Mensonen helps Herd get SO win

Rookie forward Jasu Mensonen has only played two matches but is showing that the North American game has not phased him. After scoring the lone goal in the season opener, the Imatra, Finland native got our Halifax Mooseheads on the board first in front of the fans at the Scotiabank Centre. He also scored the game winner to help the home team to a 5-4 shootout victory on Saturday night over the Charlottetown Islanders. It seemed like the Islanders were chasing the game but a two men advantage around the mid point of the first period gave the away team some life with Jude Herron scoring a PP goal and overage  forward Nathan Leek tied the natch up at 2 a few minutes later. Early in the middle frame, Quinn Kennedy gave Halifax back the lead. The Mooseheads looked to be in pretty control, outshooting Charlottetown 24-14 through 40 minutes. A short-handed goal by the Isles in the third tied the game again. Not very often do we see an extra frame in the home opener but we did tonight. A tripping penalty by rookie Oleg Kulebyakin had all the momentum in the overtime on the Islanders side as they outshot Halifax 6-0 but goaltender Owen Bresson stopped them all to send the match to a shootout. Mensonen was sent out as the second shooter and put it in while Kennedy also scored to secure the win for the good guys. 

FINAL: Islanders 4 at Mooseheads 5 SO
Stars: 3. Carlos Handel HAL | 2. Anthony Flanagan CHA | 1. Shawn Carrier HAL
Attendance: 8,205
MC's Top Herd: Quinn Kennedy

GAME LOG
First period
3:25 HAL Jasu Mensonen (2), PP | A: None
5:50 HAL William Bent (1) | A: None
10:01 CHA Jude Herron (1), PP | A: Chen & Watroba
13:41 CHA Nathan Leek (2) | A: Herron

Second period

0:59 HAL Quinn Kennedy (1) | A: Carrier & Kulebyakin

Third period
4:28 CHA Anthony Flanagan (1), SH | A: B. Peddle
14:34 HAL Shawn Carrier (1) | A: Doyle
15:09 CHA Anthony Flanagan (2) | A: Watroba 

Overtime
None

Shootout
HAL Bent        MISS           
CHA Flanagan         MISS
HAL Mensonen         GOAL       
CHA Campbell        MISS
HAL Kennedy       GOAL

Powerplay: CHA - 1-for-7; HAL 1-for-7
Shots: 41-26 in favour of Halifax

Did not play - Alec Nesreddine (healthy), Liam Kilfoil (NHL camp), Lincoln Waugh (injured), Junior Gualberto (healthy)

Next game
Halifax will welcome first overall pick Alexis Joseph and the Saint John Sea Dogs on Friday night. Puck drops at 7 p.m. 

Theme Nights

We've known the regular season schedule for our Halifax Mooseheads for a couple of months but now the team has released their list of promotional games that will take place during 2025-26. I'll highlight the more special/annual events happening below. 

Annual events
HOME OPENER - September 20 vs. Charlottetown Islanders
DND Appreciation Night - October 25 vs. Cape Breton Eagles     
Toque Toss - December 6 vs. Rouyn-Noranda Huskies    
Mooseheads Fight Cancer - February 13 vs. Moncton Wildcats
Fan Appreciation Night - March 6 vs. Cape Breton Eagles

See the full promotional schedule in the 'Schedule' tab. 

Rebuilding Moose Get Home Opener Win

Photo - Ashley Hennigar

Wow what a way to begin the new home schedule. Your Halifax Mooseheads collected another two points on Friday after defeating the Quebec Remparts 4-2 in the team's home opener. The over 8,700 fans in attendance got to see the new 'improvements' to the Scotiabank Centre that included light up poles between the glass of the boards, new scoreboard graphics and a gigantic moose head below the retired number banners. After the players were announced, which was nice to see in itself following a five game road trip, the game started off well. Cade Moser got the good guys on the board first at the 4:44 mark of the opening period. Quebec tied it up about 30 seconds later and that would be the score after 20 minutes. Neither team was able to put the puck in the net during the middle frame but Halifax did have some great chances with a few power plays and outshot the Remparts 13-4 in the second. The Mooseheads started the third period on the man advantage and Shawn Carrier used it to put the home team up 2-1. After making it 3-1 late in the frame, Quebec pulled their goalie and was able to squeeze one by Mathis Rousseau with 36 seconds remaining to make it close. So far this season, this team has not looked like a rebuilding team so that is great to see the boys being competitive - I struggled to name a Top Herd tonight. 

FINAL: Remparts 2 at Mooseheads 4
Stars: 3. Patrick McNab HAL | 2. Mathis Rousseau HAL | 1. Shawn Carrier HAL
Attendance: 8,709
MC's Top Herd: Shawn Carrier

GAME LOG
First period
4:44 HAL Cade Moser (3) | A: MacPhee & Doyle
5:15 QUE Justin Cote (5) | A: Morrison & Lebel

Second period

None

Third period
1:36 HAL Shawn Carrier (4), PP | A: Crosby & Kilfoil
15:35 HAL Lou Levesque (3) | A: Handel & Martin 
19:24 QUE Nathan Quinn (4) | A: Straka & Vigneault 
19:56 HAL Braeden MacPhee (2), EN | A: Fontaine & Carrier 

Powerplay: QUE - 0-for-3; HAL 1-for-4
Shots: 29-26 in favour of Halifax

Next game
Halifax will be on home ice again Sunday afternoon welcoming the Rimouski Oceanic. Puck drops at 3:00 p.m.

Events

The Halifax Mooseheads released their promotional schedule recently and it looks a bit different from years past, but below you will find the annual charity events that happen. It seems that once again the Hurley Cup will not be played but I hope that they change their minds because it is one of my favourite events. 

Annual events
HOME OPENER - October 4 vs. Quebec Remparts
DND Appreciation Night - November 9 vs. Baie-Comeau Drakkar     
Toque Toss - December 14 vs. Charlottetown Islanders     
Mooseheads Fight Cancer - February 8 vs. Acadie-Bathurst Titan  
Fan Appreciation Night - March 22 vs. Charlottetown Islanders

Minor hockey nights: Nov. 10, Dec. 6, Jan. 24, Feb. 22, Mar. 16
Student nights: Nov. 21 & Jan. 23 

See the full promotional schedule in the 'Schedule' tab. 

Game Day 1: vs Charlottetown

PREVIEW - It's finally game day as our Halifax Mooseheads kick off their 30th anniversary tonight as they host the Charlottetown Islanders at 7pm. The Herd will be starting the 2023-24 season as a younger team than what is on the regular roster as the club has five players who are at National Hockey League main camps this week. Rookie goaltender Jack Milner is set to get the starting job for this evening with veteran Mathis Rousseau at Arizona Coyotes camp. It will be a big night for another reason as the team will raise Nathan MacKinnon's number 22 to the rafters. The Islanders should be a good test and have gotten some reinforcements over the last few days with recently named captain Michael Horth returning from rookie camp. Despite the increase in ticket prices and change over to Ticket Master for the Mooseheads, we should see an almost sold out crowd tonight. Make sure you are in your seats early as the pre-game ceremony begins at 6:45pm. 

Overall records
Islanders: 0-0-0-0 = 0 points (2nd in Maritimes division, 5th overall)
Mooseheads: 0-0-0-0 = 0 points (6th in Maritimes division, 16th overall)

Top 3 scorers

HAL: n/a
CHA: n/a

Head-to-head

This is the first game of the season between these two teams. Last year, the Mooseheads had a 7-1-0-1 record against Charlottetown. Halifax won the last game by a score of 10-5 on March 25 at home with Josh Lawrence recording three goals and six points. 

Not playing - Jordan Dumais, Mathis Rousseau, Dylan MacKinnon, Jake Furlong and Mathieu Cataford are all away at NHL camps

Out of town

Titan vs. Sea Dogs - 7:00 p.m.
Eagles vs. Wildcats - 7:00 p.m.
Oceanic vs. Tigres - 8:00 p.m.
Olympiques vs. Voltigeurs - 8:00 p.m.
Phoenix vs. Armada - 8:00 p.m.
Sagueneens vs. Drakkar - 8:30 p.m.

Herd Word

Photo - CHL website

CHL TOP 10
The Canadian Hockey League announced the pre-season top 10 rankings on Wednesday afternoon and our Halifax Mooseheads were among the teams ranked. 

1. Rouyn-Noranda Huskies - QMJHL
2. London Knights - OHL
3. Portland Winterhawks - WHL
4. Saginaw Spirit - OHL
5. Moose Jaw Warriors - WHL
6. Halifax Mooseheads - QMJHL
7. Victoriaville Tigres - QMJHL
8. Sudbury Wolves - OHL
9. Saskatoon Blades - WHL 
10. Owen Sound Attack - OHL

MAIN CAMPS
There are plenty of young men on NHL teams main camp rosters that have suited up for the Halifax Mooseheads sometime in their career. Many of the players are Herd alumni but there are a few who are currently on the Mooseheads' opening night roster (bolded).

Below is a list of players
Samuel Asselin - New York Islanders
Justin Barron - Montreal Canadiens 
Elliot Desnoyers - Philadelphia Flyers
Alexandre Doucet - Detroit Red Wings
Jonathan Drouin - Colorado Avalanche
Jordan Dumais - Columbus Blue Jackets
Arnaud Durandeau - New York islanders
Nikolaj Ehlers - Winnipeg Jets
Jake Furlong - San Jose Sharks 
Benoit-Olivier Groulx - Anaheim Ducks
Nico Hischier - New Jersey Devils
Zachary L'Heureux - Nashville Predators
Raphael Lavoie - Edmonton Oilers
Dylan MacKinnon - Nashville Predators
Nathan MacKinnon - Colorado Avalanche
Brad Marchand - Boston Bruins
Jared McIsaac - Detroit Red Wings
Timo Meier - New Jersey Devils
Xavier Parent - New Jersey Devils
Mathis Rousseau - Arizona Coyotes
Mackenzie Weegar - Calgary Flames
Filip Zadina - San Jose Sharks

Good luck to all the players in their respective training camps especially the ones looking to crack an NHL roster. 

Photo - Bruins website

ALUMNI AS CAPTAINS
Some news came out of Boston yesterday as the Bruins announced former Mooseheads forward Brad Marchand as the franchise's 27th captain ahead of the 2023-24 season. The Halifax, NS native will be playing in his fifteenth season and could pass 1000 games played sometime this year. Marchand is a Stanley Cup winner in 2011 with Boston after being drafted by the team 71st overall in the 2006 NHL draft. The 35-year-old played 26 games with his hometown team during his junior hockey career. Congrats to Brad on being named captain of this historic club. 

He joins a handful of Herd alumni who will wear the C on their jerseys this season. Switzerland native Nico Hischier will be going into his fourth year as the leader of the New Jersey Devils after being given the captaincy on February 20, 2021. Over in Europe, Cameron Critchlow (Manchester Storm), Petr Vrana (HC Ocelari Trinec), Tomas Knotek (HC Slavia Praha), and Jan Stransky (BK Mlada Boleslav) have been given the responsibility of leading their respective teams once again this season. 

HOME OPENER DETAILS
A few details have come out about Friday's home opener along with some changes to game experience. 

The Mooseheads announced the schedule for the pre-game show which is as follows
Doors open: 5:30pm
Warmup: 6:30pm
Pregame show starts: 6:45pm
Retirement ceremony: 7:05pm

Halifax also made changes following an off-season survey including opening doors at 5:30pm this year. Fans can also buy 50/50 tickets online now so you can get them from your seat or at home. In another hope of reducing congestion on the concourse, improvements at the concessions have been made like a new POS system and added "hawkers" in the stands handing out snacks. Read the full article of what changes were made here. Scott MacIntosh also tweeted out that the team have called up four players for the home opener with five at NHL camps. 

CAPTAIN
Once again, general manager Cam Russell and the coaching staff will need to name a new leadership group for the 2023-24 season. At the beginning of the month, I asked on Twitter who you think will be named captain and here are the results. 

Markus Vidicek - 22%
David Moravec - 12%
Jordan Dumais - 57%
Mathieu Cataford - 9%

With three of these young men away at NHL camps, we most likely will not find out who will lead this year's team until possibly October. I suspect we will see Jordan Dumais wear the C. 

2023-24 Promotional Schedule

Photo - Shawn Davidson

The regular season schedule was announced at the beginning of the summer and the Halifax Mooseheads haven't officially announced their events as of the writing of this post. However, they were listed on the form that people who bought 15-game packages received. So I'm going to do this post a little different this year and give you the full promotional schedule below. 

2023-24 promotional schedule
Home Opener - September 22 vs. Charlottetown
Fridge Magnet Giveaway - October 7 vs. Blainville-Boisbriand
30th Ann. T-shirt Giveaway - October 21 vs. Val-d'Or
Mooseheads Fight Cancer - November 4 vs. Sherbrooke
90's Night - November 11 vs. Shawinigan
Kid's Day - November 12 vs. Cape Breton
Toque Toss - December 8 vs. Gatineau
New Year's Eve - December 31 vs. Cape Breton
Towel Giveaway - January 13 vs. Quebec
DND Appreciation - January 20 vs. Chicoutimi
Alumni Night - March 2 vs. Saint John
Fan Appreciation Night - March 10 vs. Moncton

As you can see, there seems to be no teddy bear toss this season and we'll have to wait and see if the New Year's Eve match will be the normal Hurley Cup/Battle of Nova Scotia special event game. I'm not sure why the team never have the DND appreciation game on Remembrance Day if they play that day. 

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. 

Events

The Halifax Mooseheads released their schedule for the upcoming season earlier this summer and have finally announced the events happening during the 2022-23 season. Check out below for the dates of the yearly special games. With the 2023 World Juniors being hosted in Halifax free Christmas, there is no Battle of Nova Scotia event this year.

Annual events
HOME OPENER - September 23 vs. Charlottetown Islanders
Mooseheads Fight Cancer - January 28 vs. Cape Breton Eagles
DND Appreciation Night - March 4 vs. Cape Breton Eagles 
Teddy Bear Toss - December 10 vs. Gatineau Olympiques
Fan Appreciation Night - March 25 vs. Charlottetown Islanders

See the full promotional schedule in the 'Schedule' tab. 

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. 

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

Sep 27: Mooseheads vs. Islanders preview

HALIFAX MOOSEHEADS VS CHARLOTTETOWN ISLANDERS

Puck drops at 7:00pm

TV: Eastlink | Radio: News 95.7 | Live: @MC_MooseCountry

Scotiabank Centre (10,595) ~ Halifax, NS

IT'S HOME OPENER DAY! Despite more renovations being done at Scotiabank Centre this summer, our Halifax Mooseheads do not have to be on a long road trip this time as the new scoreboard was put in earlier in the month. Halifax will look to get in the win column for the first time in 2019-20 after losing both games last weekend. They will have to do it without their number 1 goaltender though as Alex Gravel is out injured for a few weeks. Rookie Cole Foston is also on the injury list. The Mooseheads will be welcoming the Charlottetown Islanders to Moose Country for tonight's match up, this is the second game of a home and home series between the two clubs. Charlottetown won their 1st match of the season against Halifax last week. They'll undoubtedly be backstopped by Matthew Welsh who is a Halifax native and always does well against his hometown team. Welsh became the 15th goaltender in Q league history to pick up his 100th career victory. Grab your gear and come cheer on the boys Moose Country!

This is the second game between these two teams this season. Halifax is 0-1-0-0 against the Islanders while Charlottetown has a 1-0-0-0 record versus the Mooseheads. The last match-up was on Saturday in Charlottetown with the Islanders winning 5-2. Jeffrey Burridge scored his first QMJHL career goal while Alex Gravel made 9 saves on 13 shots to take the loss for Halifax before Cole McLaren replaced him. 

Overall records
Islanders: 1-0-1-0 = 3pts (3rd in Maritimes division, 6th overall)
Mooseheads: 0-2-0-0 = 0pts (5th in Maritimes division, 16th overall)

Leading scorers
HAL: Senna Peeters 2pts (2G), Marcel Barinka 2pts (1G & 1A), Jeffrey Burridge 2pts (1G & 1A)
CHA: Thomas Casey 4pts (3G & 1A), Cole Edwards 3pts (2G & 1A), Zachary Beauregard 2pts (1G & 1A)

Out of Town
Wildcats vs. Titan    7:00pm
Remparts vs. Huskies    8:00pm
Armada vs. Saguenéens    8:30pm
Oceanic vs. Phoenix    8:30pm
Voltigeurs vs. Foreurs    8:30pm
Cataractes vs. Tigres    8:30pm
Olympiques vs. Drakkar    8:#0pm

After the Buzzer
Halifax will stay home and host the Acadie-Bathurst Titan on Saturday night. Puck drops at 7pm.

Events

The schedule was released months ago and the Halifax Mooseheads have finally announced the dates of their annual events for the 2019-20 season. All the charity events are before the new year this season which is different but there are plenty of special nights all season long. 


Annual events
HOME OPENER - September 27 vs. Charlottetown Islanders
Pink in the Rink 12 - October 19 vs. Cape Breton Screaming Eagles
DND Appreciation Night - November 8 vs. Drummondville Voltigeurs
Teddy Bear Toss - December 13 vs. Charlottetown Islanders
Battle of Nova Scotia - December 28 vs. Cape Breton Screaming Eagles
Fan Appreciation Night - March 21 vs. Moncton Wildcats

Rivalry Week Tie

The Halifax Mooseheads and Cape Breton Screaming Eagles have a tie in their rivalry week match up. In a night that was highly anticipated after starting the season with the 15 game road trip, going 12-3, the Herd were looking forward to finally getting home and being in front of their fans again but we're unable to get the final result they wanted. The Mooseheads got off to a quick start with Jared McIssac getting the scoring started just 2:53 into the game. The Eagles seemed to have the better legs most of the game and were able to tie it up 5 minutes later when Mitchell Balmas scored on a breakaway. The game's first penalty didn't come until the end of the first. Cape Breton didn't look back after the Balmas goal and found themselves with a 3-1 lead after 40 minutes despite no scoring by either team in the middle frame. Halifax received a penalty about five minutes into the third but were able to kill it and that seemed to spark the Mooseheads as they started pressing. Veteran Jake Ryczek scored with exactly 10 minutes left which gave the home team some life but they couldn't get past the Eagles goaltender to get the score even closer. In the end, Cape Breton secures their victory with an empty netter which made the game 5-2 and avenged a loss to the Moose last night in Sydney. Tonight's attendance was the highest in attendance for a home opener in franchise history with 9,949 in attendance.

FINAL: Screaming Eagles 5 at Mooseheads 2
Stars: 3. Jake Ryzek HAL | 2. Kevin Mandolese CAP | 1. Mitchell Balmas CAP
Attendance: 9,949
MC’s Top Herd: Jake Ryzek

GAME LOGFirst period2:53 HAL Jared McIssac (4) | A: Ryzek
7:57 CAP Mitchell Balmas (9) | A: none
9:53 CAP Declan Smith (4) | A: Balmas & Sokolov
18:01 CAP Isiah Campbell (2) | A: Forest

Second periodNo Scoring

Third period2:30 CAP Adam McCormick (2) | A: Laferriere
10:00 HAL Jocktan Chainey (1) | A: Groulx & Durandeau
17:56 CAP Leon Gawanke (6) EN | A: Smith & Proulx

Shots: 28-27 in favour of Cape Breton
Powerplay: CAP 0-for-3; HAL 0-for-2

NOT DRESSED – Samuel Dube, Ostap Safin, and Kyle Petten were out with injuries and Brock McLeod was a healthy scratch.

Out of Town - Drakkar 4 at Sagueneens 1


UP NEXT – Halifax will stay home and welcome the Val d'Or Foreurs a week from today for the first of two meetings on the year. Puck drops at 7pm.

Oct 27: Mooseheads vs. Screaming Eagles preview

HALIFAX MOOSEHEADS VS CAPE BRETON SCREAMING EAGLES
October 27, 2018 at 7:00pm
TV: Webcast | Radio: News 95.7 | Live: @MC_MooseCountry
Scotiabank Centre (10,595) ~ Halifax, NS

Finally it's home opener gameday for our Halifax Mooseheads! The Herd are finally back in Moose Country for their first game at the Scotiabank Centre this season after a 15 matches on the road to start the year. Halifax did pretty well on the road, finishing the trip with a 12-3-0 record which includes 4 overtime victories. The boys have been warriors so far in the last 6 weeks but everyone is really excited to be home with new forward Samuel Asselin stating; "You have no idea how excited we are to play in front of our fans! See you tonight Moose fans and be loud." Halifax will have a little bit more of a complete roster tonight as veteran Joel Bishop returned to the lineup last night after missing a couple of games while Ostap Safin may possibly return from the injured list tonight. This evening's match up is the second game of a home-and-home series between the Mooseheads and Cape Breton Screaming Eagles. The two clubs met last night in Sydney where the away team took a 4-3 win. Rookie Cole Stewart scored his first goal of his QMJHL career to get the goal scoring started however Cape Breton was the team who was leading the game after 40 minutes 3-2. Anaheim Ducks prospect Benoit-Olivier Groulx scored twice in third period and Alexis Gravel stopped all 6 shots as the Moose were able to hold on for the victory. Make sure to get to your seats early Moose Country as there will be a pre-game ceremony to celebrate 25 years in Halifax while the boys will also be debuting their new anniversary jersey.

This is the third meeting this season between these two teams. Halifax is 2-0-0-0 against the Screaming Eagles while Cape Breton has a 0-2-0-0 record versus the Mooseheads.

Overall Records
Eagles: 7-7-0-1 = 15pts (11th overall, 4th in Maritimes division)
Mooseheads: 12-3-0-0 = 24pts (1st overall, 1st in Maritimes division)

Leading Scorers
HAL: Raphael Lavoie 18pts (11G & 7A), Arnaud Durandeau 18pts (7G & 11A), Samuel Asselin 16pts (9G & 7A)
CAP: Egor Sokolov 21pts (12G & 9A), Mathias Laferriere 19pts (6G & 13A), Mitchell Balmas 17pts (8G & 9A)

Previous Games
See above

Head-to-Head
September 28  Mooseheads 4 at Eagles 2
October 26  Mooseheads 4 at Eagles 3
October 27  7pm  Eagles at Mooseheads
November 9  7pm  Eagles at Mooseheads
December 12  7pm  Eagles at Mooseheads
December 30  2pm  Mooseheads at Eagles
December 31  2pm  Eagles at Mooseheads
January 11  7pm  Mooseheads at Eagles
February 9  7pm  Mooseheads at Eagles

Out of Town
Baie-Comeau vs. Chicoutimi - 5:00pm

After the Buzzer
Halifax will stay home and welcome the Val-d'Or Forerus a week from today. Puck drops at 7pm.

Events

The Halifax Mooseheads released their schedule for the upcoming season earlier this month and have announced the events happening during the 2018-19 season. With such a late home opener this year, some of the events are in different months than they are normally. Check out below for the dates of the yearly special games.

Annual events
HOME OPENER – October 27 vs. Cape Breton Screaming Eagles
DND Appreciation Night – November 9 vs. Cape Breton Screaming Eagles
Teddy Bear Toss – December 14 vs. Moncton Wildcats
Battle of Nova Scotia/Hurley Cup – December 31 vs. Cape Breton Screaming Eagles
Pink in the Rink 10 – January 18 vs. Acadie-Bathurst Titan
Fan Appreciation Night – March 16 vs. Charlottetown Islanders

Zadina Gets 2 in Home Opener

What a way to introduce yourself to the Halifax faithful! Rookie Euro Filip Zadina scored two goals in the Mooseheads home opener on Saturday night to help lead the team to a 4-3 victory over division rivals; Acadie-Bathurst Titan. The Herd were able to rebound from a loss to the Titan just 3 days prior and started their home-stead on a high note. Halifax got out to a quick 3-0 lead in the first 15 minutes of the game with two of those coming on the powerplay. In the early goings of this new season, special teams are working out pretty well for the Moose as they see themselves on the top of the standings in PP% at 40% after tonight's game and third on the penalty kill. Acadie-Bathurst used a Connor Moynihan holding penalty as an opportunity to get back in the game and the Titan scored 3 unanswered goals to tie the match with over 11 minutes to go in the third period. A little more than a minute later, it looked like Halifax native Justin Barron had his first career goal but it was ultimately awarded to Arnaud Durandeau, giving the home team the lead. In the middle frame, Cole Rafuse hip checked goaltender Alexis Gravel in the head as he trying to cover up a puck and the 17 year old stayed down on the ice for a few minutes. However he did finish the game pick up his second win of 2017-18.

FINAL: Titan 3 at Mooseheads 4
Stars: 3. Jocktan Chainey HAL | 2. Justin Ducharme BAT | 1. Filip Zadina HAL
Attendance: 7,784
MC's Top Herd: Filip Zadina

GAME LOG
First period
5:02 HAL Filip Zadina (2), PP | A: Fortier & Groulx
8:46 HAL Benoit-Olivier Groulx (2), PP | A: McIsaac
13:47 HAL Filip Zadina (3) | A: Durandeau & Lavoie
15:46 BAT Samuel L'Italien (5), PP | A: MacIsaac & Holwell
19:10 BAT Jeffrey Truchon-Viel (3) | A: Rafuse

Second period
None

Third period
8:26 BAT Justin Ducharme (5) | A: Truchon-Viel & Malatesta
9:32 HAL Arnaud Durandeau (2) | A: Barron

Powerplay: BAT - 1-for-6, HAL - 2-for-5
Shots: 33-25 in favour of Halifax

MISSING IN ACTION - Walter Flower (injured), Otto Somppi (injured), Jordan Lepage (injured)

UP NEXT: Halifax will host the Charlottetown Islanders on Sunday afternoon. Puck drops at 3pm.

GAMEDAY #4: vs. Acadie-Bathurst

GAME PREVIEW
HALFIAX MOOSEHEADS VS ACADIE-BATHURST TITAN
Puck drops at 7pm
TV: Webcast | Radio: News 95.7 | Live: @MC_MooseCountry
Scotiabank Centre (10,595) ~ Halifax, NS

IT'S HOME OPENER GAMEDAY! The day we have been waiting six months for has finally come as we get to welcome our Halifax Mooseheads back home. Halifax began the season with 3 road games and will get the chance to play in front of the Moose Country faithful this evening at Scotiabank Centre. What I thought was a home and home series actually is not as the Acadie-Bathurst Titan played a game against Cape Breton last night. Either way your Mooseheads are looking to get revenge on the Titan after a disappointing loss in their last match against each other. In the early season, both teams have looked exciting and should be all year long. Matchups between Halifax and Bathurst will be good games this season with the two no doubt battling for the division crown. Come out and support your Herd as they open the home portion of 2017-18 while also looking for their third win.

This is the second game this season between the two teams. Halifax is 0-1-0-0 against the Titan so far while Acadie-Bathurst has a 1-0-0-0 record versus the Mooseheads. The two teams met on Wednesday which saw Bathurst pick up the victory with a 5-3 win at the KC Irving Centre. Maxime Fortier scored a goal & had an assist for the Herd in the loss while shots were tied at 28.

OVERALL RECORDS
Titan: 2-0-1-1 = 6 points (2nd in Maritimes division, 5th overall)
Mooseheads: 2-1-0-0 = 4 points (3rd in Maritimes division, 6th overall)

LEADING SCORERS
HAL: Maxime Fortier 6pts (4G & 2A), Filip Zadina 5pts (1G & 4A), Arnaud Durandeau 2pts (1G & 1A)
BAT: Liam Murphy 7pts (1G & 6A), Noah Dobson 7pts (7A), Antoine Moranda 5pts (2G & 3A)

PREVIOUS GAMES
Acadie-Bathurst is coming off a 4-3 overtime loss in Sydney against the Screaming Eagles on Friday night. Antoine Moranda recorded a goal and an assist to lead the Titan in scoring during the game while Dominik Tmej stopped 38 of Cape Breton's 42 shots.

See above for Halifax.

NOT DRESSED- Walter Flower, Jordan Lepage and Otto Somppi are out with injuries while Kyle Petten is day to day

ALUM ON TITAN
None

HEAD-TO-HEAD
September 27  Halifax 3 at Acadie-Bathurst 5
September 30  Acadie-Bathurst at Halifax – 7pm
November 26  Halifax at Acadie-Bathurst – 3pm
December 15  Acadie-Bathurst at Halifax – 7pm
January 7  Halifax at Acadie-Bathurst – 3pm
January 20  Halifax at Acadie-Bathurst – 7pm
February 3  Acadie-Bathurst at Halifax – 7pm
March 10  Halifax at Acadie-Bathurst – 7pm
March 17  Acadie-Bathurst at Halifax – 4pm

OUT OF TOWN
Armada vs. Foreurs   5:00pm
Remparts vs. Olympiques   5:00pm
Phoenix vs. Saguneens   5:00pm
Wildcats vs. Islanders   7:00pm
Voltigeurs vs. Drakkar   8:00pm
Tigres vs. Huskies   8:00pm

AFTER THE BUZZER
The Mooseheads will stay home and welcome the Charlottetown Islanders tomorrow afternoon. Puck drops at 3pm.

Events

The Halifax Mooseheads released their schedule for the upcoming season earlier this month and have announced the events happening during the 2017-18 season. Check out below for the dates of the yearly special games.

Annual events
HOME OPENER - September 30 vs. Acadie Bathurst Titan
Pink in the Rink 10 - October 14 vs. Cape Breton Screaming Eagles
DND Appreciation Night - November 11 vs. Sherbrooke Phoenix
Battle of Nova Scotia/Hurley Cup - December 30 vs. Cape Breton Screaming Eagles
Teddy Bear Toss - January 27 vs. Saint John Sea Dogs
Fan Appreciation Night - March 16 vs. Moncton Wildcats & March 17 vs. Acadie-Bathurst Titan

Moose Win Home Opener

For the first time since 2011, your Halifax Mooseheads have won a home opener. With 7 players out of the lineup the Saint John Sea Dogs just didn't have the fire power to get their first win of the season. The Mooseheads on the other hand got scoring from one of their youngest players as rookie and top overall pick Benoit-Olivier Groulx recorded his first two goals of the season. The night began with the usual home opening pre-game ceremony stuff with the team announcement and a nice moment of silence to remember former captain Dean Stock who passed on Friday. Despite both teams being without their agitators (Kelly Bent for Halifax as aged out while Bokondji Imama is at NHL camp), there was still hatred between the two Maritimes division rivals. Halifax got off to a fast start, scoring a goal 53 seconds into the game, and than with 9 minutes gone a fight broke out that shortened the bench by a few players. The last 40 minutes were less penalized and quicker with a flurry of shots in the last 3 minutes by Saint John. Overall it was an interesting game and gave fans a good look at what is to come.

FINAL: Sea Dogs 3 at Mooseheads 4
Stars: 3. Matthew Highmore SNB | 2. Nico Hischier HAL | 1. Benoit-Olivier Groulx HAL
Attendance: 7,010
MC’s Top Herd: Benoit-Olivier Groulx

GAME LOG
First period
0:53 HAL Cooper Jones (1) | A: Moynihan & Sorrentino
12:51  SNB John Warren (1), PP | A: Veleno & Del Paggio
13:10 SNB Gabriel Bettez (1), PP | A: M. Green & Stewart
14:02 HAL Benoit-Oliver Groulx (1), PP | A: Hischer & Fortier

Second period
11:33 HAL Arnaud Duranuad (2) | A: Ford & Flower

Third period13:53 HAL Benoit-Oliver Groulx (2) | A: Bishop
16:58 SNB Matthew Highmore (2), PP | A: Del Paggio & Bernier

Powerplay: SNB - 3-for-9, HAL - 1-for-7
Shots: 36-27 in favour of the Sea Dogs

SCORESDrakkar 1 at Oceanic 2
Cataracts 2 at Sagueneens 3
Screaming Eagles 1 at Titan 3
Foreurs 5 at Phoenix 4

UP NEXT: Halifax will welcome the Cape Breton Screaming Eagles a week from now at the Scotiabank Centre. Puck drops at 7pm.