30th Anniversary Schedule Announced

Our Halifax Mooseheads 30th season regular season schedule was announced today. 

Like last year, the Herd will open up the season on home ice when the Charlottetown Islanders come to town on September 22. The two teams will meet at Eastlink Centre the next night with the puck scheduled to drop at 7 p.m. both evenings. Hopefully we won't get another postponement of the opening weekend in the Maritimes like in 2022. 

Other highlights for the 2023-24 regular season includes:

• The first Quebec road-trip will be October 12-15 when the Mooseheads travel to Baie-Comeau, Chicoutimi and Rimouski 
• A league finals rematch between Quebec and Halifax is set for January 13, 2024 at the Scotiabank Centre, meaning we'll probably see even more of a different team for the Remparts than we did in Game 6 
• We will get to see the return of the Hurley Cup series against Cape Breton, with the Eagles hosting on December 30 at 3 p.m. The two teams will meet again in Moose Country on New Year's Eve for an afternoon game 
• Halifax's longest home-stand will be six games from February 28-March 14 (this game being the home finale as well) while a five game road trip between Nov. 24-Dec. 2 is the longest 
• The regular season will wrap up on March 23 with the Herd visiting Saint John in back-to-back games on Friday and Saturday against the Sea Dogs. 

Halifax also announced in the press release that a full promotional schedule will be released later in the summer.

Weegar, Barron Help Canada Win Gold

Team Canada is once again world champions after they defeated Germany in the gold medal game on Sunday. 

This means that a couple of former Halifax Mooseheads players are gold medalists now. Congratulations to defencemen MacKenzie Weegar and Justin Barron on winning the last game of the 2023 tournament. Canada finished second in Group B after the preliminary round with a 4-1-1-1 record (W-OTW-OTL-L) but played like the hockey country they are in the medal round. Germany got on the board first but it didn't take long for the red and white to tie it up so the score was 1-1 after 20 minutes. Weegar would get an assist on Canada's second goal which once again sent both teams off to the dressing room with an even game as it was 2-2 after 40 minutes. Canada would open it up in the third period and win the game 5-2. It is Canada's record breaking 28th gold medal in the over 100 year tournament while the Germans won their third silver medal. 

Photo - Hockey Canada Twitter

Barron finished the tournament with three assists. Weegar on the other hand had a great tournament as he led his team in points with 11 in 10 games played. The 29-year-old actually led the tournament scoring at one point in the preliminary round. He started off with being named an alternate captain of the team in his first time representing the maple leaf in his career and ended with being named the best defenceman and a media all-star.

Photo - Swiss Hockey Twitter

A couple of other alumni were participating in the tournament over in Europe; Nico Hischier and Nikolaj Ehlers. Both players were not originally on their respective counties rosters as Hischier was actually eliminated in the NHL playoffs but I'm not sure what the delay was for Ehlers. Hischier and Team Switzerland had a strong prelim round once again this year, going 6-0-1-1 and finishing a top of Group B. Unfortunately, they could not get past Germany in the quarter-finals losing 3-1. The 24-year-old had a goal and two assists in four games played. 

Ehlers led Team Denmark in scoring with nine points (5G&4A) in 7 games played but it wasn't enough to propel the Danes to the medal round as they finished 5th in Group A with a 2-1-0-4 record. 

Photo - Winnipeg Jets Facebook

Exhibition Schedule Out

Photo - Herd website

One step into preparing to celebrate the Halifax Mooseheads 30th anniversary season has happened as the team have released their pre-season schedule on Friday. 

Halifax is anticipated to play six games over the pre-season schedule this summer. The QMJHL exhibition play will begin on August 17 and go until September 16 with a two-week break in between. Our Mooseheads are once again taking on the Charlottetown Islanders and Cape Breton Eagles. 

Here is the 2023-24 pre-season schedule:

August 22 at 7pm - vs. Cape Breton Eagles (RBC Centre)
August 23 at 7pm - at Cape Breton Eagles (Centre 200)
August 25 at 7pm - vs. Charlottetown Islanders (RBC Centre)
September 9 at 7pm - at Charlottetown Islanders (MacLauchlan Arena)
September 10 at 4pm - vs. Cape Breton Eagles (RBC Centre)
September 15 at 7pm - at Cape Breton Eagles (Membertou Sport & Wellness Centre)

Where are the Mooseheads drafting?

Photo - QMJHL website

In just over two weeks, team personnel across the QMJHL will descend on Sherbrooke, QC for the annual draft. This will be the first in person draft since 2019 thanks to the COVID pandemic and it will take place on June 10, 2023. 

Our Halifax Mooseheads will have to wait until the third round to make their first selection. Unless more trades happen, this is where the team will be drafting. 

Halifax's draft selections as of today:
Round 3 - 57th overall 
Round 4 - 67th overall (Blainville)
Round 4 - 75th overall
Round 5 - 91st overall (Gatineau)
Round 7 - 129th overall 
Round 8 - 134th overall (Saint John)
Round 8 - 147th overall
Round 9 - 165th overall
Round 10 - 183rd overall
Round 11 - 201st overall
Round 12 - 219th overall
Round 13 - 237th overall
Round 14 - 255th overall

Follow the @HFXMooseheads on Twitter during the draft for live coverage. 

Remparts Champions in Halifax

Our Halifax Mooseheads made it a series but in the end, the Quebec Remparts got a last minute goal in Game 6 and hosted the Gilles Courteau Trophy on Scotiabank Centre ice Sunday evening. It was yet another back and forth game tonight. The two teams were pretty even in the first period and after 20 minutes, the score was 0-0. Rookie Jack Martin scored the opening goal for the home team, recording his first of the playoffs, at the 2:18 mark of the second period. A little over three minutes later, overager Alexandre Doucet extended the Mooseheads lead to 2-0. Quebec got a power play opportunity late in the middle frame and they took advantage of it, making it a 3-2 Halifax game after 40 minutes. The Remparts came out in the third strong and Zachary Bolduc tied it up at the 5:18 mark. It looked like we would be going to another overtime as much didn't happen for about 10 minutes. With 3:13 left to go in regulation though, Zachary L'Heureux sent most of the 10,595 fans at the arena into a frenzy when he scored as the Mooseheads retook the lead. But the cheering didn't last long, as Quebec tied it again a minute later. 20-year-old Pier-Olivier Roy broke the hearts of the home team when he made it 5-4 for the Remparts with 59 seconds remaining. Congratulations to Quebec on winning the championship. We had a great series to witness and unfortunately for us Moose fans, it just wasn't meant to be this year. 

FINAL: Remparts 5 at Mooseheads 4
Stars: 3. Zachary Bolduc QUE | 2. Jack Martin HAL | 1. Alexandre Doucet HAL
Attendance: 10,300

GAME LOG
First period 
No scoring

Second period 
2:18 HAL Jack Martin (1) | A: Vidicek
5:38 HAL Alexandre Doucet (14) | A: Dumais & Martin
11:14 QUE Evan Nause (5) | A: Robidas & Savoie
15:24 HAL Josh Lawrence (12) | A: Dumais & Doucet
16:44 QUE James Malatesta (14), PP | A: Rochette & Bolduc

Third period
5:18 QUE Zachary Bolduc (11) | A: Rochette & Komarov
16:47 HAL Zachary L'Heureux (11) | A: Dumais
17:52 QUE Kassim Gaudet (5) | A: None
19:01 QUE Pier-Olivier Roy (6) | A: Gaudet

Powerplay: QUE - 1-for-3; HAL - 0-for-1
Shots: 36-25 in favour for Quebec

DID NOT PLAY - David Moravec and Attilio Biasca out with injuries

UP NEXT: Pre-season in August, opponent to be determined 

Dumais, Biasca Win Golden Puck Awards

In the mix of the playoffs beginning, I never shared that there were some trophies handed out during the Mooseheads first post-season home game back in late March. Veteran Jordan Dumais received the Jean Beliveau Trophy for being the QMJHL's top scorer in the regular season. Our Halifax Mooseheads were also awarded the Luc Robitaille Trophy as the team with the best goals for average. Halifax led the entire Canadian Hockey League in goals scored with 335. 

A few Mooseheads were named as finalists for other awards last month but only two actually won. Captain Attilio Biasca won the Frank J Selke Memorial Trophy as the Most Sportsmanlike Player on April 20. Meanwhile, the Michel Briere Memorial Trophy was the last award to be given out and Halifax forward Jordan Dumais was named the league's MVP on Thursday. 

Other nominees for awards were Mathieu Cataford (top prospect & scholastic player of the year) and head coach Sylvain Favreau (coach of the year). 

The players on the all-star teams were also named over the last few weeks as well. Dumais' 140-point season led him to be given a first team crystal star by the Q while Alexandre Doucet and Josh Lawrence were named to the 2nd all-star team. 

Congratulations to all the players who won awards, especially our Herd guys. 

Photos - QMJHL website & Twitter

10 Years Ago...

Ten years. Somehow, it has been 10 years since our Halifax Mooseheads won their first President Cup after defeating the Baie-Comeau Drakkar in five games. 

Photo - QMJHL website

While I wasn't able to be in the arena that night, it didn't mean I wasn't cheering them on. I was among probably a thousand people out watching the game in Grand Parade Square. It would be nice if the city would do this kind of event again especially for the away games. 

The Mooseheads won that final game by a score of 5-1, with two goals coming from Halifax-native Stephen MacAulay - one of which was an empty netter. Singles were scored by Stefan Fournier, Jonathan Drouin and Nathan MacKinnon. Goaltender Zach Fucale made 34 saves to get the win, helping his team to a 16-1 post-season. 

Halifax had a great 2012-13 season, finishing with a 58-6-3-1 record before winning their first three playoff rounds in sweeps. Their lone loss in the playoffs came during Game 3 of the final. You can see the scores for the championship series below: 

May 3 Drakkar 0 at Mooseheads 4
May 4 Drakkar 3 at Mooseheads 4
May 7 Mooseheads 1 at Drakkar 3
May 8 Mooseheads 7 at Drakkar 4
May 10 Drakkar 1 at Mooseheads 5

Check out the highlights below. 

Here's a fan's video of the final moments and celebration. 

Our boys will get another chance to become champs as they made it to the finals for the fifth time in franchise history. That series will begin on Friday night in Quebec. I know it isn't guaranteed this year but let's fill up the Scotiabank Centre like we did in 2013 Moose Country and support our boys. 

Herd Word

Photo - Source du Hockey

NHL DRAFT RANKINGS

The Central Scouting Services released their final rankings last month for the 2023 NHL draft and there are a few current Halifax Mooseheads players on the list. Sophomore Mathieu Cataford was the highest ranked Herd player at #36 after finishing the season with 31 goals and 75 points. He dropped from 27th on the mid-term rankings. 18-year-old Dylan MacKinnon was ranked #61 while Markus Vidicek found himself at #175. MacKinnon had a huge jump in his point production in his second season, picking up 23 points in 61 games. 19-year-old Vidicek had 32 goals and 80 points during 2022-23. 

The highest ranking QMJHL player is Ethan Gauthier of the Sherbrooke Phoenix who is at #16. The 2023 NHL Entry Draft will be held June 28-29 in Nashville, TN. 

FINAL SERIES
The three final series across the Canadian Hockey League are now set after games on Monday. Fourth place Peterborough came up with another upset in the Eastern Conference final, winning Game 7 3-2 to move on to the OHL championship series. The Memorial Cup hosts Kamloops Blazers are out of the WHL playoffs after losing to the Seattle Thunderbirds 4-2 two nights ago. Below are the matchups for the championships.

WHL - E1 Winnipeg ICE vs. W1 Seattle Thunderbirds
OHL - W2 London Knights vs. E4 Peterborough Petes 
QMJHL - 1 Quebec Remparts vs. 2 Halifax Mooseheads

SOLD OUT
Round four tickets for Games 1 & 2 at the Centre Videotron went on sale this past Friday before the Quebec Remparts even knew who their opponent was going to be. Quebec fans went all in, selling out both nights in less than 20 minutes according to the team. 

However, like normal, there are people reselling them on Ticket Master if you would still like some but you'll have to fork up some money. The cheapest I saw yesterday was $59 for one ticket and went up to over $250 each. 

CHL IMPORT DRAFT
Recently, the Canadian Hockey League announced the order of selection for the import draft. 'Your Halifax Mooseheads hold the 50th overall pick while their second round pick is 110th overall thanks to a strong season that saw the Herd post a 50-11-4-3 record. Current imports Attilio Biasca and David Moravec are eligible to return next year as 20-year-old overage players.' So it will be interesting to see if the Herd actually use their selections. The Erie Otters of the OHL will pick first overall followed by the QMJHL's Acadie-Bathurst Titan and the Edmonton Oil Kings (WHL). The 2023 Import Draft will take place on July 5 at 11am ET.  

Photo - Trinec Twitter

ALUMNI CHAMPIONS
A couple of Moose alumni are once again champions. Sternberk, Czech Republic native Petr Vrana captained the HC Ocelari Trinec to franchise fifth Czech Extraliga trophy on April 28. According to Elite Prospects; the 38-year-old had an assist in 3 games played during the regular season and two points (1G&1A) in 20 playoff matches. Trinec won the final series 4-2 against the Mountfield HK. 

Defenceman Konrad Abeltshauser won the DEL championship for a fourth time in his career. The EHC Red Bull Munchen battled it out against the ERC Ingolstadt and got the 4-1 series win. The 30-year-old scored 4 times in the regular season and had 18 points while in the post-season he had 4 points in 18 games. 

Congratulations to both players on getting another trophy. 

DUMAIS
According to Saltwire, 'Halifax general manager Cam Russell said on Monday there's "a really food chance" Jordan Dumais will be cleared to play at some point against the Quebec Remparts.' He could possibly play in Game 1 on Friday. Dumais missed the last four games of the semi-final series after getting injured in the second period of Game 2 against the Sherbrooke Phoenix. 

It would be great to see Dumer return to the lineup but Halifax has played really well while he was out so does Sylvain Farveau make changes to a good thing even if Jordan is ready. 

Schedule for Finals Released

The Halifax Mooseheads find themselves in the league finals once again and this year they will take on the Quebec Remparts. 

Halifax previously made it to the fourth round in 2003, 2005, 2013 and 2019 winning the championship once in 2013. The two teams ended the regular season with the best records in the league so it really isn't a surprise that they will determine the playoff champion. As Quebec finished with 109 points and the Mooseheads had 107 in the regular season, the Remparts will get home ice advantage in this series. The Remparts have had a pretty easy path to the upcoming series, winning the three previous rounds in sweeps while Halifax has gone 12-3 to get to this point in the post-season. Who will win the 2023 Gilles Courteau Trophy in about two weeks time? 

Find the schedule for the Mooseheads-Remparts series below: 

Game 1  Friday May 12 @ 8:00pm at Centre Videotron
Game 2  Saturday May 13 @ 8:00pm at Centre Videotron
Game 3  Tuesday May 16 @ 8:00pm at Scotiabank Centre
Game 4  Wednesday May 17 @ 8:00pm at Scotiabank Centre
*Game 5  Friday May 19 @ 8:00pm at Centre Videotron
*Game 6  Sunday May 21 @ TBD at Scotiabank Centre
*Game 7  Monday May 22 @ TBD at Centre Videotron

*If necessary 

You can watch the first two games of the series on Eastlink Community TV while TSN will broadcast the remaining matches hence the later times for our home games next week. 

Individual tickets for Games 3 and 4 in Moose Country will go on sale on Wednesday morning. 

Halifax off to Finals

Our Halifax Mooseheads are off to the QMJHL finals after a 1-0 victory against the Sherbrooke Phoenix on Sunday evening. Sherbrooke began the game on the right foot with the help of 4 power plays in the first period but Herd goaltender Mathis Rousseau stood his ground for the second straight game. The 18-year-old stopped 18 shots just in the opening frame and finished with 42 saves in a first star performance. Things were a little different in the second period with Josh Lawrence opening the scoring at the 4:47 mark and this ended up being the game winner. The Phoenix continued to push in the third period, even pulling their goalie with 2:23 remaining in the final frame. After pulling their veteran starter in Game 5, Sherbrooke chose to go with rookie Samuel St. Hilaire this evening in nets and despite the loss, he played well. Halifax won the semi-final series 4 games to 2, in which they won the last four matches. 

FINAL: Mooseheads 1 at Phoenix 0
Stars: 3. Samual St. Hilaire SHE | 2. Josh Lawrence HAL | 1. Mathis Rousseau HAL
Attendance: 4,005

GAME LOG
First period
No scoring

Second period

4:47 HAL Josh Lawrence (9) | A: Phillips & Cataford

Third period 

No scoring

Powerplay: HAL - 0-for-2; SHE - 0-for-5

Shots: 42-21 in favour of Sherbrooke

DID NOT PLAY - Jordan Dumais (injured) & Cam Whynot (illness)