts (2G & 6A)

Out of Town
Titan vs. Huskies    7:00pm
Saguenéens vs. Cataractes    8:30pm

After the Buzzer
The Halifax Moosehads will travel to Moncton to visit the Wildcats tomorrow night. Puck drops at 7pm.

Two Make Central Scouting List

The National Hockey League along with the Central Scouting Services announced their preliminary Players to Watch. The players are ranked in three different categories. 'A' players are ones who can be projected to go in the first round while 'B' players should go in the 2nd/3rd rounds. 'C' ranked players most likely will go in the 4th to 7th rounds.



Two Halifax Mooseheads are among the list of 2020 prospects. Defenceman Justin Barron, who turns 18 next month, was given an A rating. The Halifax-native has recorded 2 assists in 7 games played. Meanwhile, rookie forward Senna Peeters has started the season with 3 goals and is in the group projected to be picked in the second or third round.

Photo - The Hockey News 

Other preliminary rankings have Barron going in the first round as well but at different places.

HockeyProspect.com - #13
Future Considerations - #9
Bob McKenzie: #10

A total of 4 players from the QMJHL were given ratings on the list.

Oct 4: Sagueneens vs. Mooseheads preview

CHICOUTIMI SAGUENEENS VS HALIFAX MOOSEHEADS

Puck drops at 8:30pm

TV: Webcast | Radio: News 95.7 | Live: @HFXMooseheads

Centre Georges Vezina (3,683) ~ Chicoutimi, QC

Another Friday night hockey game is among us. This will be the biggest test for our Halifax Mooseheads so far this season as they travel to Chicoutimi to take on the 2nd ranked Sagueneens tonight with the puck dropping at 8:30pm Atlantic time. Halifax has won two straight games after having a rough start to the year and will be hoping to continue their good fortunes this evening on the road. J.J. Daigneault put the line of BO Groulx, Maxim Trepanier and Raphael Lavoie together for the first time on Wednesday after Groulx was returned to the team and it seemed to work well as the 3 players each scored during the match. Chicoutimi has begun 2019-20 without a regulation defeat in four games and have been ranked second in the CHL's Top 10 rankings since the beginning. They seem to be winning by collection as their two leading scorers have 4 points each but almost every one on the team has at least one point. Will the Mooseheads be able to give the Sagueneens their first regulation loss?

This is the first game between these two teams this season. Halifax was 1-1-0-0 against the Sagueneens last year while Chicoutimi had a 1-0-1-0 record versus the Mooseheads. The two clubs met January 27th with Samuel Asselin scoring the lone goal in a 2-1 home loss while Alex Gravel made 20 saves. 

Overall records
Sagueneens: 3-0-1-0 = 7pts (2nd in East division, 6th overall)
Mooseheads: 2-3-0-0 = 4pts (4th in Maritimes division, 12th overall)

Leading scorers
HAL: Raphael Lavoie 6pts (2G & 4A), Maxim Trepanier 4pts (1G & 3A), Zack Jones 3pts (3G)
CHI: Samuel Houde 4pts (2G & 2A), Hendrix Lapierre 4pts (4A), Louis Crevier 3pts (3G)

Out of Town
Islanders vs. Remparts    7:30pm
Tigres vs. Olympiques    8:00pm
Phoenix vs. Oceanic    8:00pm
Foreurs vs. Voltigeurs    8:00pm
Huskies vs. Wildcats    8:30pm
Cataractes vs. Armada    8:30pm
Drakkar vs. Eagles    8:30pm

After the Buzzer
The Halifax Mooseheads will head to Baie-Comeau and take on the Drakkar in the last match of this Quebec road trip on Saturday evening. Puck drops at 5pm.

Eastlink TV Announces QMJHL Schedule

The local broadcast schedule until the end of November has been released by Eastlink TV and your Halifax Mooseheads will play 5 games on the network.

Below is the full list (all game times are 7pm)

September 21 at Charlottetown (Saturday)
September 27 vs Charlottetown
October 18 at Cape Breton
October 25 vs Moncton
November 8 vs Drummondville