Around the CHL ~ volume #1 preview edition #6

The Canadian Hockey League regular season begins in two days so to get you ready I thought I would recap how last season went. Check back all year long for more stories about the CHL and your Mooseheads. 

here are last year's leaders:
Division champions 2016-17
WHL - Regina Pats (East) 72 games played, 52-12-7-1 record, 112 points, 353 goals for/211 goals against; Medicine Hat Tigers (Central) 72 games played, 51-20-1-0 record, 103 points, 350 goals for/248 goals against; Everett Silvertips (U.S.) 72 games played, 44-16-9-3 record, 100 points, 229 goals for/169 goals against; Prince George Cougars (B.C.) 72 games played, 45-21-3-3 record, 96 points, 253 goals for/201 goals against
OHL - Erie Otters (Midwest) 68 games played, 50-15-2-1 record, 103 points, 319 goals for/182 goals against; Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds (West) 68 games played, 48-16-3-1 record, 100 points, 287 goals for/208 goals against; Peterborough Petes (East) 68 games played, 89 points, 42-21-2-3 record, 239 goals for/221 goals against; Mississauga Steelheads (Central) 68 games played, 81 points, 34-21-6-7 record, 240 goals for/219 goals against
QMJHL - Saint John Sea Dogs (Maritimes) 68 games played, 48-14-5-1 record, 102 points, 287 goals for/180 goals against; Rouyn-Noranda Huskies (West) 68 games played, 43-18-2-5 record, 93 points, 272 goals for/181 goals against; Shawinigan Cataractes (East) 68 games played, 42-20-4-2 record, 90 points, 258 goals for/184 goals against

League championships 2017
President's Cup - Saint John Sea Dogs vs. Blainville-Boisbriand Armada (Sea Dogs won series 4 games to 0 games)
J. Ross Robertson Cup - Erie Otters vs. Mississauga Steelheads (Otters won series 4 games to 1 game)
Ed Chynoweth Cup - Regina Pats vs. Seattle Thunderbirds (Thunderbirds won series 4 games to 2 games)

Memorial Cup 2017
Teams - Erie (OHL champion), Saint John (QMJHL champion), Seattle (WHL champion), Windsor (hosts)

Final May 28, 2017 Windsor vs. Erie 4-3

WINDSOR SPITFIRES WIN 2017 MEMORIAL CUP!!!


Windsor will look to repeat as Memorial Cup champions. The Regina Pats will be hosting the 100th version of the national championship tournament next May. The 2018 Sherwin-Williams CHL/NHL Top Prospects game will be hosted by the Guelph Storm on January 25.

Top Herd

Now that the regular season is over, I will be awarding my overall Top Herd player award. This season I decided not to do a poll as there was one clear winner in my opinion. 

And the winner is....

Alexis Gravel

In just his rookie season, Alexis Gravel showed that the Halifax Mooseheads made the right decision selecting him in the second round of the QMJHL draft. Gravel was 5th in the league in minutes played and first among rookies with 2628 minutes. Alexis was in the top 20 during the regular season for save percentage. He'll be the backbone for the Herd over the next few years.

Here is the list of my Top Herd that I have done this season. I didn't name one every game. 
Sept 24  Saint John - Benoit-Olivier Groulx
Oct 1      Cape Breton - Keigan Goetz
Oct 7      Rimouski - Maxime Fortier
Oct 8      Charlottetown - Alexis Gravel
Oct 10    Gatineau - Nico Hischier
Oct 21    Rouyn-Noranda - Kevin Resop
Oct 23    Val-d'Or - Jared McIsaac
Oct 25    Acadie-Bathurst - Nico Hischier
Oct 29    Cape Breton - Otto Somppi
Nov 11   Sherbrooke - Maxime Fortier
Nov 12   Charlottetown - Nico Hischier
Nov 24   Quebec - Jocktan Chainey
Nov 27   Moncton - Alexis Gravel
Dec 17   Moncton - Otto Somppi
Dec 31   Cape Breton - Raphael Lavoie
Jan 6      Moncton - Frederic Aube
Jan 7      Saint John - Blade Mann-Dixon
Jan 11    Charlottetown - Blade Mann-Dixon
Jan 13    Drummondville - Alexis Gravel
Jan 15    Victoriaville - Arnaud Durandeau
Jan 19    Chicoutimi - Alexis Gravel
Jan 20    Baie-Comeau - Nico Hishier
Feb 3      Saint John - Jake Coughler
Feb 12    Shawinigan - Alexis Gravel
Feb 20    Moncton - Joel Bishop
Mar 15   Charlottetown - Jake Coughler
Mar 17   Cape Breton - Alexis Gravel
Mar 18   Saint John - Keigan Goetz

Around the CHL ~ volume #3 playoff edition #7

This edition of "Around the CHL" will preview the 2017 playoffs. The top sixteen teams of the Quebec league will play for the President's Cup, while the top eight teams in each conference in the Western league will play for the Ed Chynoweth Cup, and in the Ontario league the top eight teams in each conference play for the J. Ross Robertson Cup. 

President's Cup playoffs
#1 vs #16 Saint John - Rimouski {regular season series SNB 2-0-0-0} 
#2 vs #15 Rouyn-Noranda - Halifax {regular season series ROU 2-0-0-0}
#3 vs #14 Shawinigan - Val-d'Or {regular season series SHA 2-0-1-1}
#4 vs #13 Charlottetown - Baie-Comeau {regular season series tie 1-1-0-0}
#5 vs #12 Blainville-Boisbriand - Drummondville {regular season series BLB 4-1-0-1}
#6 vs #11 Acadie-Bathurst - Quebec {regular season series QUE 2-0-0-0}
#7 vs #10 Cape Breton - Gatineau {regular season series tie 1-1-0-0}
#8 vs #9 Chicoutimi - Victoriaville {regular season series CHI 4-2-0-0}

J. Ross Robertson Cup playoffs
#E1 vs #E8 Peterborough - Niagara {regular season series PBO 3-1-0-0}
#E2 vs #E7 Mississauga - Ottawa {regular season series MISS 2-0-2-0}
#E3 vs #E6 Oshawa - Sudbury {regular season series tie 2-2-0-0}
#E4 vs #E5 Kingston - Hamilton {regular season series HAM 3-2-0-1}
#W1 vs #W8 Erie - Sarnia {regular season series ER 3-1-0-0}
#W2 vs #W7 Sault Ste. Marie - Flint {regular season series SSM 3-1-1-1}
#W3 vs #W6 Owen Sound - Kitchener {regular season series OS 7-1-0-0}
#W4 vs #W5 London - Windsor {regular season series tie 3-2-1-0}

Ed Chynoweth Cup playoffs 
#E1 vs #WC2 Regina - Calgary {regular season series REG 3-1-0-0}
#E2 vs #E3 Moose Jaw - Swift Current {regular season series MJ 4-2-0-0}
#C1 vs #WC1 Medicine Hat - Brandon {regular season series MH 3-1-0-0}
#C2 vs #C3 Lethbridge - Red Deer {regular season series LET 5-0-1-0}
#U1 vs #WC2 Everett - Victoria {regular season series EVT 4-0-0-0}
#U2 vs #U3 Seattle - Tri-City {regular season series SEA 6-2-0-0}
#B1 vs #WC1 Prince George - Portland {regular season series POR 2-1-0-1}
#B2 vs #B2 Kelowna - Kamloops {regular season series KAM 6-3-0-1}

Predictions
QMJHL First Round - Saint John in 4, Rouyn-Noranda in 6, Shawinigan in 5, Charlottetown in 5, Blainville-Boisbriand in 5, Quebec in 6, Cape Breton in 6, Chicoutimi in 7
OHL First Round - Peterborough in 5, Mississauga in 5, Oshawa in 6, Hamilton in 6, Erie in 4, Owen Sound in 5, Sault Ste. Marie in 5, Windsor in 7
WHL First Round - Regina in 4, Everett in 4, Moose Jaw in 5, Seattle in 5, Prince George in 6, Medicine Hat in 7, Lethbridge in 6, Kamloops in 7

Tonight's games
Sea Dogs vs. Oceanic at 7PM
Islanders vs. Drakkar at 7PM
Screaming Eagles vs. Olympiques at 7PM
Titan vs. Remparts at 7PM
Frontenacs vs. Bulldogs at 8PM
Steelheads vs. 67's at 8PM
Cataractes vs. Foreurs at 8:30PM
Attack vs. Rangers at 8:30PM
Armada vs. Voltigeurs at 8:30PM
Huskies vs. Mooseheads at 8:30PM
Knights vs. Spitfires at 8:30PM
Sagueneens vs. Tigres at 8:30PM
Generals vs. Wolves at 8:35PM
Warriors vs. Broncos at 10PM
Pats vs. Hitmen at 10PM
Tigers vs. Wheat Kings at 10:30PM
Cougars vs. Winterhawks at 11PM
Rockets vs. Blazers at 11:05PM
Silvertips vs. Royals at 11:35PM
Thunderbirds vs. Americans at 11:35PM

Friday's games
Cataractes vs. Foreurs at 5PM
Sagueneens vs. Tigres at 5PM
Sea Dogs vs. Oceanic at 7PM
Islanders vs. Drakkar at 7PM
Screaming Eagles vs. Olympiques at 7PM
Titan vs. Remparts at 7PM
Huskies vs. Mooseheads at 8PM
Sting vs. Otters at 8:05PM
Petes vs. IceDogs at 8:05PM
Greyhounds vs. Firebirds at 8:07PM
Attack vs. Rangers at 8:30PM
Warriors vs. Broncos at 10PM
Hurricanes vs. Rebels at 10PM
Pats vs. Hitmen at 10PM
Tigers vs. Wheat Kings at 10:30PM
Rockets vs. Blazers at 11:05PM
Silvertips vs. Royals at 11:05PM
Thunderbirds vs. Americans at 11:05PM 

Season series versus each team

Below you will find the records of your Halifax Mooseheads versus each of the other seventeen teams in the Q plus the monthly records for the team this season.  (note: Halifax's score is listed first)

TELUS West division
Blainville-Boisbraind 2 games 0-2-0-0 {2-4, 0-3}
Drummondville 2 games 2-0-0-0 {2-1SO, 5-4}
Gatineau 2 games 1-1-0-0 {6-5OT, 2-5}
Rouyn-Noranda 2 games 0-2-0-0 {2-4, 1-5}
Sherbrooke 2 games 2-0-0-0 {9-5, 2-1}
Val-d'Or 2 games 1-1-0-0 {2-4, 5-3}

TELUS East division 
Baie-Comeau 2 games 0-1-0-1 {4-5SO, 4-7}
Chicoutimi 2 games 1-0-0-1 {4-1, 3-4SO}
Quebec 2 games 0-2-0-0 {5-6, 1-2}
Rimouski 2 games 1-1-0-0 {6-5, 4-5}
Shawinigan 2 games 0-2-0-0 {3-6, 0-1}
Victoriaville 2 games 1-1-0-0 {7-3, 2-3} 

Maritimes division
Acadie-Bathurst 9 games 2-6-1-0 {0-3, 6-4, 10-11, 5-3, 3-5, 3-4OT, 0-9, 2-3, 1-3}
Cape Breton 9 games 3-4-2-0 {6-4, 3-1, 1-5, 4-5OT, 3-6, 2-5, 5-4SO, 1-4, 2-3OT}
Charlottetown 9 games 4-5-0-0 {2-9, 5-2, 7-4, 1-2, 4-1, 3-4, 1-5, 1-3, 6-5OT}
Moncton 9 games  7-2-0-0 {3-4, 5-1, 3-0, 4-6, 3-2OT, 6-2, 7-2, 2-1, 5-3}
Saint John 8 games 2-6-0-0 {4-3, 4-1, 1-2, 4-7, 3-5, 2-4, 3-5, 1-2}

Monthly records
September 2 games ~ 1-1-0-0 record overall, 1-0-0-0 home, 0-1-0-0 away
October 14 games ~ 7-7-0-0 record overall, 5-3-0-0 home, 2-4-0-0 away
November 11 games ~ 6-4-0-1 record overall, 3-1-0-1 home, 3-3-0-0 away
December 9 games ~ 1-6-1-1 record overall, 0-4-0-0 home, 1-2-1-1 away
January 13 games ~ 8-4-0-1 record overall, 4-2-1-0 home, 4-2-0-0 away
February 11 games ~ 3-7-1-0 record overall, 1-4-1-0 home, 2-3-0-0 away
March 8 games ~ 1-6-1-0 record overall, 1-1-1-0 home, 0-6-0-0 away

Overtime/shootout records
OT ~ two overtime win-three overtime loss
SO ~ two shootout win-three shootout loss

Around the CHL ~ volume #2 season edition #7

We're at the end of the regular season in major junior hockey so I thought I would recap who ended on top for different statistic categories. These are the final leaders for each of the three leagues. The 2017 Presidents Cup playoffs are just around the corner. Your Halifax Mooseheads are back in the playoffs after missing last season. GO Moose GO!

League leaders
Goals - Alex DeBrincat 65 goals (OHL Erie Otters), Giovanni Fiore 52 goals (QMJHL Val-d'Or Foreurs), Tyler Wong 51 goals (WHL Lethbridge Hurricanes)
Assists - Adam Brooks 87 assists (WHL Regina Pats), Taylor Raddysh 66 assists (OHL Erie Otters), Samuel Girard 66 assists (QMJHL Shawinigan Cataractes)
Points - Sam Steel 131 points (WHL Regina Pats), Alex DeBrincat 127 points (OHL Erie Otters), Vitalii Abramov 104 points (QMJHL Gatineau Olympiques)
Defenceman points - Connor Hibbs 85 points (WHL Regina Pats), Darren Raddysh 81 points (OHL Erie Otters), Samuel Girard 75 points (QMJHL Shawinigan Cataractes)
Rookie points - Nico Hischier 86 points (QMJHL Halifax Mooseheads ), Alekei Heponiemi 86 points (WHL Swift Current Broncos), Ryan Merkley 55 points (OHL Guelph Storm)
Goalie wins - Michael McNiven 41 wins (OHL Owen Sound Attack), Rylan Toth 36 wins (WHL Seattle Thunderbirds), Callum Booth 31 wins (QMJHL Saint John Sea Dogs)
Save percentage - Carter Hart 0.927 SAV% (WHL Everett Silvertips), Tyler Parsons 0.925 SAV% (OHL London Knights), Callum Booth 0.911 SAV% (QMJHL Saint John Sea Dogs)
Goals against average - Carter Hart 1.99 GAA (WHL Everett Silvertips), Michael McNiven 2.30 GAA (OHL Owen SOund Attack), Francis Leclerc 2.31 GAA (QMJHL Blainville-Boisbriand Armada)

Division leaders
WHL - Regina Pats 112 points/52 wins (East division), Medicine Hat Tigers 103 points/51 wins (Central division), Everett Silvertips 100 points/44 wins (U.S. division), Prince George Cougars 96 points/45 wins (B.C. division)
OHL - Erie Otters 103 points/50 wins (Midwest division), Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds 100 points/48 wins (West division), Peterborough Petes 89 points/42 wins (East division), Mississauga Steelheads 81 points/34 wins (Central division)
QMJHL - Saint John Sea Dogs 102 points/48 wins (Maritimes division), Rouyn-Noranda Huskies 93 points/43 wins (TELUS West division), Shawinigan Cataractes 90 points/42 wins (TELUS East division)

BMO CHL top ten ~ week 26
1. Regina Pats {52-12-7-1} week 25 #2
2. Erie Otters {50-15-2-1} week 25 #3
3. Saint John Sea Dogs {48-14-5-1} week 25 #1
4. Owen Sound Attack {49-15-2-2} week 25 #6
5. Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds {48-16-3-1} week 25 #5
6. London Knights {46-15-3-4} week 25 #4
7. Medicine Hat Tigers {51-20-1-0} week 25 #9
8. Charlottetown Islanders {46-18-4-0} week 25 #7
9. Everett Silvertips {44-16-9-3} week 25 n/a
10. Rouyn-Noranda Huskies {43-18-2-5} week 25 #8
Honorable mentions: Seattle Thunderbirds {46-20-4-2 #10}, Blainville-Boisbriand Armada {43-19-4-2 n/a}, Windsor Spitfires {41-19-5-3 n/a}

Season Opening Roster Announced

YOUR 2016-17 HALIFAX MOOSEHEADS

1  Alexis Gravel  G  (Mississauga, ON)*
2  Cooper Jones  D  (Bridgewater, MA, USA)
3  Walter Flower  D  (Lunenburg, NS)
4  Mathieu Charlebois  D  (Blainville, QC) 
5  Jordan Lepage  D  (Rimouski, QC)*
7  Bradley Kennedy  RW  (Antigonish, NS)
13  Nico Hischier  C  (Naters, Switzerland)* 
14  Jared McIsaac  D  (Truro, NS)*
17  Brett Crossley  C  (Dartmouth, NS)
19  Benoit-Olivier Groulx  LW  (Gatineau, QC)*
21  Arnaud Durandeau  LW  (Beaconsfield, QC)
26  Taylor Ford  D  (Lasalle, QC)
28  Ben Higgins  C  (Truro, NS)*
36  Anthony Sorrentino  RW  (Woodbridge, ON)
40  Kevin Resop  G  (St. Petersburg, FL, USA)
41  Maxime Fortier  RW  (Montreal, QC)
50  Raphael Lavoie  C  (Chambly, QC)* 
51  Barrett Dachyshyn  C  (Halifax, NS)
61  Joel Bishop  C  (St. John's, NL)
71  Connor Moynihan  LW  (Boston, MA, USA)
79  Jocktan Chainey  D  (Asbestos, QC)
89  Otto Somppi  C  (Helsinki, Finland)

*indicates rookie

Events

The schedule for the upcoming season was released earlier this week and the Halifax Mooseheads announced the dates for most of their 2016-17 season events. The date for the DND Appreciation night game has yet to be released but it's possible we'll see it being played on Remembrance Day. 

Annual events
HOME OPENER - September 24 vs. Saint John Sea Dogs
Pink in the Rink 9 - October 21 vs. Rouyn-Noranda Huskies
DND Appreciation Night - not yet announced
Battle of Nova Scotia - December 31 vs. Cape Breton Screaming Eagles
Teddy Bear Toss - January 6 vs. Moncton Wildcats
Fan Appreciation Night - March 18 vs. Saint John Sea Dogs

Mooseheads Schedule Released

The Quebec Major Junior Hockey League announced the 2016-17 regular season schedule today.

Your Halifax Mooseheads will begin the season on the road yet again, travelling to Moncton to take on the Wildcats on September 23 at 7pm. Luckily we won't have to wait until October to see hockey at the Scotiabank Centre as the home opener for the Herd is the next night with a matchup versus the Saint John Sea Dogs.

Some highlights from the schedule:

• In an interesting scheduling quirk, the Moose are set to welcome the Gatineau Olympiques on Thanksgiving Day (3pm) and host the Sherbrooke Phoenix on Remembrance Day (7pm). We may see special DND-themed jerseys during the game on November 11.
• Halifax will have it's first 3 games in 3 nights trip between October 14 and October 16. This also happens to be the first Quebec trip of the season too and the team will visit Shawinigan, Blainville and Victoriaville during the weekend.
• For a third straight year, your Herd will host a game on New Year's Eve. This year it will be apart of the Battle of Nova Scotia event when Cape Breton visits Moose Country for a game currently scheduled at 2pm. The two teams will play in Sydney on December 30 at the normal 7pm.
• The Mooseheads will have it's longest road trip February 26-March 11 when they play 5 games away while the longest home stand is 3 games which happens 4 times.
• Halifax will finish the season on home ice, hosting 3 games to end the year. The fan appreciation game will be March 18 at 4pm. A full slate of 9 games will be played on this date.

Halifax have yet to announce their pre-season schedule or the dates of the annual events. The Moose said that they would announce the specialty games around the same time as the regular season schedule announcement so expect by the end of the week to get that info.