Stats Sunday: December

Games played: 9
Record: 5-3-1-0, 11pts
Goals for/against: 37/35
Powerplay*: 21.4%
Penalty kill*: 71.2%
Shutouts: None

Top 5 leading scorers
Points: Jordan Dumais 16, Zachary L'Heureux 15, Markus Vidicek 12, Robert Orr 8, Mathieu Cataford 6
Goals: Zachary L'Heureux 8, Jordan Dumais 7, Markus Vidicek 3, Robert Orr 3, Attilio Biasca 3
Assists: Jordan Dumais 9, Markus Vidicek 9, Zachary L'Heureux 7, Jake Furlong 6, Robert Orr 5
Penalty minutes: Zachary L'Heureux 15, Zachary Beauregard 8, Mathieu Cataford 6, Zack Jones 4, James Swan 4
Plus/minus: David Lafrance +6, Markus Vidicek +6, Alexandre Tessier +4, Zachary L'Heureux +3, Zack Jones +3
Rookie scoring: Mathieu Cataford 6pts, Attilio Biasca 5pts, Brady Schultz 2pts, Vincent Gauthier 2pts, Logan Crosby 1pt

Goaltender stats*
Mathis Rousseau    6-5-0-0    3.08 GAA    0.907 SAV%
Brady James    11-6-1-1    3.36 GAA    0.895 SAV%

*overall
includes Nov 30 game

3 Herd Players at World Juniors

There will be a few current Halifax Mooseheads players in Alberta next week for the 2022 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships. The tournament begins on December 26 and the gold medal game will be played on January 5, 2022. It will feature 10 teams which have been separated into two groups. 

Halifax has already been without the services of forwards Senna Peeters, Attilio Biasca and Elliot Desnoyers for part of December and it will continue until next month as all three have made their respective countries rosters for the tournament. Desnoyers will look to help Canada get a 19th gold medal while Biasca and Peeters hope that they can provide offence for Switzerland and Austria to get them out of the relegation round.  

Below is the round robin schedule for the 3 teams (times are MT)

Dec 26  5:00pm  Czech Republic v. Canada
Dec 27  12:00pm  Austria v. Finland
Dec 27  2:30pm  Russia v. Switzerland

Dec 28  2:30pm  Switzerland v. United States

Dec 28  5:00pm  Austria v. Canada

Dec 29  5:00pm  Canada v. Germany

Dec 30  2:30pm  Czech Republic v. Austria 

Dec 30  5:00pm  Slovakia v. Switzerland

Dec 31  12:00pm  Germany v. Austria

Dec 31  2:30pm  Switzerland v. Sweden 

Dec 31  5:00pm  Canada v. Finland

I will try and keep you up to date during the tournament. Follow my Twitter account as I may do some live tweeting. 

Good luck to all three young men the next two weeks and everyone else as well but really Go Canada Go :P 

Christmas Break Extended In QMJHL

The Quebec Major Junior Hockey League announced today that they have decided to extend the league's holiday break amid the rising cases of COVID-19 in Eastern Canada. The pause includes all activities until January 7, 2022. Players will report back to their clubs on January 3, 2022 according to the press release. 

Postponed games will be rescheduled at a later date. The QMJHL is currently working on updated protocols which will include preventative testing prior to the arrival of players and staff within the team environment. The regular season schedule will hopefully resume on January 7, 2022. 

No word from our Halifax Mooseheads yet on what this will mean for the Hurley Cup games that were supposed to be before the new year. 

This move by the league really is no surprise. The National Hockey League has changed the dates of its holiday break and it will now begin tomorrow. 

Photo - QMJHL website

Islanders Lead League, Dumais Tops Moose at Christmas

We are now well into the month of December and teams around the QMJHL have been busy this weekend. The league began its holiday break today after a 9 game schedule on Saturday. It also marks the start of the winter trade period which will go until January 6. Most years this would be the half-way point of the regular season but this year, the majority of teams have played around 30 games. I thought since there is a substantial break in the schedule now, I would give you a stats update. 

The Charlottetown Islanders, to maybe no one's surprise, lead the league standings at the break with a 22-7-2-0 record and 46 points. After being beat up by the Islanders, our Halifax Mooseheads pulled off two wins against division rivals to go into the holidays on a high note and find themselves in second place in the Maritime division. Leaders for the remaining divisions are the Quebec Remparts (East) with 42 points, the Sherbrooke Phoenix (Central) with 41 points and the Gatineau Olympiques (West) with 39 points. 

Below is the full standings

Meanwhile, sophomore Jordan Dumais has gone on a run for the Mooseheads to lead the team in points at the break. The 17-year-old is on a five game point streak and picked up a goal and 3 assists in a 6-2 Halifax win last night on the road. His 47 points so far this season is tied for 2nd in the league behind Felix Lafrance who had 50 with the Chicoutimi Sagueneens and was traded to the Acadie-Bathurst Titan today. Halifax two other players in the top 20 point leaders with Zachary L'Heureux at 14th with his 38 points and captain Elliot Desnoyers 17th in the league with 36 points. 

Will be interesting to see what moves Cam Russell makes to give the team a better chance in the playoffs. Games are scheduled to be back on December 28 but we could see the league postpone the return of action as COVID-19 cases rise throughout the country. 

Peeters, Moose Sweep Series Against Tigres

Senna Peeters played a pretty good game in his last one before heading out west to join Team Austria for the World Juniors picking up three assists and first star honours. His play helped the Halifax Mooseheads pick up a 7-3 victory on Saturday night against the visiting Victoriaville Tigres which allowed the club to sweep the season series. It was also the last Mooseheads game of 2021 for forward Attilio Biasca who will suit up for Team Switzerland during the holiday tournament and he scored the seventh goal to seal the deal. The home team got off to a rough start finding themselves down 2-0 just 6 minutes into the game as two of Victoriaville's overagers scored just 58 seconds apart and on the team's first 3 shots. A power play goal by Markus Vidicek would give the Herd life with under 8 minutes remaining in the first and after 20 minutes the score was 2-1 Tigres. The Mooseheads would go on to get three more goals in the first 15 minutes of the middle frame to take a 4-2 lead with James Swan putting in his first of the season which ended up being the game winner. Nikita Prishchepov would score at the 19:51 mark on the power play to make it an interesting game. It was a battle of rookie goaltenders but Mathis Rousseau had the lesser amount of work and after letting in the early goals, he was quite solid stopping 19 shots for the win. 

FINAL: Tigres 3 at Mooseheads 7
Stars: 3. Zachary Beauregard HAL | 2. Markus Vidicek HAL | 1. Senna Peeters HAL 
Attendance: 5,880
MC's Top Herd: Markus Vidicek

Game Log
First period
5:01 VIC Vincent Sevigny (6) | A: Cantin-Bolduc & Roy
5:59 VIC Conor Frenette (13), PP | A: Sevigny & Cormier
12:15 HAL Markus Vidicek (9), PP | A: Whynot & L'Heureux

Second period 
1:44 HAL Zachary L'Heureux (13), PP | A: Orr & Vidicek
2:02 HAL Mathieu Cataford (6) | A: Lafrance & Peeters
14:58 HAL James Swan (1) | A: Beauregard & Peeters
19:51 VIC Nikita Prishchepov (3), PP | A: Daigle & Roy

Third period 
11:55 HAL Vincent Gauthier (3) | A: Crosby & Whynot
17:11 HAL Zack Jones (4), EN | A: Dumais
19:36 HAL Attilio Biasca (6) | A: Peeters & Swan

Shots: 37-22 in favour of Halifax
Powerplay: VIC - 2-for-2; HAL - 2-for-5

SCORES
Val-d'Or 1 at Acadie-Bathurst 5
Gatineau 6 at Blainville-Boisbriand 2
Shawinigan 4 at Chicoutimi 6
Rouyn-Noranda 1 at Rimouski 7
Drummondville 4 at Cape Breton 3 SO
Charlottetown 5 at Saint John 3

Missing in action: Elliot Desnoyers (WJC camp), Stephen Davis (injury), Landon Miron (healthy)

Up next: Halifax will play a mid-week game on Wednesday night against the Charlottetown Islanders at home. Puck drop 7 p.m. 

Game Day 26: vs. Drummondville

PREVIEW - Our Halifax Mooseheads kick off a four game home-stand tonight as they welcome the Drummondville Voltigeurs with puck dropping at 7 p.m. Both teams will be trying to break their winless streaks. Halifax didn't have a very good road trip last week, losing three of the four games and all were one goal matches. There'll be lots of noise this evening cheering on the Herd to a victory as it is student night at the Scotiabank Centre.  Drummondville has also had losses in their last three going 0-2-0-1 but they do have the #2 pick from the 2021 QMJHL draft on their team. Tyler Peddle is fifth in rookie scoring so far this season and hails from Antigonish, Nova Scotia. The Mooseheads will be without captain Elliot Desnoyers as he heads out for Team Canada World Junior team selection camp. 

Game coverage
TV: Webcast | Radio: News 95.7 | Live: @MC_MooseCountry | Post-game: Halifax Mooseheads

Overall records
Voltigeurs: 12-9-4-1 = 29 points (3rd in Central division, 8th overall)
Mooseheads: 13-10-1-1 = 28 points (4th in Maritimes division, 10th overall)

Leading scorers
HAL: Jordan Dumais 36pts (13G & 24A), Elliot Desnoyers 36pts (16G & 20A), Zachary L'Heureux 28pts (11G & 17A)
DRU: Justin Cote 28pts (11G & 17A), Luke Woodworth 22pts (9G & 13A), Jacob Dion 20pts (8G & 12A)

Head-to-head
This is the first game between these two teams this season. The last game they played was November 8, 2019 in Halifax with the visiting Voltigeurs getting the 4-1 victory. Maxim Trepanier scored the lone goal for the Mooseheads while Drummondville's Anthony Morrone made 20 saves. 

Last games
Drummondville is coming off a 5-2 loss in Charlottetown last night to start their east coast road trip. Nova Scotian Luke Woodworth scored for the Voltigeurs while rookie Riley Mercer made 32 saves against the Islanders.

Halifax is coming off a 3-2 defeat on the road on Sunday evening in Quebec. Zach L'Heureux and Elliot Desnoyers scored for the Mooseheads while rookie Mathis Rousseau stopped 36 of the Remparts 39 shots. 

Not playing - Elliot Desnoyers (World Junior camp)

Out of town 
Tigres vs. Eagles - 7:00 p.m.
Drakkar vs. Sagueneens - 8:30 p.m.

After the buzzer
Halifax will welcome the Victoriaville Tigres on Saturday night. Puck drops at 7 p.m. 

QMJHL Names Scholastic POM

Every month, the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League announces a Scholastic Player of the Month which recognizes a player on each team with his performance on ice and in the classroom. The player is selected based on their school results, their implication, the school-hockey conciliation, their team spirit and their on-ice performances. 

For you Halifax Mooseheads, James Swan was named the Scholastic Player of the Month for November 2021. Swan had two assists in 8 games, was a minus-1 and took a penalty during the month. 

Team	Player	Program	Institution
BAT	Zach Biggar	Independant Studies	Acadia University
BAC	Jacob Gaucher	Management	Université du Nouveau-Brunswick
BLB	Simon Lavigne	Social Sciences	Cégep de Terrebonne
CAP	François-James Buteau	Grade 12	Sydney Academy
CHA	Sam Oliver	Grade 12	Rothesay High School
CHI	Loris Rafanomezantsoa	Social Sciences	Cégep de Chicoutimi
DRU	Francesco Lapenna	Social Sciences	Cégep à distance
GAT	Antonin Verreault	Grade 12	Northern Pre University
HAL	James Swan	Grade 12	Prince Andrew High School
MON	Alexis Daniel	Business	University of New Brunswick
QUE	Louis Crevier	Social Sciences	Cégep Limoilou
RIM	Julien Béland	Natural Sciences	Cégep de Rimouski
ROU	Félix Allard	Social Sciences	Cégep de l’Abitibi-Témiscamingue
SNB	Olivier Picard	Business and Construction Management	Stratford Career Institute
SHA	Lorenzo Canonica	Grade 12	Northern Pre University
SHE	David Spacek	Grade 12	Northern Pre University
VDO	Thomas Pelletier	Natural Sciences	Cégep de l’Abitibi-Témiscamingue
VIC	Maxime Pellerin	Social Sciences	Cégep de Victoriaville

Stats Sunday: November

Games played: 10
Record: 6-4-0-0, 12pts
Goals for/against: 37/34
Powerplay*: 21.4%
Penalty kill*: 74.7%
Shutouts: None

Top 5 leading scorers
Points: Elliot Desnoyers 16, Jordan Dumais 12, Robert Orr 11, Zachary L'Heureux 9, Markus Vidicek 7
Goals: Robert Orr 8, Elliot Desnoyers 6, Zachary L'Heureux 4, Jordan Dumais 3, Mathieu Cataford 2
Assists: Elliot Desnoyers 10, Jordan Dumais 9, Markus Vidicek 6, Cameron Whynot 6, Zachary L'Heureux 5
Penalty minutes: Zachary Beauregard 23, Cameron Whynot 20, Dylan MacKinnon 15, Zachary L'Heureux 11, Stephen Davis 11
Plus/minus: Stephen Davis +9, Zachary L'Heureux +5, Attilio Biasca +5, Markus Vidicek +5, Alexandre Tessier +4
Rookie scoring: Brady Schultz 4pts, Attilio Biasca 3pts, Mathieu Cataford 2pts, Vincent Gauthier 2pts, Logan Crosby 1pt

Goaltender stats*
Mathis Rousseau: 4-4-0-0     2.88 GAA     0.911 SAV%
Brady James: 8-4-0-0     3.05 GAA     0.905 SAV%

*overall

Game Day 21: vs. Blainville-Boisbriand

PREVIEW - Our Halifax Mooseheads are back at it and will welcome the Blainville-Boisbriand Armada this evening as the club hosts 90's night. The Herd for one game will turn into the Halifax Citadels, who were an American Hockey League team from 1988-1993, and will wear throwback jerseys to celebrate the former professional team. Both Halifax and Blainville have the exact same record coming into tonight's match while they each have three players on the Central Scouting's November Players to Watch list so we should be in for a good game. The Armada are coming off a victory on Friday night as well and will be hoping to continue their three game win streak going. Goaltending is the biggest difference between these two clubs as the Mooseheads have Mathis Rousseau and Brady James in the top 10 for save percentage while the Armada's Charles-Edward Gravel is 31st in the league. 

Game coverage
TV: Webcast | Radio: News 95.7 | Live: @HFXMooseheads | Post-game: Halifax Mooseheads

Overall records
Armada: 11-8-0-1 = 23 points (2nd in West division, 10th overall)
Mooseheads: 11-8-0-1 = 23 points (3rd in Maritimes division, 9th overall)

Leading scorers
HAL: Elliot Desnoyers 32pts (13G & 19A), Jordan Dumais 30pts (9G & 21A), Zachary L'Heureux 19pts (8G & 11A)
BLB: Miguel Tourigny 30pts (14G & 16A), Simon Pinard 28pts (13G & 15A), Zachary Roy 26pts (8G & 18A)

Head-to-head
This is the first game between these two teams this season. The last game they played was a 3-0 victory for Halifax on November 30, 2019. Goals came from 3 different players and Alex Gravel picked up the 32-save shutout for the Mooseheads while Emile Samson stopped 43 of 46 shots for the Blainville-Boisbriand Armada. 

Last games
Blainville is coming off a 7-1 win in Cape Breton on Friday evening. Anaheim Ducks prospect Miguel Tourigny led the Armada with 2 goals and an assist while Charles-Edward Gravel stopped 26 of the Eagles shots for the victory. 

Halifax picked up a 5-2 victory last night on home ice against the Huskies. Zachary L'Heureux scored twice for the Mooseheads and Brady James got the win as Rouyn-Noranda was outshot 38-22. 

Not playing - Mathieu Cataford, Logan Crosby and Dylan MacKinnon are all away at the Capital City Challenge

Out of town 
Titan vs. Remparts - 4:00 p.m.
Oceanic vs. Olympiques - 5:00 p.m.
Sea Dogs vs. Drakkar - 7:00 p.m.

After the buzzer
Halifax will finish the month of November with a visit to Saint John to take on the Sea Dogs on Tuesday night. Puck drops at 7 p.m. 

L'Heureux Leads Halifax Past Huskies

Our Halifax Mooseheads were able to get some payback on the visiting Rouyn-Noranda Huskies after the Huskies won the first meeting between these two teams last week. The Mooseheads skated to a 5-2 victory tonight on the back of Zachary L'Heureux who had two goals. It didn't take long for L'Heureux to get on the home team on the board as he scored his 7th of the season just 1:54 into the first period. Sophomore Jordan Dumais had an unassisted goal 49 seconds later to give Halifax the 2-0 lead. Rouyn-Noranda pushed back a bit in the second half of the opening period and made it a 2-1 game after 20 minutes. Even though Halifax dominating in shots during the middle frame it seemed to me that they played below the level of the Huskies in that 20 minutes. Zach's second of the night extended the Herd's lead as they outshot Rouyn 18-4 in the second period but the clubs went to the dressing room with the boys in green up 3-2. Robert Orr picked up the insurance goal at the 3:54 mark of the third and Rouyn-Noranda took their second loss in as many nights. 

FINAL: Huskies 2 at Mooseheads 5
Stars: 3. Samuel Johnson ROU | 2. Jordan Dumais HAL | 1. Zachary L'Heureux HAL
Attendance: 5,928
MC's Top Herd: Zachary L'Heureux 

Game Log
First period 
1:54 HAL Zachary L'Heureux (7) | A: Desnoyers & Davis 
2:43 HAL Jordan Dumais (9) | A: None
14:48 ROU Daniil Bourash (5) | A: Johnson

Second period 
5:07 HAL Zachary L'Heureux (8), PP | A: Vidicek & Whynot 
8:19 ROU Samuel Johnson (6) | A: Gagnon & Gill 

Third period 
3:54 HAL Robert Orr (8) | A: Dumais
19:00 HAL Elliot Desnoyers (13), EN | A: None

Shots: 38-22 in favour of Halifax
Powerplay: ROU - 0-for-2, HAL - 1-for-4

SCORES
Baie-Comeau 3 at Moncton 2
Blainville-Boisbriand 7 at Cape Breton 1
Quebec 4 at Charlottetown 1
Victoriaville 4 at Sherbrooke 6
Shawinigan 5 at Chicoutimi 2
Val-d'Or 1 at Drummondville 4
Gatineau 4 at Rimouski 2

Missing in action: Senna Peeters (illness), Logan Crosby, Dylan MacKinnon and Mathieu Cataford at U17 Capital City Challenge 

Up next: Halifax will welcome the Blainville-Boisbriand Armada for 90's night tomorrow. Puck drops at 7 p.m. 

Fucale Makes NHL Debut

Former Halifax Mooseheads goaltender Zach Fucale made his National Hockey League debut on Thursday night for the Washington Capitals and it went really well.

Not only did Zach make his debut but he also picked up his first career win which ended in a 2-0 score. Fucale made 21 saves for the shutout victory on the road with his family in the crowd to witness it. 

Originally drafted by the Montreal Canadiens in 2013, Fucale has been bounced around in NHL teams systems over the last 6 years but hadn't played in an actual game until last night. He did suit up for the Canadiens a few times but was a backup and did not see any action. The 26-year-old played for the Herd from 2011-2014 before being traded at the 2015 Christmas deadline to the Quebec Remparts. He made his professional debut for the St. John's IceCaps of the AHL in October 2015. 

The Laval, QC native said in his post-game interview that he was speechless and it was one of the best moments of his life. 

What a way to celebrate your NHL debut. Moose Country is super proud of you Zach and congratulations on picking up your first win. 

Photos - Capitals & NHL Twitter accounts

Halifax Picks Up Big Thursday Night Win

Our Halifax Mooseheads took two of the three games this week that they had against the Acadie-Bathurst Titan as they skated to a 6-4 victory on Thursday night. The game started out a little slowly and despite being outshot 18-9 in the first period, Bathurst had a 2-1 lead after 20 minutes. Enfield, NS native Riley Kidney scored the first goal of the game short-handed before Bennett MacArthur gave the Titan a 2-0 lead. With 39 seconds remaining in the period, Senna Peeters picked up his second of the season. The middle frame was a lot more exciting with five goals ending in a 4-4 tie after 40 minutes. The Titan scored on the power play early in the period to push their lead to 3-1 but 41 seconds later Robert Orr got on the board for Halifax to close the gap to one. Some net crashing led to Zachary Beauregard roofing a rebound for his first of the season to tie the game up at 3. Orr picked up another one in the third period that ended up being the game winning goal. Captain Elliot Desnoyers sealed the win with an empty net marker with under a minute left in regulation. 

FINAL: Titan 4 at Mooseheads 6
Stars: 3. Brady James HAL | 2. Bennett MacArthur BAT | 1. Robert Orr HAL
Attendance: 6,188
MC's Top Herd: Bobby Orr

Game Log
First period
15:24 BAT Riley Kidney (10), SH | A: None
17:11 BAT Bennett MacArthur (3), PP | A: Kidney & Brants
19:21 HAL Senna Peeters (2) | A: Jones & Davis

Second period 
5:12 BAT Jaxon Bellamy (5), PP | A: Huckins
5:53 HAL Robert Orr (2) | A: Dumais & Desnoyers
7:12 HAL Zachary Beauregard (1) | A: Peeters
7:44 HAL Zachary L'Heureux (6), PP | A: Dumais & Vidicek 
7:51 BAT Bennett MacArthur (4) | A: Andrews & Biggar

Third period
6:53 HAL Robert Orr (3) | A: Dumais & Desnoyers
19:09 HAL Elliot Desnoyers (10), EN | A: Beauregard & L'Heureux 

Powerplay: BAT - 2-for-7; HAL - 1-for-7
Shots: 44-38 in favour for Halifax

SCORES
Victoriaville 6 at Gatineau 3
Sherbrooke 5 at Val-d'Or 1

Missing in action: Landon Miron (healthy), James Swan (injured) and Alexandre Tessier (healthy)

Up next: Halifax will travel up north to take on the Cape Breton Eagles tomorrow night. Puck drops at 7 p.m. 

Photo - Shawn Davidson

3 Herd Named to U17 Roster

There will be three Halifax Mooseheads rookies heading to Ottawa later this month as Hockey Canada has named 66 players to their Under-17 roster for the Capital City Challenge on Friday. The players will be divided into three teams - Team Canada Black, Team Canada Red and Team Canada White - and will take on Canada's National Women's Team. 

Defenceman Dylan MacKinnon along with forwards Logan Crosby and Mathieu Cataford will wear the maple leaf from November 26-December 1. The black, red and white rosters will be announced at a later date.

The Capital City Challenge opens on Nov. 26 at TD Place Arena, home of the Ottawa 67's of the Ontario Hockey League. Canada's centralization roster will face Team Canada White in the tournament opener at 12 p.m. ET, followed by Team Canada Black taking on Team Canada Red at 7 p.m. ET according to the press release.  

To see the full U-17 roster that includes 19 QMJHLers, click here. 

Congrats to our 3 young guys who will be participating in this challenge. 

QMJHL Names Scholastic POM

Every month, the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League announces a Scholastic Player of the Month which recognizes a player on each team with his performance on ice and in the classroom. The player is selected based on their school results, their implication, the school-hockey conciliation, their team spirit and their on-ice performances. 

For you Halifax Mooseheads, Elliot Desnoyers was named the Scholastic Player of the Month for October 2021. Desnoyers had 8 goals and 10 assists for 18 points in 8 games and was a plus-9 during the month. 

Team	Player	Program	Institution
BAT	Marc-André Gaudet	Independant Studies	Acadia University
BAC	Félix Gagnon	Social Sciences	Cégep de Baie-Comeau
BLB	Mikaël Denis	Social Sciences	Cégep de Terrebonne
CAP	Logan Camp	Business	Cape Breton University
CHA	Brett Budgell	Business	UPEI
CHI	Jacob Newcombe	Grade 12	Northern Pre University
DRU	Édouard Charron	Social Sciences	Cégep de Drummondville
GAT	Vincent Maisonneuve	Natural Sciences	Cégep de l’Outaouais
HAL	Elliot Desnoyers	Commerce	Saint Mary’s University
MON	Nicolas Pavan	Business	Concordia University
QUE	Mathieu Wener	Secondary 5	École secondaire Cardinal-Roy
RIM	Frédéric Brunet	Social Sciences	Cégep de Rimouski
ROU	Dyllan Gill	Grade 12	Riverview High School
SNB	Peter Reynolds	Independant Studies	UNB
SHA	Angus Booth	Social Sciences	Cégep Shawinigan
SHE	Joshua Roy	Management	Athabasca University
VDO	Justin Robidas	Grade 12	Northern Pre University
VIC	Justin Larose	Secondary 5	École secondaire Sainte-Marie

Alumni Update: Where Are They Now?

We are now into November which means that a new hockey season is well underway across the world at all levels and there are plenty of former Halifax Mooseheads players so I thought I would share where they are playing this year. While I had previously done a post about alumni playing in European leagues back in September, I've decided to remove it and put them in this post. So this list includes players in professional leagues in North America and overseas plus those on university teams, senior and junior leagues. 

Nico Hischier (Photo - NHL.com)

National Hockey League
Jonathan Drouin - Montreal Canadiens
Nikolaj Ehlers - Winnipeg Jets
Benoit-Olivier Groulx - Anaheim Ducks

Nico Hischier - New Jersey Devils
Nathan MacKinnon - Colorado Avalanche

Brad Marchand - Boston Bruins 

Timo Meier - San Jose Sharks 

Jakub Voracek - Columbus Blue Jackets

MacKenzie Weegar - Florida Panthers

Filip Zadina - Detroit Red Wings

American Hockey League
Antoine Morand - Syracuse Crunch
Arnaud Durandeau - Bridgeport Islanders
Cavan Fitzgerald - Chicago Wolves

Jared McIsaac - Grand Rapids Griffins
Justin Barron - Colorado Eagles
Martin Frk - Ontario Reign
Matt Murphy - Belleville Senators
Ostap Safin - Bakersfield Condors
Otto Somppi - Syracuse Crunch
Raphael Lavoie - Bakersfield Condors
Samuel Asselin - Providence Bruins
Zach Fucale - Hershey Bears

ECHL
Andrew Shewfelt - Wichita Thunder
Randy Gazzola - Toledo Walleye
Kelly Bent - Allen Americans
Samuel Hunter - Cincinnati Cyclones
Jake Ryczek - Adirondack Thunder

Jason Horvath - Maine Mariners
Cooper Jones - Jacksonville Icemen 

Xavier Parent (Photo - TVA Sports)

Quebec Major Junior Hockey League
Xavier Parent - Sherbrooke Phoenix
Cole Foston - Saint John Sea Dogs 

U Sports
Patrick Kyte - St. Francis Xavier X-Men
Joel Bishop - Saint Mary's Huskies
Keith Getson - Saint Mary's Huskies
Brad Kennedy - Mount Royal Cougars
Liam Peyton - Dalhousie Tigers

Anthony Sorrentino - Wilfrid Laurier Golden Hawks
Caleb Rich - Wilfrid Laurier Golden Hawks
Jordan Maher - UPEI Panthers
Brett Crossley - Dalhousie Tigers
Walter Flower - Saint Mary's Huskies
D'Artagnan Joly - Brock Badgers
Denis Toner - U de Moncton Aigles Bleus
Cole Stewart - Nipissing Lakers
Maxim Trepanier - Concordia Stingers
Taylor Ford - McGill Redbirds
Ryan Barbosa - Windsor Lancers
Jordan King - Lakehead Thunderwolves
Morgan Nauss - Acadia Axemen
Olivier Desroches - Brock Badgers
Jordan Lepage - UQTR Patriotes
Kevin Gursoy - Ryerson Rams
Brock McLeod - York Lions
Ben Higgins - Saint Mary's Huskies
Jordan McKenna - York Lions

Maritime Junior A Hockey League
Alexandre David - Campbellton Tigers 
Sonny Kabatay - Truro Bearcats
Gavin Hart - Truro Bearcats
Keegan Hunt - Grand Falls Rapids

Tomas Knotek (Photo - hokej.cz)

Overseas 
Petr Vrana - HC Ocelari Trinec (Czech)
Jan Stransky - BK Mlada Boleslav (Czech)
Cody Donaghey - Rytiri Kladno (Czech)
Milan Jurcina - HC Sparta Praha (Czech)
Tomas Knotek - HC Slavia Praha (Czech2)

Stephen MacAulay - Dusseldorfer EG (DEL)
Marcel Barinka - Kolner Hale (DEL)
Konrad Abeltshauser - EHC Munchen (DEL)
Andrew Bodnarchuk - Nurnberg Ice Tigers (DEL)
Samuel Dube - ERC Ingolstadt (DEL)
Frederik Cabana - Bayreuth Tigers (DEL2)
Shawn O'Donnell - SonderjyskE (Denmark)
Jake Coughler - Odense Bulldogs (Denmark)
Cameron Critchlow - Manchester Storm (EIHL)
Gabriel Desjardins - Dundee Stars (EIHL)

Alexis Sansfacon - Tours (France2)

Alexandre Grenier - SCL Tigers (NL)
Maxime Fortier - HC Ajoie (NL)
Stefan Fournier - HK Dukla Michalovce (Slovakia)

Ben MacAskill - South China Sharks (CIHL HK)
Jesse Lussier - Macau Aces (CIHL HK)

Senior
Chad Earle - Clarenville Caribous (AESHL)
Adam Nolan - Conception Bay Blues (AESHL)
Curtis Heffernan - St. John's Sr. Caps (AESHL)

Eddie Banville - St. Quentin Castors (CRL)
Guillaume Pelletier - Haut-Madawaska Pantheres (CRL)
Peter-James Corsi - Waterloo Maroons (LHSR)
Jean-Sebastien Taillefer - Soulanges Hockey Experts (LHSR)
Garrett Clarke - Jonquiere Marquis (LNAH)
Domenico Argento - Petroliers du Nord (LNAH)
Simon Desmarais - Saint-Georges-de-Beauce COOL-FM (LNAH)

Other
Jeff Burridge - London Nationals (GOJHL)
Brendan Tomilson - Pickering Panthers (OJHL)
Lucas Robinson - Trenton Golden Hawks (OJHL)
Said Abi-Faycal - Montreal-Est Rangers (QJHL)
William Robitaille - Cote-du-Sud Everest (QJHL)
Kyle Petten - CBN Stars (SJJHL)

According to Elite Prospects as of Nov. 7/21

Moose Get Split In Bathurst

Photo - Herd Twitter

The Halifax Mooseheads attempt at getting 4 points in Bathurst didn't go well on Saturday evening as the team lost 3-2 to the Acadie-Bathurst Titan. Halifax found themselves down 2-0 after the first period with Riley Kidney and Jacob Melanson both scoring their 8th goal of the season late in the frame for the home team. Bathurst clearly carried over their momentum from last night's third period into today and picked up the victory after losing Friday 3-1. Rookie Mathieu Cataford scored his 4th of the year in the second while Elliot Desnoyers tied the game up about halfway through the third period on the power play. The score didn't stay tied for long as 3 minutes later, Kidney gave the Titan the lead which ended up being the game winner. This was the second of three straight games that will be against Acadie-Bathurst for our Mooseheads. 

FINAL: Mooseheads 2 at Titan 3
Stars: 3. David Doucet BAT | 2. Jacob Melanson BAT | 1. Riley Kidney BAT
Attendance: 1,566

Game Log
First period
15:05 BAT Riley Kidney (8) | A: Larkin & Brants
17:49 BAT Jacob Melanson (8), PP | A: Kidney & Bednar

Second period 
7:17 HAL Mathieu Cataford (4) | A: Crosby & Schultz

Third period 
9:48 HAL Elliot Desnoyers (9), PP | A: Vidicek & Whynot
12:46 BAT Riley Kidney (9) | A: Chisholm

Powerplay: HAL - 1-for-6; BAT - 1-for-5

Shots: 35-31 in favour of Bathurst

SCORES
Saint John 3 at Drummondville 4
Charlottetown 4 at Blainville-Boisbriand 3
Quebec 6 at Chicoutimi 2
Baie-Comeau 6 at Gatineau 7
Cape Breton 2 at Shawinigan 5
Rouyn-Noranda 3 at Val-d'Or 4 SO
Moncton 2 at Victoriaville 0

Rimouski at Sherbrooke (still playing)

Missing in action: Landon Miron (healthy), James Swan (injured) and Vincent Gauthier (healthy)

Up next: The two teams will head back to Moose Country for a Remembrance Day matchup with puck dropping at 7 p.m.

Stats Sunday: October

Games played: 11
Record: 6-4-0-1, 13pts
Goals for/against: 35/31
Powerplay*: 28.9%
Penalty kill*: 73.7%
Shutouts: 2

Top 5 leading scorers
Points: Jordan Dumais 19, Elliot Desnoyers 18, Zachary L'Heureux 14, Markus Vidicek 8, Senna Peeters 6
Goals: Elliot Desnoyers 8, Jordan Dumais 6, Markus Vidicek 5, Zachary L'Heureux 4, Mathieu Cataford 3
Assists: Jordan Dumais 13, Zachary L'Heureux 10, Elliot Desnoyers 10, Senna Peeters 5, Jake Furlong 3
Penalty minutes: Zachary Beauregard 33, Zack Jones 17, Elliot Desnoyers 15, David Lafrance 15, Senna Peets 10
Plus/minus: Jake Furlong +11, Elliot Desnoyers +9, Jordan Dumais +6, Zachary L'Heureux +5, David Lafrance +2
Rookie scoring: Mathieu Cataford 5pts, Logan Crosby 2pts, Brady Schultz 2pts, Attilio Biasca 1pt, Vincent Gauthier 1pt

Goaltender stats*
Mathis Rousseau: 3-1-0-0     2.00 GAA     0.935 SAV%
Brady James: 3-3-0-1     2.99 GAA     0.900 SAV%

*overall

Top Line Makes Difference Again

The Halifax Mooseheads top line of Zachary L'Heureux, Jordan Dumais and Elliot Desnoyers had another good game picking up two points each to help lead the club to a 3-2 victory over the Moncton Wildcats on Thursday night. It was the first student night game of the season for Halifax and the match didn't provide much entertainment in the first with the period ending in a scoreless tie. Both teams came out with a new mission in the middle frame with Markus Vidicek opening the scoring by banking the puck off goaltender Thomas Couture. The lead wouldn't last long as 52 seconds later, Francis Langlois scored for Moncton to tie it up. It was clear in the second period that even though it had been more than a year since the last time the teams met that their rivalry did not go away despite the time a part as we saw a couple of fights. The home team would get out of the frame with a 2-1 lead but the tides changed in the third and we could've seen a different game had it not been for rookie Mathis Rousseau making some really nice saves. Jordan Dumais put away the game winning goal with less than 6 minutes to play as the Mooseheads improved to 6-2-0-1 on the young season. 

FINAL: Wildcats 2 at Mooseheads 3
Stars: 3. Jordan Dumais HAL | 2. Thomas Couture MON | 1. Mathis Rousseau HAL
Attendance: 4,133
MC's Top Herd: Mathis Rousseau

Game log
First period
No scoring

Second period
4:41 HAL Markus Vidicek (4) | A: Whynot
5:33 MON Francis Langlois (4) | A: Morin & Mueller
19:34 HAL Elliot Desnoyers (7) | A: L'Heureux & Dumais

Third period
11:56 MON Maxim Barbashev (3) | A: Kalmikov & Olson
14:12 HAL Jordan Dumais (6) | A: L'Heureux & Desnoyers

Powerplay: MON - 0-for-3; HAL - 1-for-3
Shots: 38-33 in favour of Moncton

SCORES
Gatineau 0 at Charlottetown 2
Rimouski 2 at Rouyn-Noranda 3 SO
Victoriaville 5 at Baie-Comeau 2
Shawinigan at Quebec

Missing in Action: Landon Miron, Vincent Guathier and Alexandre Tessier were healthy scratches

Up next: Halifax will welcome the Gatineau Olympiques for Friday night hockey with the puck dropping at 7 p.m. 

Herd on Prelim CSS Rankings

The National Hockey League along with the Central Scouting Services announced their preliminary Players to Watch list for the 2022 NHL draft. The players are ranked in three different categories; 'A' players are projected to go in the first round while 'B' players are 2nd and 3rd round candidates. 'C' ranked players most likely will go in the 4th to 7th rounds. Of course, rankings can change through out the season depending on how the player does. 

There are four current Halifax Mooseheads among the list of prospects and they were all given a 'C' rating. Sophomore defenceman Jake Furlong and forwards Markus Vidieek, Jordan Dumais and James Swan will be on NHL scouts radars this season. 17-year-old Dumas leads the team in scoring through three weeks of play with 4 goals and 9 points in 6 games. 

I'm sure we will see these guys rise in the rankings during the season. 

A total of 23 players were given an 'A' rating which includes two QMJHL players; Nathan Gaucher of the Quebec Remparts and the Gatineau Olympiques' Tristan Luneau. You can check out the full list here. 

QMJHL Names Scholastic POM

Every month, the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League announces a Scholastic Player of the Month which recognizes a player on each team with his performance on ice and in the classroom. The player is selected based on their school results, their implication, the school-hockey conciliation, their team spirit and their on-ice performances. 

For you Halifax Mooseheads, Mathieu Cataford was named the Scholastic Player of the Month for September 2021. 

Team Player Program Institution

BAT Lane Hinkley     Grade 12 Bathurst High School

BAC Isaac Dufort Social Sciences Cégep de Baie-Comeau

BLB Charles-Edward Gravel     Grade 12     Northern Pre University

CAP Émile Perron Secondary 5 Académie les Estacades

CHA Kieran Gallant Business     UPEI

CHI         William Rouleau Economy and Management Cégep de Chicoutimi

DRU Luke Woodworth Grade 12     Park View Education Center

GAT Tristan Luneau Grade 12     Northern Pre University

HAL Mathieu Cataford Grade 11     Prince Andrew High School

MON Vincent Filion     Grade 12     Bernice MacNaughton High School

QUE Pier-Olivier Roy Social Sciences Cégep de Limoilou

RIM Alexander Gaudio Natural Sciences Cégep à distance

ROU Marc-Antoine Séguin Natural Sciences Cégep de l’Abitibi-Témiscamingue

SNB Noah Patenaude Grade 12     Northern Pre University

SHA Alexis Bonefon Natural Sciences Cégep Shawinigan

SHE Milo Roelens Grade 12     Northern Pre University

VDO Zachary Michaud Social Sciences Cégep de l’Abitibi-Témiscamingue

VIC         Raphaël Blouin Secondary 5 École secondaire Sainte-Marie

2021-22 Leadership Group Announced

On Thursday afternoon, head coach Sylvain Favreau made the team's leadership group announcement during a group meeting and the club released the video to the public yesterday. 

To probably no one's surprise, forward Elliot Desnoyers was named captain of the 2021-22 Halifax Mooseheads. The 19-year-old missed some time at the beginning of the season but has been good for the Herd since coming back from Philadelphia Flyers training camp. I am surprised that they didn't name the leadership group last weekend when he did return. Forwards Stephen Davis, Zachary L'Heureux and Zac Beauregard were given the A's for this year's squad. 

Congrats to Elliot and the rest of the guys who now have letters on their jerseys. 

Check out the video below from the team

Penalties Almost Cost Mooseheads

As noted by everyone, Friday night was the first time since March 6, 2020 that a team from the province of Quebec has visited the Scotiabank Centre and boy, it did not disappoint. You would never know that the Shawinigan Cataractes and Halifax Mooseheads did not play each other last season as there was some animosity among the players during the whole game. Despite a not so great penalty kill tonight, the home Mooseheads came away with the 6-4 victory. The penalties started early with Brady Schultz getting called for hooking at the 4:32 mark and on the ensuing power play Xavier Bourgault got Shawinigan on the board. Less than two minutes later, Jordan Dumais picked up a loose rebound and tied the game up. The 17-year-old would go on to score again late in the first to give Halifax a 2-1 lead after 20 minutes. In the middle frame, the Herd quickly extended their lead to 4-1 with goals from Zachary L'Heureux and Senna Peeters in the first 91 seconds of the period. Another two power play goals from the Cataractes made it a very close game at the end of 40 minutes but Brady James was able to make some really nice saves throughout the match to get another win after a few more goals were scored in the third. 

FINAL: Cataractes 4 at Mooseheads 6
Stars: 3. Nadeau SHA | 2. Elliot Desnoyers HAL | 1. Jordan Dumais HAL
Attendance: 5,250
MC's Top Herd: Jordan Dumais

Game Log
First period
5:39 SHA Xavier Bourgault (3), PP | A: Nadeau & Veillette
7:24 HAL Jordan Dumais (2) | A: Desnoyers & L'Heureux 
18:18 HAL Jordan Dumais (3) | A: Desnoyers & L'Heureux

Second period 
0:50 HAL Zachary L'Heureux (1), PP | A: Dumais & Desnoyers
1:31 HAL Senna Peeters (1) | A: None
6:25 SHA Olivier Nadeau (5), PP | A: Bourque & Bourgault
13:09 SHA Mavrik Bourque (1), PP | A: Booth & Nadeau

Third period 
5:07 HAL Elliot Desnoyers (2) | A: Dumais
14:32 SHA Marek Sramaty (1) | Bourque & Nadeau
19:40 HAL Zack Jones (1), EN | A: Desnoyers 

Powerplay: SHA - 3-for-4; HAL - 1-for-6
Shots: 32-24 for Halifax

SCORES
Cape Breton 5 at Saint John 4 SO
Sherbrooke 7 at Baie-Comeau 6
Quebec 6 at Rouyn-Noranda 2
Blainville-Boisbriand 2 at Val-d'Or 3
Drummondville 6 at Victoriaville 0
Gatineau 0 at Chicoutimi 3

Missing in Action: Attilio Biasca, Alexandre Tessier & James Swan

Up next: Our Halifax Mooseheads will go on the road again to visit the Moncton Wildcats on Sunday. Game time is 4 p.m.

Game Day 5: vs. Shawinigan

PREVIEW - For the first time since March 6, 2020 our Halifax Mooseheads will be playing a Quebec-based team tonight as the Shawinigan Cataractes come to town for a Friday night match. Halifax picked up a big win last Saturday when the defeated the Charlottetown Islanders on home ice and they will be looking to take that momentum into this evening's game. Shawinigan boasts a similar record to the Mooseheads early in the season but could be more lethal now that they have all three NHL prospects in their lineup. Forward Mavrik Bourque made his season debut on Wednesday in Sydney after the Dallas Stars kept him in training camp for a lengthy time. The Cataractes also have Buffalo Sabres' 2021 pick Olivier Nadeau and Xavier Bourgault who was drafted by the Edmonton Oilers in the 1st round of the same draft. All three forwards led Shawinigan in scoring during the 2020-21 season with a combined total of 128 points. With Elliot Desnoyers and Zachary L'Heureux back in the lineup for Halifax, the Herd will hopefully get some offence going and they need it as they are currently 16th overall in goals scored. This evening's game is fridge magnet giveaway night so the first 3,000 fans will receive a 2021-22 fridge magnet schedule. 

Game coverage
TV: Eastlink | Radio: News 95.7 | Live: @MC_MooseCountry | Post-game: Halifax Mooseheads

Overall records
Cataractes: 2-1-0-2 = 6 points (2nd in Central division, 8th overall)
Mooseheads: 2-1-0-1 = 5 points (3rd in Maritimes division, 9th overall)

Leading scorers
HAL: Mathieu Cataford 3pts (1G & 2A), Jordan Dumais 3pts (1G & 2A), Senna Peeters 3pts (3A)
SHA: Olivier Nadeau 6pts (4G & 2A), Xavier Bourgault 6pts (2G & 4A), Lorenzo Canonica 5pts (3G & 2A)

Head-to-head
Halifax had a 0-2-0-0 record against the Cataractes in the 2019-20 season while Shawinigan was 2-0-0-0 versus the Mooseheads. Kirill Nizhnikov led the Cats with 3 points as Shawinigan picked up a 8-3 victory in the last game featuring these two teams on March 1, 2020 while D'Artagnon Joly had 3 assists to lead Halifax. 

Last games

Shawinigan picked up a 3-2 overtime win in Cape Breton against the Eagles on Wednesday. Lorenzo Canonica scored the game winner while goaltender Charles-Antoine Lavallee made 26 saves to give the Cataractes the victory. 

Halifax is coming off a big 2-0 victory over the Charlottetown Islanders last Saturday. David Lafrance and Robert Orr scored for the Mooseheads while Brady James had a 32-save shutout which earned him the CHL Performer of the Night honours. 

Not playing - I think James Swan and Attilio Biasca are still out with injuries 

Out of town
Sea Dogs vs. Eagles - 7:00 p.m.
Drakkar vs. Phoenix - 8:00 p.m.
Huskies vs. Remparts - 8:00 p.m.
Foreurs vs. Armada - 8:00 p.m.

Tigres vs. Voltigeurs - 8:00 p.m.

Sagueneens vs. Olympiques - 8:30 p.m.

After the buzzer
Halifax head to the province of New Brunswick for a battle against the Moncton Wildcats on Sunday afternoon. Puck drops at 4 p.m.

NHL Season Begins Tonight

The National Hockey League regular season begins tonight and there are multiple alumni on team opening night rosters for 2021-22. While no former Halifax Mooseheads players will play this evening, it should be an exciting season to cheer on these guys. 

For the last few years, there has been eight alumni with full time positions in the NHL while another one (Filip Zadina) has spent the time going up and down between the NHL and AHL but looks to have a full time spot on the Detroit Red Wings this season. 

Former Herd captain forward Benoit-Olivier Groulx has made the Anaheim Ducks opening night roster. Clearly the 21-year-old had a great training camp so it will be interesting to see how long Groulx is able to stay with the big club. Groulx turned pro last season after playing 3 and a half seasons with Halifax and another half season with the Moncton Wildcats from 2016-2020. In 42 games played for the San Diego Gulls, BO scored 10 goals and picked up 29 points for the club. 

Here is the full list of alumni on NHL teams' opening night rosters 
Jonathan Drouin, 26 - Montreal Canadiens (TBL 2013, 8th season)
Nikolaj Ehlers, 25 - Winnipeg Jets (WPG 2014, 7th season)
Benoit-Olivier Groulx, 21 - Anaheim Ducks (ANA 2018, 1st season)
Nico Hischier, 22 - New Jersey Devils (NJD 2017, 5th season)
Nathan MacKinnon, 26 - Colorado Avalanche (COL 2013, 9th season)
Brad Marchand, 33 - Boston Bruins (BOS 2006, 13th season)
Timo Meier, 25 - San Jose Sharks (SJS 2015, 6th season)
Jakub Voracek, 32 - Columbus Blue Jackets (CBJ 2007, 14th season)
MacKenzie Weegar, 27 - Florida Panthers (FLA 2013, 6th season)
Filip Zadina, 21 - Detroit Red Wings (DET 2018, 4th season)

Congratulations to Benoit-Olivier making the Ducks roster and good luck to all ten players this year. I'll have more alumni updates all season so keep checking back. 

Drouin and the Canadiens will kick off their season on Wednesday evening visiting the Toronto Maple Leafs at 8pm Atlantic time in the first game of the season to include a former Moosehead. You can watch the game on Sportsnet. Groulx and the Ducks hosts Ehlers and the Jets a little later in the evening at 11pm, in a match that can be seen on Sportsnet360. The Avalanche will not actually have MacKinnon in the lineup tomorrow night after he tested positive for the coronavirus today. 

Alumni Named to Olympic Rosters

Early in September, the National Hockey League announced that they will allow their players to represent their countries in the upcoming 2022 Winter Olympics. This is great news as I found it wasn't quite as enjoyable to watch the men's tournament without the top players being there in 2018. With the coronavirus still affecting the world, the NHL and the International Olympic Committee have said that they have until January to determine officially if players will participate in the Olympics. 

Governing bodies for each team must announce its first three players by October 15 while also submitting their "long list". Final rosters will be announced in January. Most of the 12 participating countries have named their first 3 players as of last week. If everything works out, it looks like at least 4 former Halifax Mooseheads will represent their country in the tournament come February. 

Jakub Voracek, who was traded to the Columbus Blue Jackets this summer, will suit up for the Czech Republic. This will be the second time the 32 year old has played for his country in the Olympics. He has been the Captain of the Czechs at the last 3 world championship tournaments that he has participated in so I wouldn't be surprised if he wears the C in February. 

Team Switzerland will have two alumni on their team as New Jersey Devils' captain Nico Hischier and Timo Meier of the San Jose Sharks were two of the 3 guys named to the Swiss team early on. Hischier, 22, and Meier, 25, have both played in two world championships and were teammates in 2021. 

After leading them in scoring and helping his country to qualify for the Olympics, 25-year-old Nikolaj Ehlers is set to play for Denmark. Other than the qualifying tournament, this will be the first time Ehlers has represented his country since the 2017 world championships. 

Congrats to all four players on being named to Olympic teams. I expect we will see more alumni representing their countries come February and I'll keep you updated when the time comes. 

Photos - NHL website and Live Feeds

Game Day 2: vs. Cape Breton

PREVIEW - Our Halifax Mooseheads are back at the Scotiabank Centre tonight for their 2021 home opener and are taking on their provincial rivals for the second night in a row; the Cape Breton Eagles. The two clubs met last night in Sydney with Halifax pulling off a season opening 3-2 victory. Cape Breton will be looking to get revenge on their division rivals while the Mooseheads are going for their first home opener win since 2017. Eastlink tV will have a special Friday Night Hockey broadcast this evening. I expect we will see the same lineup as last night as Elliot Desnoyers is still at Philadelphia Flyers camp. Being from the same province, the two teams have seen a lot of each other the last 13 months between regular season and pre-season matches so there could be more animosity in tonight's game compared to yesterday. Will we find out tonight the Herd's leadership group? Halifax went with 3 alternate captains last night and could do the same this evening. 

Game coverage
TV: Eastlink | Radio: News 95.7 | Live: @MC_MooseCountry | Post-game: Halifax Mooseheads

Overall records
Eagles: 0-1-0-0 = 0 points (4th in Maritimes division, 12th overall)
Mooseheads: 1-0-0-0 = 2 points (3rd in Maritimes division, 7th overall)

Leading scorers
HAL: Jordan Dumais 2pts (1G & 1A), Landon Miron 1G, Markus Vidicek 1G
CAP: Sean Larochelle 1G, Connor Trenholm 1G, Francois-James Buteau 1A

Head-to-head
Halifax is 1-0-0-0 against the Eagles so far this season while Cape Breton has a 0-1-0-0 record versus the Mooseheads. Goaltender Brady James had a first star 22 save performance on Friday evening to lead the Herd to a 3-2 victory. 

Last games
See above.

Not playing - Attilio Biasca (injured), Elliot Desnoyers (NHL camp), Zachary L'Heureux (suspended), James Swan (injured)

Out of town
Foreurs vs. Phoenix - 5:00 p.m.
Wildcats vs. Titan - 7:00 p.m.
Islanders vs. Sea Dogs - 7:00 p.m.
Huskies vs. Voltigeurs - 8:00 p.m.
Olympiques vs. Armada - 8:00 p.m.

After the buzzer
Halifax will travel to the island and take on the Charlottetown Islanders on Friday evening. Game time is 7:30 p.m. 

Halifax Open New Season With Victory

Photo - Jeremy Fraser (Saltwire)

The 2021-22 regular season got underway for our Halifax Mooseheads on Friday night and the good guys came away with a 3-2 victory to start the year. Halifax got off to a slow start as veteran Connor Trenholm scored the first goal of the game for Cape Breton at the 11:28 mark of the opening period. Just over two minutes later, sophomore Jordan Dumais tied the game up on the power-play and Halifax basically took over the match from there. The Eagles were celebrating the beginning of their 25th season this evening and tried to make a comeback in the third period as they outshot the Herd 10-5 in the final frame but they were down 3-1 with less than 12 minutes to go in the game. Recently acquired overager Sean Larochelle, who is the captain for the black and gold, scored his first goal with Cape Breton late in the third to make it a close one. Wasn't much action in between play despite these two teams being provincial rivals until after the final buzzer went as there was some shoving and discussions before players got off the ice. Four players (two from each team) received unsportsmanlike conduct penalties from the scrum so we may see some extra punishment tomorrow. 

FINAL: Mooseheads 3 at Eagles 2
Stars: 3. Jordan Dumais HAL | 2. Connor Trenholm CAP | 1. Brady James HAL
Attendance: 2,113

Game Log
First period 
11:28 CAP Connor Trenholm (1), PP | A: Shortall & Buteau
13:36 HAL Jordan Dumais (1), PP | A: Whynot & Peeters

Second period
18:53 HAL Markus Vidicek (1) | A: Orr & Dumais

Third period 
8:06 HAL Landon Miron (1), PP | A: Schultz & Cataford
19:04 CAP Sean Larochelle (1) | A: Ivan & Stairs 

Powerplay: HAL - 2-for-4; CAP - 1-for-4
Shots: 28-24 in favour of Halifax

SCORES
Moncton 2 at Acadie-Bathurst 4
Charlottetown 4 at Saint John 2
Rimouski 3 at Quebec 2
Sherbrooke 2 at Rouyn-Noranda 3
Drummondville 2 at Val-d'Or 5
Baie-Comeau 2 at Chicoutimi 3
Gatineau 1 at Blainville-Boisbriand 2
Victoriaville 3 at Shawinigan 2 SO

Missing in Action: Attilio Biasca (injured), William Robitaille (healthy), James Swan (injured), Zachary L'Heureux (suspended), Elliot Desnoyers (NHL camp)

Up next: Halifax will host their home opener on Saturday night against Cape Breton. Puck drops at 7 p.m.

Game Day 1: at Cape Breton

PREVIEW - The 2021-22 regular season begins tonight as our Halifax Mooseheads meet their provincial rivals, the Cape Breton Eagles with game time being 7 p.m. in Sydney. It's been quite a while since I last wrote a game preview and it's good to be back. The biggest question going into this year is will the QMJHL actually get to complete a full 68 game season? Both Halifax and Cape Breton will be playing in a very tough Maritimes division with any one of Charlottetown, Bathurst and Saint John being among the frontrunners to win the league championship in May. The Mooseheads should be competitive as many predict the team to finish 4th in the division while Willy Palov of the Chronicle Herald actually thinks they'll get home ice advantage in the playoffs by finishing 8th in the league. Cape Breton meanwhile is in the beginning of a rebuild but just like any other year, don't count them out. 19-year-old Ivan Ivan is back for the Eagles after missing out of the 2020-21 season because of the pandemic and the travel restrictions that were in place. He was able to score 22 points in 62 games as a rookie two years ago, evenly split between goals and assists and he'll look to improve on that. Halifax will be without a couple of their top scorers from last year with Elliot Desnoyers still at Philadelphia Flyers camp and Zachary L'Heureux suspended for the first three games. The Herd dominated their provincial rivals during the exhibition schedule winning 3 of 4 pre-season games, outscoring the Eagles 17-10. 

Game coverage
TV: Eastlink | Radio: News 95.7 | Live: @HFXMooseheads | Post-game: Moose Country

Overall records
Mooseheads: 0-0-0-0 = 0 points (t-1st in Maritimes division, t-3rd overall)
Eagles: 0-0-0-0 = 0 points (t-1st in Maritimes division, t-3rd overall)

Head-to-head
Halifax was 10-4-2-0 against the Eagles last season while Cape Breton had a 6-9-1-0 record versus the Mooseheads. The last game between the two teams during the 2020-21 regular season was April 2 with Halifax picking up a 7-2 home win as Zachary L'Heureux recorded 2 goals and 2 assists. 

Last games
Cape Breton is coming off a 4-2 road victory over the Charlottetown Islanders on September 18. Rookie Kian Bell and Romain Rodzinski picked up a goal and an assist to lead the Eagles. 

Halifax finished the pre-season with a 3-2 shootout loss on Scotiabank Centre ice to the Saint John Sea Dogs on September 24. Markus Vidicek led the team with a goal and an assist and Brady James made 38 saves in the Mooseheads defeat. 

Not playing - James Swan (injured), Zachary L'Heureux (suspended), Attilio Biasca (injured), Elliot Desnoyers (NHL camp)

Out of town
Titan vs. Wildcats - 7:00 p.m.
Sea Dogs vs. Islanders - 7:00 p.m.
Remparts vs. Oceanic - 8:00 p.m.
Huskies vs. Phoenix - 8:00 p.m.
Foreurs vs. Voltigeurs - 8:00 p.m.
Sagueneens vs. Drakkar - 8:30 p.m.
Armada vs. Olympiques - 8:30 p.m.
Cataractes vs. Tigres - 8:30 p.m.

After the buzzer
Halifax and Cape Breton will head back to Moose Country for the Mooseheads home opener tomorrow night. Game time is 7 p.m.

QMJHL Season Begins Tonight

The 2021-22 QMJHL regular season begins this evening with the defending champion Victoriaville Tigres hosting the Shawinigan Cataractes at 8 p.m. Atlantic time. 

Some news before we get into the previews. 

Last week, the Canadian Hockey League announced that the 2021 CIBC Canada Russia Series will not be played given the ongoing challenges presented by the global pandemic. Details regarding the 2022 event will be announced at a later. This kind of sucks as it would've been nice to see if a couple of Halifax Mooseheads players were invited. We'll have to wait now most likely until December to see if Zachary L'Heureux and Elliot Desnoyers or any other guys will participate in Team Canada's world junior camp.

Three of the four current Mooseheads players that were invited to NHL main camps have been reassigned back to the junior club earlier this week. Bobby Orr and Cameron Whynot were released from the Carolina Hurricanes and Calgary Flames respectively on Saturday meanwhile Zachary L'Heureux got sent down by the Nashville Predators on Monday. From the Herd's preview for the home opener, L'Heureux is currently day-to-day with an upper body injury suffered at Predators camp last week. He is also due to serve the remaining three games of a four-game suspension to start the year after receiving the sentence on April 13th of last season. 

James Swan and Attilio Biasca will be out to start the season after both players suffered hand injuries during training camp and remain on the sideline indefinitely with a mid-to-late October return timeframe. Halifax is hopeful that they will have forwards Jordan Dumais and Vincent Gauthier in the lineup when puck drops tomorrow night after they both received injuries as well. 

Welcome back Moose Country! The Halifax Mooseheads have been permitted by the Nova Scotian government to host games at full capacity once again. Proof of full vaccination will be required meanwhile masks will still be mandatory for the immediate future. Check out the video the team put out to hype up fans. 

Even though our Halifax Mooseheads failed to make the CHL Top 10 pre-season rankings, which were released today, I thought I would share the list anyways. There are four QMJHL teams who got ranked with two of them coming from the Maritimes division. Another Maritime club is in the honourable mentions (London Knights, Charlottetown Islanders, Brandon Wheat Kings). 

Now let's get to the previews from other media personnel.

• Sportsnet has one question for every team in the Quebec league. 
• Junior hockey is finally getting back to normal after the pandemic wiped out the 2020 post-season for all 3 leagues under the CHL and the Ontario Hockey League lost it's entire 2020-21 season. 
• CBC Sports' Rob Pizzo and CHL play-by-play man Victor Findlay try to preview the season below. 
  
  
  
  
• Saltwire's Willy Palov, who has been covering the Halifax Mooseheads for years, has shared his thoughts on how good the Herd will be this year. 
• Most analysts have Halifax finishing the regular season 4th in the Maritimes division including Stephane Leroux from RDS and Palov from Saltwire

Yes it's going to be another different season but I am really excited to get back to cheering for the boys and hopefully it will be much more normal year. With a number of the Mooseheads' leading scorers returning and being a year older, Halifax should have an offensive team and could make some waves in what will be a tough Maritime division. Go Moose Go! See you Saturday Moose Country. 

Photos - QMJHL, Mooseheads & CHL websites