Roster for Opening Night

Photo - Mooseheads website

Just like the rest of this year where nothing has been done normally, I am doing the opening night roster post a little differently as well. Below you will find who I expect to dress for the Halifax Mooseheads on Friday when they open the regular season as the club has not officially announced their roster as of today. 

YOUR 2020-21 HALIFAX MOOSEHEADS

2  Brendan Tomilson  D  (Oshawa, ON)

4  Jake Furlong  D  (Upper Tantallon, NS)*

6  Markus Vidicek  C  (Kirkland, QC)*

7  Lucas Robinson  D  (Rocky Harbour, NL)*

9  Kyle Petten  RW  (Bay Roberts, NL)

11  Jordan Dumais  RW  (Ile Bizard, QC)*

15  Alexandre Tessier  D  (Mirabel, QC)*

16  James Swan  C  (Ville St-Laurent, QC)*

17  Cameron Whynot  D  (Kentville, NS)

21  Cole Foston  LW  (Beaver Bank, NS)*

23  Landon Miron  RW  (Halifax, NS)*

26  Alexandre David  C  (Pigeon Hill, NB)

29  Cole McLaren  G  (Annapolis Royal, NS)

33  Brady James  G  (Beaconsfield, QC)*

66  Zachary L'Heureux  LW  (Mercier, QC)
78  Liam Peyton  LW  (St. Albert, AB)
79  Jason Horvath  D  (Russell, ON)

88  Robert Orr  C  (Beaconsfield, QC)*

91  Elliot Desnoyers  C  (Saint-Hyacinthe, QC)

94  Samuel Dube  LW  (Bad Tolz, Germany)

*indicates rookie

A full roster of who should suit up for the club before the new year will be posted to the 'Roster' page. Justin Barron is out indefinitely recovering from shoulder surgery while Keegan Hunt will not be in the line-up for 2 weeks. Teams are still awaiting word if international players will be able to come to Canada. 

STATS SUNDAY: Pre-season

Games played: 5
Record: 3-1-1, 7pts
Scores*: 2-1 SO, 7-2, 3-1, 3-6, 3-4 OT
Goals for/against: 18 / 14
Powerplay %: 26.9
Penalty kill %: 84.2
Shutouts: none

Top 3 leading scorers
Points: Elliot Desnoyers (8pts), Zachary L'Heureux (6pts), Jordan Dumais (5pts)
Goals: Zachary L'Heureux (5G), Jordan Dumais (3G), Elliot Desnoyers (2G)
Assists: Elliot Desnoyers (6A), Samuel Dube (4A), Cameron Whynot (3A)
Penalty minutes: Zachary L'Heureux (13), Keegan Hunt (11), Jason Horvath (10)
Plus/minus: Brendan Tomilson (+6), Ethan Landry (+3), Alex Carr (+3)


Goaltending stats
Mathis Rousseau    1-0-0-0    0.93 GAA    0.967 SAV%

Brady James    0-1-0-0    2.06 GAA    0.914 SAV%

Cole McLaren    2-0-1-0    3.53 GAA    0.904 SAV%

*Halifax's score is first

Halifax Rebound But Lose in Overtime

Photo - The Chronicle Herald

The Halifax Mooseheads have wrapped up their exhibition schedule with an overtime loss to the Charlottetown Islanders on Saturday evening. Halifax got off to a pretty good start, scoring less than 11 and a half minutes in when sophomore Zachary L'Heureux put in the net. It didn't last long however as seconds later the Herd took a penalty and the Islanders tied it up on the man advantage. Two goals in the middle frame by Charlottetown gave them a 3-1 lead but L'Heureux picked up his second goal of the game before the period ended. Another newcomer to Halifax, Elliot Desnoyers, tied the match in the third period sending the clubs to overtime. Cole McLaren and Islanders' newly acquired goalie Colten Ellis both had good games and faced almost the same number of shots during the contest. Veteran Cedric Desruisseaux scored the overtime winner for Islanders. It was the first time that the Herd wore their red jerseys this pre-season and the first time the players wore their regular season numbers. 

Halifax-Charlottetown Game at a Glance
FINAL: Charlottetown 4 at Halifax 3 OT
Charlottetown scorers: Oscar Plandowski, Thomas Casey, Lukas Cormier and Cedric Desruisseaux
Halifax scorers: Zachary L'Heureux & Elliot Desnoyers
Powerplay: CHA - 1/5, HAL - 2/7
Shots: Islanders - 28, Mooseheads - 29

#Our18: Halifax Mooseheads

Photo - QMJHL website

The QMJHL has been doing some previews of each of their 18 clubs this month and today was finally our Halifax Mooseheads turn. 

From QMJHL.ca

After riding the wave of reaching both the 2019 President and Memorial Cup Finals, the Halifax Mooseheads came crashing down last season, albeit in somewhat calculated fashion. By the end of the 2020 trade period, most remaining pieces of the previous season's squad were plying their trade elsewhere. Left to compete was a group trying to learn the ropes on the fly with an underlying optimism for this season and years to come. 

That optimism was rewarded during June's QMJHL Draft with the arrival of 2018 QMJHL first round selection Elliot Desnoyers and 2019-20 Rookie All-Star Zachary L'Heureux via trade with the Moncton Wildcats. Joining them up front are veteran two-way winger Liam Peyton, acquired from the Charlottetown Islanders and 2019 first rounder Samuel Dube. Returnees Zack Jones, Senna Peeters, whose 23 goals led the club last year, as well as high scoring Swiss prospect Attillio Biasca are expected to arrive in camp in the coming weeks. Markus Vidicek and Jordan Dumais, both first-rounder selections at the 2020 QMJHL Draft and offensive threats at previous levels, will be given an opportunity to shine on a squad that will be replenishing up front. 

Defensively, the Moose will be anchored by 2020 NHL Draft prospect Justin Barron as he attempts to rebound after losing half of last season to a blood clot. Overager Jason Horvath returns to add some sandpaper to the blueline corps while sophomore Cameron Whynot looks to make use of his on-the-job training after posting big minutes, particularly in the latter half, during the 2019-20 season. 

A 2020 second-rounder and Upper Tantallon, Nova Scotia native, Jake Furlong will be embarking on his QMJHL career following a strong offensive campaign with Mount St. Charles Academy in Rhode Island. Between the pipes, with Alexis Gravel not reporting to camp, the ball will be carried by another veteran backstopper in Cole McLaren, with 2019 sixth-rounder Brady James acting as backup.

Perhaps the most interesting returnee in Halifax resides behind the bench. J.J. Daigneault's second season with the Mooseheads represents the first time since 2016 that a Head Coach has begun a second consecutive season with the organization. 

After selling big last year, it's the hope of the representatives from the Nova Scotia capital that the return on investment will begin to pay dividends sooner rather than later. 

Head Coach J.J. Daigneault and newly acquired forward Elliot Desnoyers share their thoughts on the Halifax Mooseheads' upcoming season. 

Top 5 Plays of 2019-2020

Pre-season Game at Saint John

The Halifax Mooseheads continue the pre-season as they visit the Saint John Sea Dogs.

Opponent: Saint John Sea Dogs
Where: TD Station
When: September 13, 2020
Time: 3:00pm

Halifax Mooseheads Preseason record: 3-0-0-0, 6pts
Goals for: 12
Goals against: 4
Head coach: J.J. Daigneault
Scoring leader: Elliot Desnoyers 3pts (1G & 2A)
Goaltending leader: Mathis Rousseau (0.967 SAV%)

Saint John Sea Dogs Preseason record: 1-2-0-0, 2pts
Goals for: 13
Goals against: 13
Head coach: Greg Gilbert
Scoring leader: Alex Drover 4pts (1G & 3A)
Goaltending leader: Carmine-Anthony Pagliarulo (0.867 SAV%)

Notes

• This is the second game of a home and home series in the pre-season between the two teams. 
• Halifax recently cut Sonny Kabatay from the training camp roster. 
• Saint John will stream the match on their YouTube channel. 
• Liam Peyton will make his pre-season debut, below is this afternoon's lineup.

CAMP: Seven Players Released

The Halifax Mooseheads announced this afternoon the first round of cuts. With the reassignments, the players remaining in camp was brought to 27. Halifax is still awaiting for Europeans Seena Peeters and Attilio Biasca as well as American Zack Jones to arrive in the city pending Government approval.

Below is the list of players cut today
Ethan Landry   F   Halifax, NS   Free agent
William Robitaille   F   Levis, QC   Draft '19
Olivier Tourchot   F   Val-Morin, QC   Draft '19
Mason Mantzavrakos   F   London, ON   Free agent
Braeden MacPhee   F   Moncton, NB   Draft '20
Mathis Rousseau   G   Boisbriand, QC   Draft '20
Michael Sack   D    Indian Brook, NS   Draft '19

Good luck to these players this season whenever it begins.

Halifax will continue the pre-season a week from today when they hit the road to Saint John, puck will drop at 3pm.

Photo: Mooseheads website

Schedule Released for Regular Season

The Quebec Major Junior Hockey League finally announced the 2020-21 regular season schedule this afternoon. 

Halifax will once again begin the season on the road when they visit their provincial rivals, the Cape Breton Eagles on October 2 at 7pm. However many fans will be allowed to attend matches at the Scotiabank Centre won't have to wait long for the home opener as the two teams meet again the next night. 

Some highlights from the schedule include:

• With the corona-virus pandemic still around, our Mooseheads will play 60 regular season games all within the Maritime division so the rivalries will be strong this year. 83% of games will be played on weekends (Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays), more than normal seasons 
• The longest road trip will be four games between February 26 to March 13 while the longest home-stand is only 3 matches before the teams go on Christmas break 
• The only game on a holiday this season is on New Year's Eve when the Eagles come to town for a matinee tilt with puck dropping at 2pm. This will most likely be apart of the annual Battle of Nova Scotia weekend 
• Halifax will finish the season on the road as well, visiting the Moncton Wildcats on April 3 at 4pm. The Herd's final home game is April 2nd against the Cats 

The Mooseheads haven't announced their annual events but I'm sure we will see them soon. 

Pre-season Game at Cape Breton

Our Halifax Mooseheads kick off their exhibition schedule tonight in a tilt against the Cape Breton Eagles.

Opponent: Cape Breton Eagles
Where: Centre 200
When: September 2, 2020
Time: 7:00pm

Halifax Mooseheads
Preseason record: 0-0-0-0, 0pts
Goals for: 0
Goals against: 0
Head coach: J.J. Daigneault
Scoring leader: n/a
Goaltending leader: n/a

Cape Breton Eagles
Preseason record: 0-0-0-0, 0pts
Goals for: 0
Goals against: 0
Head coach: Jake Grimes
Scoring leader: n/a
Goaltending leader: n/a

Notes

• This is both teams first pre-season game of the 2020 year
• Since there are no fans allowed, the Eagles will live stream the game on their YouTube channel
• Cam Russell said that they will probably not release any players until the weekend
• Below is the Mooseheads roster for tonight