Around the CHL ~ volume #1 preview edition #10

The Canadian Hockey League regular season begins in less than 2 weeks 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 2021-22
WHL - Winnipeg Ice (East) 68 games played, 53-10-3-2 record, 111 points, 317 goals for/152 goals against; Edmonton Oil Kings (Central) 68 games played, 50-14-3-1 record, 104 points, 295 goals for/182 goals against; Everett Silvertips (U.S.) 68 games played, 45-13-5-5 record, 100 points, 280 goals for/190 goals against; Kamloops Blazers (B.C.) 68 games played, 48-17-3-0 record, 99 points, 287 goals for/176 goals against
OHL - Hamilton Bulldogs (East) 68 games played, 51-12-3-2 record, 107 points, 300 goals for/176 goals against; Windsor Spitfires (West) 68 games played, 44-17-4-3 record, 95 points, 305 goals for/248 goals against; North Bay Battalion (Central) 68 games played, 43-18-3-4 record, 93 points, 267 goals for/198 goals against; London Knights (Midwest) 68 games played, 39-22-5-2 record, 85 points, 299 goals for/211 goals against
QMJHL - Quebec Remparts (East) 68 games played, 51-15-2-0 record, 104 points, 302 goals for/175 goals against; Charlottetown Islanders (Maritimes) 68 games played, 48-13-7-0 record, 103 points, 283 goals for/179 goals against; Sherbrooke Phoenix (Central) 68 games, 46-17-2-3 record, 97 points, 274 goals for/202 goals against; Gatineau Olympiques (West) 68 games played, 39-15-11-3 record, 92 points, 248 goals for/193 goals against

League championships 2022
President's Cup - Charlottetown Islanders vs. Shawinigan Cataractes (Cataractes won series 4 games to 1 game)
J. Ross Robertson Cup - Hamilton Bulldogs vs. Windsor Spitfires (Bulldogs won series 4 games to 3 games)
Ed Chynoweth Cup - Edmonton Oil Kings vs. Seattle Thunderbirds (Oil Kings won series 4 games to 2 games)

Memorial Cup 2022
Teams - Edmonton (WHL champion), Hamilton (OHL champion), Saint John (hosts) and Shawinigan (QMJHL champion)

Final June 25, 2022 Saint John vs. Shawinigan 5-3

SAINT JOHN SEA DOGS WIN 2022 MEMORIAL CUP!!!



Saint John will look to repeat as Memorial Cup champions but they'll have a difficult time with more than half of the roster from the 2022 championship team moving on. This year the Memorial Cup will be held in Kamloops, home of the Kamloops Blazers who will be in the tournament no matter what. Prospects will look to continue impressing scouts as some will be eligible to be invited to World Junior camps in early December, which will most likely include at least one Halifax Moosehead as the city is co-hosting the tournament. 

Top Herd

Now that the regular season is over and we're in the midst of the playoffs, I thought I would announce who the overall Top Herd is for this year. Once again, I asked you my readers for your opinion and vote on a poll which is now closed.  

And the winner is.....

Jordan Dumais

Probably no surprise but Jordan Dumais was the clear winner for the Top Herd even though as you can see below, he was named in game 3 times - a tie with Zachary L'Heureux. Dumais had a great season and led the team with 109 points in 2021-22, which is now the franchise record for most points by a 17-year-old. The Ile Bizard, QC native is in his draft year and will be most likely be back in Moose Country for a couple of more seasons so he could get even better. 

Here is the list of my Top Herd that I have done this season. I didn't name one every game.
Oct 2      Cape Breton - Brady James
Oct 15    Shawinigan - Jordan Dumais
Oct 28    Moncton - Mathis Rousseau
Nov 11   Acadie-Bathurst - Bobby Orr
Nov 26   Rouyn-Noranda - Zachary L'Heureux
Nov 27   Blainville - Brady Schultz
Dec 9     Drummondville - Zachary L'Heureux
Dec 11    Victoriaville - Markus Vidicek
Feb 21    Moncton - Jake Furlong
Feb 24    Saint John - Zachary L'Heureux
Mar 1     Cape Breton - Zack Jones
Mar 8     Charlottetown - Brady James
Mar 10   Sherbrooke - Elliot Desnoyers
Mar 12   Chicoutimi - Evan Boucher
Apr 2      Charlottetown - Markus Vidicek
Apr 8      Moncton - Jordan Dumais
Apr 12    Acadie-Bathurst - Mathis Rousseau
Apr 22    Rimouski - Elliot Desnoyers
Apr 23    Baie-Comeau - Jordan Dumais

Here are the final poll results
Zachary L'Heureux - 0%, Jordan Dumais - 81%, Mathis Rousseau - 5%, Elliot Desnoyers - 14%

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)

West division
Blainville-Boisbriand 2 games 1-1-0-0 {5-4OT, 4-7}
Gatineau 2 games 0-2-0-0 {2-3, 1-4}
Rouyn-Noranda 2 games 1-1-0-0 {1-5, 5-2}
Val-d'Or 2 games 1-1-0-0 {2-5, 5-3}

Central division
Drummondville 2 games 2-0-0-0 {4-3OT, 8-3}
Shawinigan 2 games 1-1-0-0 {6-4, 4-5}
Sherbrooke 2 games 0-2-0-0 {4-6, 2-7}
Victoriaville 2 games 2-0-0-0 {6-5, 7-3}

East division
Baie-Comeau 2 games 1-1-0-0 {2-5, 5-3}
Chicoutimi 2 games 1-1-0-0 {3-2OT, 3-5}
Quebec 2 games 0-2-0-0 {2-3, 5-13}
Rimouski 2 games 2-0-0-0 {7-5, 6-2}

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

Monthly records
October 11 games ~ 6-4-0-1 record overall, 4-2-0-1 home, 2-2-0-0 away
November 11 games ~ 6-4-1-0 record overall, 3-1-0-0 home, 3-3-1-0 away
December 8 games ~ 5-3-0-0 record overall, 3-1-0-0 home, 2-2-0-0 away
February 10 games ~ 6-4-0-0 record overall, 2-1-0-0 home, 4-3-0-0 away
March 15 games ~ 4-11-0-0 record overall, 2-7-0-0 home, 2-4-0-0 away
April 12 games ~ 10-2-0-0 record overall, 5-2-0-0 home, 5-0-0-0 away
May 1 game ~ 1-0-0-0 record overall, 0-0-0-0 home, 1-0-0-0 away

Overtime/shootout records
OT ~ six overtime win, one overtime loss
SO ~ one shootout win, one shootout loss

Around the CHL ~ volume #2 season edition #13

Two of the leagues have wrapped up their regular seasons so here are the winners and leaders as of today. With another wave of COVID back in January, the QMJHL postponed quite a bit of their season meaning that they are finishing two weeks later than the OHL and WHL. The 2022 playoffs begin on Thursday for the latter two while our Halifax Mooseheads and the rest of the league will get going in the post-season early May.  GO Moose GO!

League leaders
Goals - Luke Evangelista 55 goals (OHL London Knights), William Dufour 52 goals (QMJHL Saint John Sea Dogs), Ben King 52 goals (WHL Red Deer Rebels)
Assists - Lucas Edmonds 79 assists (OHL Kinston Frontenacs), Arshdeep Bains 69 assists (WHL Red Deer Rebels), Riley Kidney 65 assists (QMJHL Acadie-Bathurst Titan)
Points - Wyatt Johnston 124 points (OHL Windsor Spitfires), Arshdeep Bains 112 points (WHL Red Deer Rebels), William Dufour 109 points (QMJHL Saint John Sea Dogs)
Defenceman points - Olen Zellweger 78 points (WHL Everett Silvertips), Miguel Tourigny 75 points (QMJHL Acadie-Bathurst Titan), Nathan Staios 66 points (OHL Hamilton Bulldogs)
Rookie points - Matthew Savoie 90 points (WHL Winnipeg ICE), David Goyette 73 points (OHL Sudbury Wolves), Jakub Brabenec 58 points (QMJHL Charlottetown Islanders)
Goalie wins - Luke Cavallin 36 wins (OHL Flint Firebirds), Daniel Hauser 34 wins (WHL Winnipeg ICE), Thomas Couture 26 wins (QMJHL Saint John Sea Dogs)
Save percentage - Taylor Gauthier 0.928 SAV% (WHL Portland Winterhawks), Marco Constantini 0.917 SAV% (OHL Hamilton Bulldogs), Samuel Richard 0.915 SAV% (QMJHL Rouyn-Noranda Huskies)
Goals against average - Daniel Hauser 2.00 GAA (WHL Winnipeg ICE), Marco Costantini 2.32 GAA (OHL Hamilton Bulldogs), Fabio Iacobo 2.40 GAA (QMJHL Quebec Remparts)

Division leaders
WHL - Winnipeg ICE 111 points/53 wins (East division), Edmonton Oil Kings 104 points/50 wins (Central division), Everett Silvertips 100 points/45 wins (U.S. division), Kamloops Blazers 99 points/48 wins (B.C. division)
OHL - Hamilton Bulldogs 107 points/51 wins (East division), Windsor Spitfires 95 points/44 points (West division), North Bay Battalion 93 points/43 points (Central division), London Knights 85 points/39 wins (Midwest division)
QMJHL - Quebec Remparts 94 points/46 wins (East division), Charlottetown Islanders 93 points/43 wins (Maritimes division), Sherbrooke Phoenix 86 points/41 wins (Central division), Gatineau Olympiques 81 points/34 wins (West division)

BMO CHL top ten ~ week 25
1. Hamilton Bulldogs {51-12-3-2} week 24 #1
2. Winnipeg ICE {53-10-3-2} week 24 #2
3. Edmonton Oil Kings {50-14-3-1} week 24 #3
4. Quebec Remparts {46-15-2-0} week 24 #6
5. Saint John Sea Dogs {42-17-1-3} week 24 #9
6. Windsor Spitfires {44-17-4-3} week 24 #4
7. Charlottetown Islanders {43-12-7-0} week 24 #7
8. North Bay Battalion {43-18-3-4} week 24 #8
9. Everett Silvertips {45-13-5-5} week 24 #5
10. Portland Winterhawks {47-16-3-2} week 24 HM
Honorable mentions: Kamloops Blazers {48-17-3-0 #10}, Sherbrooke Phoenix {41-17-2-2 HM}, Red Deer Rebels {45-19-2-2 n/a}


Note: the Gatineau Olympiques have the most extra time losses with 13 so far (11OTL/2SOL) while the Saginaw Spirit have the least with just one overtime loss. Also, despite being the only champions last year with a President Cup, the Victoriaville Tigres finds themselves in jeopardy of not making the playoffs.

Around the CHL ~ volume #2 season edition #12

It's another weird season because of the coronavirus and with all three leagues back in play once again, let's check out who leads in different categories around the CHL. The regular season has been extended, mainly in the QMJHL meaning teams have played anywheres from 30 to 46 games so far. Check back in a couple of months to see who finishes the season on top. GO Moose GO!

League leaders
Goals - Luke Evangelista 34 goals (OHL London Knights), Ben King 34 goals (WHL Red Deer Rebels), William Dufour 28 goals (QMJHL Saint John Sea Dogs)
Assists - Wyatt Johnston 47 assists (OHL Windsor Spitfires), Arshdeep Bains 42 assists (WHL Red Deer Rebels), Xavier Simoneau 38 assists (QMJHL Charlottetown Islanders)
Points - Rory Kerins 73 points (OHL Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds), Kyle Crnkovic 66 points (WHL Saskatoon Blades), William Dufour 58 points (QMJHL Saint John Sea Dogs)
Defenceman points - Clay Hanus 44 points (WHL Portland Winterhawks), Brandt Clarke 43 points (OHL Barrie Colts), Jeremie Poirier 36 points (QMJHL Saint John Sea Dogs)
Rookie points - Matthew Savoie 55 points (WHL Winnipeg Ice), Jakub Brabenec 35 points (QMJHL Charlottetown Islanders), Ty Nelson 33 points (OHL North Bay Battalion)
Goalie wins - Dyland Garand 24 wins (WHL Kamloops Blazers), Brett Brochu 23 wins (OHL London Knights), Ivan Zhigalov 15 wins (QMJHL Sherbrooke Phoenix)
Save percentage - Taylor Gauthier 0.934 SAV% (WHL Portland Winterhawks), Joe Ranger 0.929 SAV% (OHL Mississauga Steelheads), William Rousseau 0.916 SAV% (QMJHL Quebec Remparts)
Goals against average - Joe Ranger 1.92 GAA (OHL Mississauga Steelheads), Dylan Garand 2.00 GAA (WHL Kamloops Blazers), William Rousseau 2.10 GAA (QMJHL Quebec Remparts)

Division leaders
WHL - Everett Silvertips 70 points/33 wins (U.S. division), Edmonton Oil Kings 67 points/32 wins (Central division), Kamloops Blazers 63 points/31 wins (B.C. division), Winnipeg Ice 61 points/29 wins (East division)
OHL - Mississauga Steelheads 61 points/28 wins (Central division), Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds 53 points/24 wins (West division), Hamilton Bulldogs 52 points/24 wins (East division), London Knights 51 points/25 wins (Midwest division)
QMJHL - Charlottetown Islanders 52 points/25 wins (Maritimes division), Quebec Remparts 45 points/22 wins (East division), Sherbrooke Phoenix 45 points/21 wins (Central division), Gatineau Olympiques 41 points/18 wins (West division)

BMO CHL top ten ~ week 15
1. Winnipeg ICE {38-4-2-1} week 14 #1
2. Everett Silvertips {37-7-1-1} week 14 #3
3. Charlottetown Islanders {35-8-1-1} week 14 #4
4. Edmonton Oil Kings {34-10-2-1} week 14 #2
5. Portland Winterhawks {31-11-2-2} week 14 #5
6. Kamloops Blazers {32-11-2-3} week 14 #8
7. Hamilton Bulldogs {30-11-1-4} week 14 HM
8. Sherbrooke Phoenix {29-12-1-3} week 14 #10
9. London Knights {30-13-0-2} week 14 n/a
10. Quebec Remparts {31-12-1-3} week 14 #7
Honorable mentions: Kingston Frontenacs {30-14-2-3 #9}, Mississauga Steelheads {28-16-1-0 #6}, Moose Jaw Warriors {26-14-1-4 n/a}

Q Plan To Return Feb. 3

The Quebec Major Junior Hockey League announced today that they plan to return to play on February 3. 

According to the press release, the league's objective remains to play a full 68 game regular season schedule. The revised schedule will be released on Monday with remaining games being played between Feb. 3 and May 1. Capacity restrictions for every rink will be determined by each province's Public Health guidelines. 

Our Halifax Mooseheads tweeted that they will restart the schedule on a road trip due to the current restrictions in place in Nova Scotia until February 14. Fans will be notified of further information regarding home games as it becomes available. 

The 2022 President Cup playoffs format will be announced at a later date but they will begin on May 5 and conclude no later than June 15. With a later playoffs, a new schedule for the 2022 Memorial Cup will also be released in the upcoming weeks. 

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

Herd Announce 2021-22 Roster

The 2021-22 regular season roster features 2 goaltenders, 7 defenceman and 15 forwards. A total of nine rookies are on the roster including the Herd's first 4 selections in the 2021 QMJHL draft. 

YOUR 2021-22 HALIFAX MOOSEHEADS

3  Dylan MacKinnon  D  Riverview, NB*
5  Brady Schultz  D  Monroe, CT, USA*
6  Markus Vidicek  C  Kirkland, QC
9  Attilio Biasca  LW  Zug, Switzerland*
10  Mathieu Cataford C  Saint-Constant, QC*
11  Jordan Dumais  RW  L-ile-Bizard, QC
12  William Robitaille  LW  Levis, QC*
14  Logan Crosby  LW  Salt Springs, NS
15  Alexandre Tessier  D  Mirabel, QC*
16  James Swan  LW  Ville St-Laurent, QC
17  Cameron Whynot  D  Kentville, NS
21  Zachary Beauregard  C  Repentigny, QC
23  Landon Miron  RW  Halifax, NS
28  Stephen Davis  D  Hingham, MA, USA
33  Brady James  G  Beaconsfield, QC*
42  Zack Jones  C  Bridgewater, MA, USA
43  Jake Furlong  D  Upper Tantallon, NS
60  Mathis Rousseau  G  Boisbriand, QC*
66  Zachary L'Heureux  LW  Mercier, QC
74  David Lafrance  D  Orleans, ON
82  Senna Peeters  RW  Deurne, Belguim
88  Robert Orr  RW  Beaconsfield, QC
91  Elliot Desnoyers  C  Saint-Hyacinthe, QC
92  Vincent Gauthier  RW  St-Zotique, QC*

*indicates rookie

If there are changes when the team does make the official announcement, I will update this post. 

Events

The Halifax Mooseheads have announced their promotional schedule for the 2021-22 regular season and there are a change to one of the yearly charity events. Pink in the Rink will not be played in October like normal, instead it is being replaced by a Mooseheads Fights Cancer night. The full list of promotional nights can be found in the schedule tab above but below you will find the yearly charity events.

HOME OPENER - October 2 vs. Cape Breton Eagles
Teddy Bear Toss - December 17 vs. Charlottetown Islanders
Battle of Nova Scotia - December 31 vs. Cape Breton Eagles
DND Appreciation Night - January 21 vs. Quebec Remparts 
Mooseheads Fight Cancer - February 18 vs. Saint John Sea Dogs
Fan Appreciation Night - April 2 vs. Charlottetown Islanders

Schedule for 21-22 Season Announced

Photo - QMJHL website

Our Halifax Mooseheads released their 2021-22 regular season schedule today. 

After a shortened schedule last season because of the coronavirus, the QMJHL has gone back to 68 games with matches against all teams. Canada is hoping to open provincial borders later this summer which will be great for everyone. 

Just like the previous year, Halifax will begin the season in Cape Breton against the Eagles on October 1st with the puck dropping at 7pm. 

Other highlights include:

• The home opener will be played the next night versus the Eagles to finish the home-and-home series for the provincial rivals. Puck drops at 7pm. Hopefully it will be a packed house. 
• Halifax will host the Shawinigan Cataractes on October 15 and it will be the first matchup against a Quebec-based team in a year and a half. 
• The first Quebec road trip is scheduled for November 18-21 when the Mooseheads will take on the Val-d'Or Foreurs, Rouyn-Noranda Huskies and Gatineau Olympiques. 
• Our boys will once again play on New Year's Eve to take on the Cape Breton Eagles at 2pm. You'll be able to cheer on the Herd then go out to ring in 2022. 
• A later start to the regular season means a later finish too and Halifax will welcome the Charlottetown Islanders in the season finale on April 2nd in a matinee match. Puck drops at 3pm. 

The team will release its pre-season schedule and events over the next few months.