Moose Dominate in Game 5

The Halifax Mooseheads started off shaky but calmed down in the second half of the game leading to a dominate 7-3 victory in Game 5 on Sunday afternoon over the Moncton Wildcats. Mathieu Cataford got the home team on the board first at the 3:19 mark of the opening frame. However, agitator Maxim Barbashev tied the game up a little more than 3 minutes later on what ended up being the lone power play of the game. The first period ended in a 2-2 tie but there was some sloppy play by both teams which continued in the second. Regular season leading scorer Jordan Dumais got a weak one past Jacob Steinman to give Halifax the lead with under 10 minutes to go in the middle frame. The Mooseheads didn't look back after that as the club scored two more times in the final minute of the second to make the score 5-2. Moncton closed the gap to two goals at the 7:58 mark and pulled their goaltender late in the third but the Wildcats couldn't get any closer. The victory gave the Mooseheads a 4-1 series win in Round 2. 

FINAL: Wildcats 3 at Mooseheads 7
Stars: 3. Dylan MacKinnon HAL | 2. Evan Boucher HAL | 1. Jordan Dumais HAL
Attendace: 8,667

GAME LOG
First period
3:19 HAL Mathieu Cataford (2) | A: Boucher
6:34 MON Maxim Barbashev (4), PP | A: Beaudoin & Morin
14:46 MON Trent Ballentyne (2) | A: Sampson
18:32 HAL Attilio Biasca (3) | A: Dumais & Martin

Second period
10:06 HAL Jordan Dumais (3) | A: Vidicek & Schultz
19:12 HAL Zachary L'Heureux (6) | A: Furlong & Schultz
19:40 HAL Evan Boucher (3) | A: Dumais & MacKinnon

Third period

7:58 MON Gabe Smith (1) | A: Auger & Hamel

18:13 HAL Josh Lawrence (6), EN | A: L'Heureux & Cataford

19:01 HAL Jordan Dumais (4), EN | A: L'Heureux

Powerplay: MON - 1-for-1; HAL - 0-for-0

Shots: 37-20 in favour of Halifax

DID NOT PLAY - David Moravec (illness)

Golden Puck nominees announced

The Quebec Major Junior Hockey League announced the nominees for their annual awards at the Golden Puck Awards. It looks like there isn't going to be an actual award night once again this year, the league will announce the winners over the next month. A few Halifax Mooseheads have been nominated for awards with Mathieu Cataford getting two nominations. I expect we'll see some Herd players on the all-star teams as well once they are announced. 

*via QMJHL.ca

Michel-Bergeron Trophy – Offensive Rookie of the Year – April 13

• Félix Lacerte – Shawinigan
• Maxim Massé – Chicoutimi
• Thomas Verdon – Rouyn-Noranda

Raymond-Lagacé Trophy – Defensive Rookie of the Year – April 14

• Gabriel D’Aigle – Victoriaville
• Marcus Kearsey – Charlottetown
• Jacob Steinman – Moncton

Frank-J.-Selke Memorial Trophy – Most Sportsmanlike (and Effective) Player – April 20

• Thomas Belgarde – Victoriaville
• Attilio Biasca – Halifax
• Justin Robidas – Quebec

 Guy-Carbonneau Trophy – Best defensive forward – April 21

• Zachary Dean – Gatineau
• Nathan Gaucher – Quebec
• Milo Roelens – Sherbrooke

 Michael-Bossy Trophy – Top Professional Prospect – April 24

• Mathieu Cataford – Halifax
• Ethan Gauthier – Sherbrooke
• Etienne Morin – Moncton

Kevin-Lowe Memorial Trophy – Best defensive defenseman – April 26

• Tyson Hinds – Sherbrooke
• Pier-Olivier Roy – Victoriaville
• Nicolas Savoie – Quebec

Émile-Bouchard Trophy – Defenseman of the Year – April 27

• Frédéric Brunet – Victoriaville
• Tyson Hinds – Sherbrooke
• Tristan Luneau – Gatineau

 Marcel-Robert Trophy – Scholastic Player of the Year – May 1

• Julien Béland – Rimouski
• Mathieu Cataford – Halifax
• Maxime Pellerin – Victoriaville

 Ron-Lapointe Trophy – Coach of the Year – May 4

• Sylvain Favreau – Halifax
• Stéphane Julien – Sherbrooke
• Carl Mallette – Victoriaville

Maurice-Filion Memorial Trophy – General Manager of the Year – May 8

• Stéphane Julien – Sherbrooke
• Louis Robitaille – Gatineau
• Patrick Roy – Quebec

Paul-Dumont Trophy – Personality of the Year – May 10

• Stéphane Julien – Sherbrooke
• Louis Robitaille – Gatineau
• Joshua Roy – Sherbrooke

 Michel-Brière Memorial Trophy – Most Valuable Player – May 11

• Nathan Darveau – Victoriaville
• Jordan Dumais – Halifax
• Joshua Roy – Sherbrooke

_

Of note, the finalists for the Rookie of the Year, the Humanitarian of the Year, the Jean-Sawyer Trophy, the John-Horman Trophy and the Denis-Arsenault Trophy will be unveiled at a later date.

Matchups for Round 2 Set

Some were over quickly while a few others took the full seven games to decide the series. Either way, the matchups for the second round are finally set. The Moncton Wildcats defeated the Baie-Comeau Drakkar on Tuesday night in Game 7 with an overtime victory to move on to Round 2. It was the last series that needed to be figured out. Below you will find the matchups across the league. 

Ed Chynoweth Cup

E1 Winnipeg ICE vs. E4 Moose Jaw Warriors
E2 Red Deer Rebels vs. E3 Saskatoon Blades

W1 Seattle Thunderbirds vs. W4 Prince George Cougars
W2 Kamloops Blazers vs. W3 Portland Winterhawks

J. Ross Robertson Cup

E1 Ottawa 67's vs. E4 Peterborough Petes

E2 North Bay Battalion vs. E3 Barrie Colts

W2 London Knights vs. W8 Kitchener Rangers

W3 Sarnia Stings vs. W4 Saginaw Spirit

Gilles Courteau Trophy

E1 Quebec Remparts vs. E5 Rimouski Oceanic

E2 Halifax Mooseheads vs. E3 Moncton Wildcats

W1 Sherbrooke Phoenix vs. W6 Drummondville Voltigeurs

W2 Gatineau Olympiques vs. W4 Rouyn-Noranda Huskies

Good luck to all teams for the rest of the playoffs. The London-Kitchener series begins on Thursday while all the other series kick off on Friday. 

Photos - league websites