Import rookies propel Halifax to DND win

Mensonen's goal celebration
Photo - Ashley Hennigar

Well it was quite the night for the import rookies who helped lead the Halifax Mooseheads to a 5-3 victory over the Cape Breton Eagles on DND Appreciation Night. Russian Oleg Kulebiakin added onto his team leading point totals by scoring twice and helping on another Saturday night while Imatra, Finland native Jasu Mensonen also had 3 points (1 goal & 2 assists) as both players received stars of the game honours. The game began with a ceremonial puck drop from a couple of Canadian Armed Forces members and another signing O Canada. Fans weren't too happy about midway through the first period as a Herd player got interfered with and there was no call on the play but the referees did make a call on a similar play late in the frame which led to Will Bent scoring the opening goal on the power play. Halifax kept on going in the second, getting out to a 3-0 lead halfway through the period but the lead after 40 minutes would only be 3-2. Kulebiakin's two goals happened in the third extending the lead with his 8th of the season (goal #2 in game) being scored during the Needs Minute It to Win It giveaway so someone went home with $6,300 in Needs gift cards. The 'pot' had grown since at least late in the 2023-24 season. Surprisingly, Cape Breton did not have a power play opportunity during the match while the Moose had just one. 

FINAL: Eagles 3 at Mooseheads 5
Stars: 3. Lewis Gendron CAP | 2. Jasu Mensonen HAL | 1. Oleg Kulebiakin HAL 
Attendance: 8,397 

GAME LOG
First period
17:13 HAL William Bent (2), PP | A: Kennedy & L'Italien 

Second period 
6:25 HAL Jasu Mensonen (3) | A: Kulebiakin & Carrier
9:41 HAL Caylen Blake (4) | A: None
18:00 CAP Lewis Gendron (2) | A: Burke & De Ladurantaye
19:08 CAP Samuel Rocca (3) | A: Peitzsche & Hartlin

Third period 
2:15 HAL Oleg Kulebiakin (7) | A: Mensonen 
10:29 HAL Oleg Kulebiakin (8) | A: Mensonen & Kilfoil
14:09 CAP Romain Litalien (2) | A: Gendron

Powerplay: CAP - 0-for-0; HAL - 1-for-1
Shots: 35-25 in favour of Halifax

Did not play - Alec Nesreddine (healthy), Lincoln Waugh (injured), Justin Chiras (healthy) & Antoine Fontaine (injured)

Next game
The Halifax Mooseheads will head out for a 5 game road trip starting tomorrow in Moncton against the Wildcats. Game time is 3 p.m.

Pre-season Game vs Cape Breton

Opponent: Cape Breton Eagles
Where: St. Margaret's Centre
When: August 20, 2025
Time: 7:00pm
Tickets: $18.50

Cape Breton Eagles
Pre-season record: 1-0-0-0, 2pts
Goals for: 3
Goals against: 0
Head coach: Sylvain Couturier
Scoring leader: Jacob Hartlin (1G & 1A)

Halifax Mooseheads
Pre-season record: 0-1-0-0, 0pts
Goals for: 0
Goals against: 3
Head coach: Brad MacKenzie
Scoring leader: n/a

Notes

• This is the second of 4 games between these provincial rivals during the pre-season, Cape Breton took the first game last night in Sydney 3-0. 
• Here is Halifax's roster for tonight - it's a mix of veterans and 2025 draft picks 

• You can watch the game on the Mooseheads YouTube channel. 
• Roster moves will most likely be made tonight but announced tomorrow morning. 
• Tickets are sold out for this evening which is not surprising since there's only 1,000 seats.

Herd Move Rousseau, Crosby at Deadline

The Halifax Mooseheads made a couple of moves in the 11th hour of the winter trade period. Not surprisingly, Halifax traded goaltender Mathis Rousseau to the Moncton Wildcats along with forward Logan Crosby late Monday morning in exchange for overage netminder Jacob Steinman plus three draft picks (Rd 2 2025, Rd 2 2026, Rd 4 2026). 

Photo - AMH Photography

Rousseau was drafted by the Mooseheads in 2020 61st overall and made his debut during the 2021-22 season. He will be remembered as one of the best goalies to play for Halifax, securing 93 career wins during his time with the club and scoring the only goalie goal in franchise history on October 20, 2023. The 20-year-old finishes his time in Moose Country with 155 games played, a 2.74 goals against average and 0.912 save percentage over 3 and a half seasons. 

Photo - Saltwire

Crosby, a native of Salt Springs, NS, picked up 22 goals and 58 points in 163 games played for Halifax after being drafted by the team 20th overall at the 2021 QMJHL draft. The two players will join former teammates Dylan MacKinnon and Markus Vidicek on the Wildcats team who are looking to win the ultimate championship this season. Moncton currently sits on top of the league standings with 60 points and are on a 8 game win streak. 

"Mathis has done everything and more that we could have ever expected him to in a Mooseheads jersey. These decisions are never easy, but we wanted to give him a chance at winning a championship while helping our team get better for the future. We wish him and Logan the best of luck in Moncton," Russell said. 

A Toronto, ON native, Steinman leads the QMJHL with 22 wins so far this season and has been a solid goaltender in each of his 3 years after signing as a free agent with the Wildcats in 2022. He is near the top in all goalie statistical categories. 

Photo - Puck Preps

In a separate trade, the Herd acquired Callum Aucoin from the Cape Breton Eagles for a 2025 9th round draft pick. Aucoin, a native of Hammonds Plains, NS, has 16 points in 79 games played for the Eagles. The 18-year-old was drafted by the other Nova Scotian team in the 4th round in 2022. 

Good luck to Mathis and Logan with their new team and thank you for your time with Halifax. Welcome to Moose Country Jacob and Callum, I suspect we will see both in the lineup on Thursday. 

Game Day 33: at Cape Breton

Well we are officially in the second half of the regular season as game 33 will see our Halifax Mooseheads visit their provincial rivals, the Cape Breton Eagles on a rare Monday evening. Halifax didn't start the post-holiday break portion on a good foot being defeated by Bathurst on Saturday night and will hope to get back in the win column this evening. The Mooseheads have scored the least amount of goals this season with only 74 but the Eagles haven't hit triple digits either as they sit at 97 goals. Cape Breton is led in scoring by Sambro, NS native Jacob Newcombe who missed the first half of the 2023-24 season after being diagnosed with cancer and was named captain of the Eagles in September. It's retro night in Sydney in front of a sold out crowd. 

Game coverage
TV: Webcast | Radio: News 95.7 | Live: @HFXMooseheads

Overall records
Mooseheads: 11-16-5-0 = 27 points (5th in Maritimes division, 14th overall)
Eagles: 14-14-3-1 = 32 points (3rd in Maritimes division, 11th overall)

Leading scorers
CAP: Jacob Newcombe 29pts (14G & 15A), Lewis Gendron 27pts (11G & 16A), Cam Squires 27pts (13G & 14A)
HAL: Liam Kilfoil 22pts (10G & 12A), Quinn Kennedy 17pts (12G & 5A), Shawn Carrier 16pts (6G & 10A)

Head-to-head
Halifax is 1-1-1-0 against the Eagles this season while Cape Breton has a 2-1-0-0 record versus the Mooseheads. The two clubs met on November 22 with the home Eagles winning 7-3, Antoine Fontaine led the Herd in the loss recording a goal & an assist. 

Out of town
Armada vs. Remparts - 8:00 p.m.

Next game
These two provincial rivals will meet again tomorrow to close out 2024 in Halifax. Puck drops at 2 p.m. 

Round 1 Schedule is Out

The road to the newly named Gilles Courteau Trophy begins on Friday around the league. 

After another interesting season that ended on a high note for our Halifax Mooseheads picking up their 50th win of the season, the Herd finished second in the league. The QMJHL announced yesterday the full schedule for round 1 of the 2023 playoffs. It will be a Battle of Nova Scotia series as our Mooseheads will take on the seventh place Cape Breton Eagles. The league has gone back to a best-of-seven series for all four rounds with this one being the normal 2-2-1-1-1 format. 

Find the schedule of the Eagles-Mooseheads series below:

Game 1  Friday March 31 @ 7:00pm at Scotiabank Centre
Game 2  Saturday April 1 @ 7:00pm at Scotiabank Centre
Game 3  Tuesday April 4 @ 7:00pm at Centre 200
Game 4  Wednesday April 5 @ 7:00pm at Centre 200
*Game 5  Friday April 7 @ 7:00pm at Scotiabank Centre
*Game 6  Sunday April 9 @ 4:00pm at Centre 200
*Game 7  Tuesday April 11 @ 7:00pm at Scotiabank Centre

*if necessary 

Single game tickets for Games 1 and 2 are already on sale and can be purchased at the Scotiabank Centre Box Office or online at ticketatlantic.com. 

Halifax to Face Provincial Rivals

Photo - Herd website

For the first time since 2008, the Halifax Mooseheads will take on their provincial rivals the Cape Breton Eagles in the playoffs as they fight for the 2023 Gilles Courteau Trophy. 

Once again, it took until the last day of the regular season to figure out the playoff opponents but after losing to Cape Breton on Friday night, Halifax was gauranteed the 2nd seed in the Eastern conference. Going into Saturday, Cape Breton and the Baie-Comeau Drakkar were tied with points and a loss by the Eagles followed by a win for Baie-Comeau meant it would be a Battle of Nova Scotia match up in the first round. 

Cape Breton finished the regular season with a record of 30-34-3-1 for 64 points while Halifax finished with a record of 50-11-4-3 for 107 points. The Mooseheads won the season series against the Eagles, going 6-2-1-0 during the year. Like I said above, Cape Breton won the last meeting between the two clubs, 2-1 on Friday with Markus Vidicek scoring the only goal for Halifax.

As division champs, Halifax will host the first two games as well as games 5 and 7, if necessary. Game 1 will be Friday March 31 with the puck dropping at 7:00 pm Atlantic time. 

Single tickets for Games 1 and 2 are already on sale and you can buy them online at ticketatlantic.com, in-person at the Scotiabank Centre box office or by phone at (902)-451-1121. 

Stay tuned to Moose Country for more playoff details and game previews.  

Gameday 58: vs. Cape Breton

PREVIEW - We are into March already which means that playoffs are just around the corner but there are still 10 games remaining in the regular season. Our Halifax Mooseheads will look to finish the regular season strong and it continues tonight as the Cape Breton Eagles come to town. The Herd have already locked up a playoff position as well as the Maritimes division title. In November, I did not think I would be saying that in March. Despite the 37 point gap between these two teams, I expect that it will not be an easy game for the home team as Cape Breton is fighting for a playoff spot still. Tonight's matchup will be a special one as Halifax will be wearing military themed jerseys for DND Appreciation Night. Mooseheads forward Jordan Dumais is running away with the points title with 112 points currently which is more than what he had a season ago, but is followed by teammate Alexandre Doucet in the race. Doucet, who signed an NHL contract earlier this week, showed the Detroit Red Wings that they made a smart decision as he recorded a hat trick and an assist on Thursday night in his first game after the signing. 

Game coverage
TV: Webcast | Radio: News 95.7 | Live: @HFXMooseheads | Post-game: Halifax Mooseheads

Overall records
Mooseheads: 41-9-4-3 = 89 points (1st in Maritimes division, 2nd overall)
Eagles: 24-29-3-1 = 52 points (4th in Maritimes division, 14th overall)

Leading scorers
CAP: Ivan Ivan 73pts (26G & 47A), Samuel Johnson 66pts (31G & 35A), Cam Squires 49pts (22G & 27A)
HAL: Jordan Dumais 112pts (44G & 68A), Alexandre Doucet 93pts (48G & 45A), Josh Lawrence 90pts (40G & 50A)

Head-to-head
Halifax is 5-1-1-0 against the Eagles this season while Cape Breton has a 2-4-1-0 record versus the Mooseheads. The last game between the two clubs was on January 28 where the Mooseheads won 4-1 on home ice as five players had two point games. 

Not playing
Brady James is out with an illness

Out of town
Titan vs. Sea Dogs - 3:00 p.m.
Sagueneens vs. Wildcats - 5:00 p.m.
Cataractes vs. Islanders - 5:00 p.m.
Phoenix vs. Remparts - 7:00 p.m.
Oceanic vs. Olympiques - 8:00 p.m.
Huskies vs. Tigres - 8:00 p.m.

After the buzzer
Halifax will welcome the Acadie-Bathurst Titan tomorrow evening in a make-up match from the February 17 game. Puck drops at 4:00 p.m.

Big Win in CB to End 2022

Photo - Eagles website

Our Halifax Mooseheads might have been on the road but did they ever end 2022 in a big way! With the 2023 World Juniors being played at the Scotiabank Centre to end the calendar year, the Mooseheads played back-to-back games in Sydney against the Cape Breton Eagles. Halifax lost the first match this weekend but Mathis Rousseau was not going to let his team lose two in a row. Recently acquired forward Josh Lawrence continued to prove that Cam Russell and co. made the right decision as he recorded 7 points on Saturday afternoon as the Herd won 11-3. Zachary L'Heureux also continued to rack up points since his return as he opened the scoring and finished the game with four points. Eagles overager Ivan Ivan tied it up at 1 at the 10:07 mark and he scored again early in the second period which made it 3-2 for the road team at that point. The Mooseheads would go on to score 8 straight goals to extend their lead with Lawrence scoring his hat trick goal with just over two and a half minutes remaining in the middle frame. Surprisingly, only one of the 11 goals Halifax scored were on the man advantage but they did have just 3 power plays during the game. 

FINAL: Mooseheads 11 at Eagles 3
Stars: 3. Jordan Dumais HAL | 2. Zachary L'Heureux HAL | 1. Josh Lawrence HAL
Attendance: 2,140

GAME LOG
First period
6:19 HAL Zachary L'Heureux (12) | A: Lawrence & MacKinnon
10:07 CAP Ivan Ivan (11) | A: Squires & Johnson
14:39 HAL Jake Furlong (4) | A: Doucet & Cataford
18:40 HAL Josh Lawrence (17) | A: L'Heureux

Second period 
0:22 CAP Ivan Ivan (12) | A: Johnson & Lavoie
3:25 HAL Josh Lawrence (18), PP | A: Whynot
7:31 HAL Jordan Dumais (26) | A: L'Heureux & Vidicek
13:14 HAL Cameron Whynot (3) | A: Lawrence & Furlong
17:28 HAL Josh Lawrence (19) | A: L'Heureux 

Third period
0:56 HAL Jordan Dumais (27) | A: Schultz & Vidicek
4:42 HAL Mathieu Cataford (21) | A: Lawrence & Whynot
11:51 HAL Alexandre Doucet (31) | A: Dumais & Vidicek
12:36 HAL Josh Lawrence (20) | A: MacKinnon
18:21 CAP Luke Patterson (8) | A: None

Shots: 43-27 in favour of Halifax 
Powerplay: HAL - 1-for-3, CAP - 0-for-2

SCORES
Acadie-Bathurst 2 at Charlottetown 3
Moncton 4 at Saint John 1
Sherbrooke 5 at Quebec 2
Drummondville 5 at Rimouski 4
Val-d'Or 0 at Rouyn-Noranda 8
Baie-Comeau 6 at Chicoutimi 5 OT
Shawinigan 2 at Victoriaville 5
Gatineau 5 at Blainville-Boisbriand 4

Missing in action: Attilio Biasca (WJC) and David Moravec (WJC)

Up next: Halifax will continue their road trip with their first game of 2023 against the Sea Dogs in Saint John on January 6

Game Day 1: vs Cape Breton

PREVIEW - After being delayed for a week because of Hurricane Fiona, our Halifax Mooseheads will have their home opener finally this evening as they welcome the Cape Breton Eagles to the Scotiabank Centre. It's the first game for both teams during the 2022-23 regular season as the storm created a number of postponements the past seven days. Halifax will be debuting their new look tonight in front of the Moose Country faithful, who have had mixed feelings about the updated logo. The Mooseheads should have a full roster Saturday as forwards Jordan Dumais, the team's leading scorer last year, and Zachary L'Heureux were returned to the club by their respective NHL teams in the last 48 hours. The team is expected to be a Cup contender this season and will have a few new players in the line-up which includes import defenseman David Moravec and free-agent forward Brody Fournier. Cape Breton's top point getter Ivan Ivan is back this year for the Eagles as an assistant captain after spending time at Detroit Red Wings camp. The Eagles are predicted to finish in the lower part of the standings and have quite a different roster than they did in 2021-22 including a new head coach in Jon Goyens. Despite all this, the battle of Nova Scotia matches are always an exciting time so get ready to rock the arena as the Herd kick off their season. 

Game coverage
TV: Webcast | Radio: News 95.7 | Live: @MC_MooseCountry | Post-game: Halifax Mooseheads

Overall records
Mooseheads: 0-0-0-0 = 0 points (3rd in Maritimes division, 12th overall)
Eagles: 0-0-0-0 = 0 points (5th in Maritimes division, 14th overall)

Leading scorers
CAP: n/a
HAL: n/a

Head-to-head
Like I said this is the first game between these two this season. During 2021-22, Halifax went 8-0-0-1 against the Eagles while Cape Breton had a 1-8-0-0 record versus the Mooseheads. The two clubs finished last season in Sydney on May 1 with Halifax coming on top 5-4 as Mathieu Cataford provided three assists in the win.

Not playing
Probably will be some healthy scratches

Out of town
Oceanic vs. Armada - 5:00 p.m.
Sagueneens vs. Drakkar - 5:00 p.m.
Phoenix vs. Foreurs - 5:00 p.m.
Sea Dogs vs. Wildcats - 7:00 p.m.
Titan vs. Islanders - 7:00 p.m.
Huskies vs. Cataractes - 8:00 p.m.
Olympiques vs. Remparts - 8:00 p.m.

After the buzzer
Halifax will head to New Brunswick to take on the Acadie-Bathurst Titan on Wednesday night. Puck drops at 7:00 p.m. 

Pre-season Game: at Cape Breton

Opponent: Cape Breton Eagles
Where: Glace Bay Miners Forum
When: August 23, 2022
Time: 7:00pm
Tickets: $5

Halifax Mooseheads
Preseason record: 0-0-0-0, 0pts
Goals for: 0
Goals against: 0
Head coach: Sylvain Favreau
Scoring leader: n/a
Leading goaltender: n/a

Cape Breton Screaming Eagles
Preseason record: 0-1-0-0, 0pts
Goals for: 2
Goals against: 6
Head coach: Jon Goyens
Scoring leader: Kiefer Avery (1G)
Leading goaltender: Xavier Farrah 0-1-0-0 

Notes

• This is the first game for our Halifax Mooseheads during the 2022 pre-season 
• Cape Breton posted that tonight’s game will not be broadcasted live 
• Rosters for the match have not been released but I suspect they will be filled with rookies
• The two teams will meet again tomorrow in Halifax 

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.

Halifax Get Weekend Sweep

Boy was it good to be back! I was unable to get tickets last season so even though this evening's game was just pre-season, it was nice to cheer for our Halifax Mooseheads live once again. The fans that were in attendance were treated to a pretty good game as the home team went on to win 4-3 over their provincial rivals, the Cape Breton Eagles. The away team came out harder on Saturday evening after getting defeated big time last night but Halifax was still just too strong. Cape Breton got on the board first with a power play goal by veteran Jeremy Langlois before sophomore Jordan Dumais tied the game up just over a minute later. Goaltender Brady James was forced to make some really nice saves during the game but both net-minders were tested the same as shots ended 29-29. Landon Miron picked up the game winning goal at the 7:36 mark of the third period on the power play. 

Game at a Glance
FINAL: Cape Breton 3 at Halifax 4
Cape Breton scorers: Jeremy Langlois, Dawson Stairs, Ivan Ivan
Halifax scorers: Jordan Dumais, Zack Jones, Zachary Beauregard, Landon Miron
Powerplay: CAP - 2/5, HAL - 1/3
Shots: Eagles - 29, Mooseheads - 29

Photo - Shawn Davidson

Pre-season Game vs. Cape Breton

Opponent: Cape Breton Eagles
Where: RBC Centre
When: August 24, 2021
Time: 7:00 p.m.

Cape Breton Eagles
Preseason record: 0-0-0-0, 0pts
Goals for: 0
Goals against: 0
Head coach: Jake Grimes
Scoring leader: n/a

Halifax Mooseheads
Preseason record: 0-0-0-0, 0pts
Goals for: 0
Goals against: 0
Head coach: Sylvain Favreau
Scoring leader: n/a

Notes

• This is the first pre-season match for both teams and continuing on from last season, these provincial rivals will see each other in 2021-22
• Halifax announced that it had trimmed their training camp roster by 3 this afternoon
• RBC Centre will host the game tonight and as such, fans will not be allowed to attend. You can watch the battle unfold on the club's Official YouTube page
• Cape Breton has put out their lineup for tonight's match while Halifax has not

L'Heureux Leads Halifax To Victory

Photo - Eagles Facebook

It was a night of firsts as our Halifax Mooseheads finally began the 2020-21 regular season in Cape Breton on Friday night. Three Herd players scored their 1st career goals this evening; Cole Foston, Markus Vidicek and James Swan all picked up markers to get on the scoresheet. Recently acquired Zachary L'Heureux hasn't lost the scoring touch he had in his rookie season despite being off for almost 7 months as he scored two goals to lead Halifax and was named the third star of the game, adding an assist as well. The match started off a little slow with the two teams heading to the locker room for the first intermission in a scoreless tie. Halifax opened the scoring at the 12:02 mark in the second with Foston putting it in but Cape Breton wasn't down for long as Liam Kidney tied it up exactly a minute later. The score would be 2-1 for the away team after 40 minutes but 1:40 into the final frame, Nathan Larose got one past Cole McLaren to knot the game at two goals a piece. It might've been only game one of the season but the rivalry was showing during the whole match and the players on the ice at the end of the 2nd period got into a heated scrum before skating off so Larose's goal was on the power play. Four goals were scored in the last 6 minutes and 10 seconds with L'Heureux scoring the game winning goal on a 2-on-1 unassisted before potting his second of the night in to the empty net with less then 2 minutes remaining. Liam Peyton would also score an empty net goal. 

FINAL: Halifax 6 at Cape Breton 2
Stars: 3. Zachary L'Heureux HAL | 2. Cole McLaren HAL | 1. Shawn Element CAP
Attendance: 0

Powerplay: HAL - 0-for-4, CAP - 1-for-5
Shots: 28-27 Halifax

NOT DRESSED - Justin Barron, Keegan Hunt, Alexandre David and Kyle Petten all out with injuries

SCORES
Saint John 3 at Acadie-Bathurst 4 OT
Charlottetown 4 at Moncton 2
Shawinigan 2 at Chicoutimi 5
Drummondville 5 at Rouyn-Noranda 3
Blainville-Boisbriand 8 at Sherbrooke 5
Gatineau 4 at Val-d'Or 3 OT
Rimouski 0 at Victoriaville 4

UP NEXT - Halifax and Cape Breton will head to Moose Country for a rematch tomorrow night. Puck drops at 7pm. 

Gameday #1: at Cape Breton

CAPE BRETON EAGLES VS HALIFAX MOOSEHEADS

October 2, 2020 at 7:00pm

TV: Webcast | Radio: News 95.7 | Live: @HFXMooseheads

Centre 200 ~ Sydney, NS

Welcome to the 2020-21 regular season! Our Halifax Mooseheads kick it off with a trip to Sydney and take on their provincial rivals the Cape Breton Eagles tonight. After 6 and a half long months in between regular season matches, the boys will be back on the ice and for the Maritime teams, in front of fans (although less than normal). The Mooseheads will dress five 16-year-olds this evening but don't think just because they are young, the club will be defeated easily this season. The competition will be fierce over the next few months as these two teams will face each other 12 times and play strictly in the Maritimes division because of COVID-19 protocols. Both clubs are missing some players, most notably international players who have yet been told that they can come to Canada. Cape Breton should be just as dangerous as they were in 2019-20 while Halifax are looking to improve on their last place finish and they should have the pieces to do so. Whether you're watching from the arena or somewhere else, the boys need our support and should put on a good show. Go Moose Go!!

Overall records
Mooseheads: 0-0-0-0 = 0 points (T-1st in Maritimes division, T-1st overall)
Eagles: 0-0-0-0 = 0 points (T-1st in Maritimes division, T-1st overall)

Leading scorers
CAP: n/a
HAL: n/a

Out of Town
Titan vs. Sea Dogs     7:00pm
Wildcats vs. Islanders     7:00pm
Sagueneens vs. Cataractes     8:00pm
Huskies vs. Voltigeurs     8:00pm
Phoenix vs. Armada     8:00pm
Foreurs vs. Olympiques     8:00pm
Tigres vs. Oceanic     8:00pm

After the Buzzer
The two teams will head to Halifax for the Mooseheads home opener tomorrow night. Puck drops at 7pm. 

Pre-season Game at Cape Breton

Our Halifax Mooseheads kick off their exhibition schedule tonight in a tilt against the Cape Breton Eagles.

Opponent: Cape Breton Eagles
Where: Centre 200
When: September 2, 2020
Time: 7:00pm

Halifax Mooseheads
Preseason record: 0-0-0-0, 0pts
Goals for: 0
Goals against: 0
Head coach: J.J. Daigneault
Scoring leader: n/a
Goaltending leader: n/a

Cape Breton Eagles
Preseason record: 0-0-0-0, 0pts
Goals for: 0
Goals against: 0
Head coach: Jake Grimes
Scoring leader: n/a
Goaltending leader: n/a

Notes

• This is both teams first pre-season game of the 2020 year
• Since there are no fans allowed, the Eagles will live stream the game on their YouTube channel
• Cam Russell said that they will probably not release any players until the weekend
• Below is the Mooseheads roster for tonight

Dec 28: Eagles vs. Mooseheads preview

CAPE BRETON EAGLES VS HALIFAX MOOSEHEADS

Puck drops at 4pm

TV: Webcast | Radio: News 95.7 | Live: @HFXMooseheads

Centre 200 (5,000) ~ Sydney, NS

It's game two of the annual Hurley Cup home and home series between the two Nova Scotian teams. Our Halifax Mooseheads head to Sydney to take on the Cape Breton Eagles this evening and will be hoping to rebound from a dismal game last night. Cape Breton is currently holding the last playoff spot but have been dominant versus the Mooseheads this season. Xavier Bouchard led the Eagles with a goal and 3 assists on Saturday evening as they defeated Halifax 7-1. It will be interesting to see who the Herd start in goal tonight, as despite letting in seven goals, Alex Gravel did play quite well and made it so the score was not higher. Gravel made 34 saves last night before being pulled. Halifax will need to be much better defensively after allowing almost 50 shots against. The 4th Hurley Cup will be awarded after the match, the Moose have won the last two while Cape Breton claimed the inaugural trophy.

Overall records
Mooseheads: 15-16-2-1 = 33pts (5th in Maritimes division, 13th overall)
Eagles: 18-13-2-1 = 39pts (3rd in Maritimes division, 8th overall)

Leading scorers
CAP: Egor Sokolov 51pts (24G & 27A), Ryan Francis 47pts (15G & 32A), Shawn Boudrias 39pts (19G& 20A)
HAL: Raphael Lavoie 44pts (18G & 26A), Kevin Gursoy 26pts (10G & 16A), Justin Barron 17pts (4G & 13A)

Out of Town
Islanders vs. Titan     3:00pm
Sea Dogs vs. Wildcats     3:00pm
Remparts vs. Sagueneens     4:00pm
Oceanic vs. Armada     4:00pm
Voltigeurs vs. Olympiques     4:00pm
Phoenix vs. Drakkar     4:00pm
Foreurs vs. Huskies     4:00pm
Tigres vs. Cataractes     5:00pm

After the Buzzer
Halifax will be back home for a New Year's Eve contest against the Saint John Sea Dogs. Puck drops at 2pm.

Provincial Revenge

Photo - Myles Dennis

Well if this was the last game that Moose Country will see Benoit-Olivier Groulx in a Mooseheads uniform, the 19-year-old certainly put on a show as a send off. Groulx recorded a hat trick on Friday night to lead Halifax to a 6-5 victory over their provincial rivals, the Cape Breton Eagles. Forward Maxim Trepanier got the boys off to a good start, scoring the first two goals of the game. It wouldn't have been possible if not for Alex Gravel stopping the 8 shots he faced before the home team even got one. Halifax would be up 2-0 after one period and Trepanier would have a number of chances at the beginning of middle frame. Exactly 9 minutes in to the second period, the bad guys got on the board with a goal by Shawn Boudrias. BO and Jeffrey Burridge scored later in the period but Egor Sokolov picked up his 22nd of the year before the intermission and the two clubs went to the dressing rooms with a 4-2 lead by the Herd. The third was back and forth and was intense in the final minutes with Groulx scoring on the empty net and Sokolov making it a one goal game with 30 seconds left.

FINAL: Eagles 5 at Mooseheads 6
Stars: 3. Felix Lafrence CAP | 2. Maxim Trepanier HAL | 1. Benoit-Olivier Groulx HAL
Attendance: 6,852
MC's Top Herd: n/a

Powerplay: CAP - 1-for-3; HAL - 2-for-5
Shots: 40-39 in favour of Halifax

NOT DRESSED - Justin Barron (injured), Marcel Barinka (WJA Challenge), Samuel Dube (injured) and Senna Peeters (IIHF Div I)

SCORES
Moncton 3 at Sherbrooke 6
Rimouski 10 at Val-d'Or 8
Shawinigan 2 at Blainville-Boisbriand 4
Acadie-Bathurst 2 at Chicoutimi 4
Saint John 5 at Drummondville 2
Ottawa 4 at Gatineau 0
Charlottetown 1 at Baie-Comeau 4

UP NEXT - The two clubs will meet again tomorrow evening in Sydney. Puck drops at 7pm.