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.