Herd Word

Photo - Trevor MacMillan via The Hockey News

It's opening week finally.

The Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League regular season begins this week when the defending league champion Moncton Wildcats visit the Newfoundland Regiment on Thursday night. It will be the first QMJHL game in St. John's since 2008. 

Our Halifax Mooseheads will play a home-and-home series against the Charlottetown Islanders this weekend to start the year, opening up on the road before hosting their home opener on September 20. 

Photo - Crushers Facebook

MHL SEASON UNDERWAY
The Maritime Junior A Hockey League regular season got underway this past Thursday and there are a number of Herd alumni playing in the league. Defenseman Dominic MacKenzie along with forwards Logan Crosby and Cade Moser will suit up with the Pictou County Crushers while the Truro Bearcats have forwards Liam Welsh, Jake Todd and Callum Aucoin on their roster. 

Halifax affiliate players Cole Bent (Valley), Tucker Makinen (Yarmouth), Ryan Fletcher (Valley), Jameson George (Chaleur), Aidan Bent (Valley) and Cole MacLeod (Yarmouth) have also been named to rosters. 

19-year-old Logan Crosby, who played 163 games with the Mooseheads before being traded to the Moncton Wildcats, will wear the C on his chest for the Crushers after being named captain on September 11. In his third season with the Bearcats, Liam Welsh, 20, was given the C while Jake Todd was named an assistant captain on the Truro club. 

KILFOIL SCORES
While participating in Detroit Red Wings camp, forward Liam Kilfoil scored a really nice goal in the Wings' 6-5 loss against the Dallas Stars prospects on Sunday. 

Detroit has not announced their main camp roster so I am not sure if Kilfoil has been invited but I haven't seen the team announce they have released him either. 

A beauty from Liam Kilfoil pic.twitter.com/A0CoJaKTAK

— Detroit Red Wings (@DetroitRedWings) September 15, 2025

SIMONS PUTTING UP MONEY
Back in June, it was announced that the Halifax Mooseheads were asking the Halifax regional council for a loan worth about 1.5 million dollars to build a 4,720-square-foot training facility extension to the RBC Centre in Dartmouth. The council said they would look into it but as of September, had not made a decision. 

Well now, the clubs owners, Simon Sports, are saying they will be willing to pay for the full price of the construction. There are still questions and the final plan needs to be given the green light by the council either way it sounds like. Even once it is, the facility wouldn't be complete for another additional year or so. For the full story, click here. 

QMJHL FIGHT
After not being offered an entry level contract by the Nashville Predators who drafted him in 2023, former Moose defenseman Dylan MacKinnon was invited to Boston Bruins rookie camp over the weekend. The Bruins participated in the two-game Prospects Challenge hosted by Buffalo. During the team's game against New Jersey, MacKinnon fought fellow Q alumnus Cam Squires. 

ARENA UPGRADES
Talking about the home opener, fans should expect to see some changes when they head to the Scotiabank Centre on Saturday evening. A new public address system has been added to the facility, along with new interior and exterior digital signage. There will be new concessions offerings though no more info is given. Work is also currently being completed on a new state-of-the-art player area for the Mooseheads players and coaching stuff which is slated to open later this fall according to the article released by the team. 

Scotiabank renewed its naming rights partnership with the arena back in the spring and it was long rumoured (or known) that upgrades would be made once again to the almost 50 year old building. 

"We're excited to start a new season with our incredible fans. There are many new additions to the fan experience that we are looking forward to sharing with them. We have a great young team and we can't wait for all of us to be together again on Saturday night in Moose Country," said President Brian Urquhart. 

CHL TOP 10 
While our Mooseheads did not make the pre-season top 10 rankings, I thought I would share them for anybody who is interested. 
1. Blainville-Boisbriand Armada 
2. Brantford Bulldogs 
3. Spokane Chiefs 
4. Chicoutimi Sagueneens 
5. Windsor Spitfires
6. Edmonton Oilers
7. Kitchener Rangers
8. Moncton Wildcats
9. Kelowna Rockets
10. Niagara IceDogs

Other things..

• This is a little late but I wanted to still share it anyways. Nova Scotia was well represented at Hockey Canada's Olympics orientation camp in late August & the four players attending got together for a picture.

  

  'Coupla bluenosers' Marchand, Turnbull, Crosby & MacKinnon
  Photo - Blayre Turnbull's Instagram

  
  
• FloHockey lists Halifax forward Liam Kilfoil as one of top future NHL prospects to watch in the QMJHL this year. Kilfoil went undrafted in 2025 but is eligible again for the 2026 entry draft. 
• Pictou County's Logan Crosby (3G & 1A) and Cade Moser (1G & 3A) have started the MHL season on a good note, with both recording 4 points each in 2 games. Jake Todd had two goals for Truro over the weekend. 
• On September 4, it was announced that the Guelph Storm and Kitchener Rangers were named the finalists to host the 2027 Memorial Cup. 

Around the CHL ~ volume #1 preview edition #11

The Canadian Hockey League regular season begins in less than 3 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 2024-25
WHL - Everett Silvertips (U.S.) 68 games played, 48-12-4-4 record, 104 points, 277 goals for/178 goals against; Medicine Hat Tigers (Central) 68 games played, 47-17-3-1 record, 98 points, 300 goals for/193 goals against; Victoria Royals (B.C.) 68 games played, 40-17-4-7 record, 91 points, 272 goals for/218 goals against; Prince Albert Raiders (East) 68 games played, 39-23-5-1 record, 84 points, 253 goals for/228 goals against 

OHL - London Knights (Midwest) 68 games played, 55-11-2-0 record, 112 points, 325 goals for/180 goals against; Windsor Spitfires (West) 68 games played, 45-17-4-2 record, 96 points, 309 goals for/223 goals against; Brantford Bulldogs (East) 68 games played, 44-19-5-0 record, 93 points, 281 goals for/221 goals against; Barrie Colts (Central) 68 games played, 42-22-2-2 record, 88 points, 250 goals for/219 goals against
QMJHL - Moncton Wildcats (Maritimes) 64 games played, 53-9-2-0 record, 108 points, 294 goals for/144 goals against; Rimouski Oceanic (East) 64 games played, 46-14-2-2 record, 96 points, 249 goals for/178 goals against; Drummondville Voltiguers (Central) 64 games, 40-18-3-3 record, 86 points, 224 goals for/174 goals against; Rouyn-Noranda Huskies (West) 64 games played, 37-19-3-5 record, 82 points, 258 goals for/210 goals against

League championships 2025
President's Cup - Moncton Wildcats vs. Rimouski Oceanic (Wildcats won series 4 games to 2 games)
J. Ross Robertson Cup - London Knights vs. Oshawa Generals (Knights won series 4 games to 1 game)
Ed Chynoweth Cup - Medicine Hat Tigers vs. Spokane Chiefs (Tigers won series 4 games to 1 game)

Memorial Cup 2025
Teams - London (OHL champion), Medicine Hat (WHL champion), Moncton (QMJHL champion) and Rimouski (Hosts)

Final June 1, 2025 London vs. Medicine Hat 4-1

LONDON KNIGHTS WIN 2025 MEMORIAL CUP!!!


Team changes
The Penticton Vees joined the Western Hockey League as its 23rd team from the BCHL. The Acadie-Bathurst Titan of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League were relocated to St. John's and named the Newfoundland Regiment. 

London will look to repeat as Memorial Cup champions. This year the Memorial Cup will be held in Kelowna, home of the Kelowna Rockets who will be in the tournament no matter what. The 2025 CHL USA Top Prospects two game series will be hosted by the Calgary Hitmen and the Lethbridge Hurricanes on November 25 and 26, respectively. 

Herd Word

ALL-STAR TEAMS

Photo - QMJHL website

Despite having a not so good season, a couple of Halifax Mooseheads players were honoured for their efforts during the regular season. Goaltender Jacob Steinman, probably mostly because of his stats while he was with the Moncton Wildcats before being traded to Halifax at Christmas time, was named to the QMJHL First All-Star Team earlier this month. In 52 games played in 2024-25, Steinman had a 29-16-4-1 record, a 2.44 goals against average with a 0.923 save percentage and 3 shutouts. At the same time, defenceman Carlos Handel was one of six players to be on the All-Rookie Team after picking up 3 goals and 26 points in 52 games, all with the Mooseheads. 

Congrats to both guys being given the recognition!

MOOSE TRACKS
I haven't shared all the Moose Tracks videos but thought I would post this one as it seems like it will be the last one for the season. For episode 7, we get behind the scenes looks at play by play announcer Garreth MacDonald and go into the dressing room. 

PRE-SEASON SCHEDULE
Our Mooseheads announced their pre-season schedule a couple of weeks ago and the team will play four exhibition matches, all against provincial rivals Cape Breton. I noticed the schedule being up a couple days before the team made it official, but it looked odd so wasn't sure it was the full schedule. Nice to see the team will be sharing the love around Nova Scotia this year. This is the least amount of games I have seen Halifax play. 

August 19  at Cape Breton     7:00 p.m.  Centre 200
August 20  vs Cape Breton     7:00 p.m.  St. Margaret's Centre
August 23  vs Cape Breton     4:00 p.m.  Rath Eastlink Community Centre
September 6  at Cape Breton     4:00 p.m.  Port Hawkesbury Civic Centre

GOLDEN PUCK AWARDS
The QMJHL announced the nominees for the first seven Golden Puck Awards a few weeks ago and former Herd Markus Vidicek was among the three names vying for the Guy Carbonneau Trophy as top defensive forward. Unfortunately, the next day the winner was announced as Matyas Melovsky of the Baie-Comeau Drakkar. 

On May 21, the league released the names for the final eight awards. First, net-minder Jacob Steinman has been nominated for the Patrick Roy Trophy as goaltender of the year. The 20-year-old had a 0.917 save percentage in 22 games with Halifax according to the article. Mooseheads alumni Mathieu Cataford is one of the final three players who will look to win the Marcel Robert Trophy which is given to the student athlete of the year. The winners will be announced on June 5. 

WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS
It was a mixed bag of results for former Halifax Mooseheads players at the World Championships. After Winnipeg was eliminated from the Stanley Cup playoffs, forward Nikolaj Ehlers joined host Denmark, making it six alumni participating in the tournament. The 29-year-old Ehlers helped his country to a 4th place finish, their best ever result, by scoring 3 goals in 4 games. They would battle against Nathan MacKinnon, MacKenzie Weegar and Canada in the quarter-finals, winning 2-1. MacKinnon recorded 13 points in 8 games but couldn't help the Canadians finish higher than 5th place. Filip Zadina and Czechia lost 5-2 to Sweden in the quarters. Nico Hischier was once again named captain of Switzerland but unfortunately got injured just a week into the competition, ending his tournament. Timo Meier finished 17th in scoring with 3 goals and 10 points as the Swiss lost a very tight final game, 1-0 in overtime to the United States.

Congratulations to Timo Meier, Nico Hischier and Switzerland on becoming silver medalists on May 25. 

Other things..

• Mooseheads alumni Maxime Fortier has signed on with SaiPa of Liiga for the 2025-26 season 
• The 2025 Memorial Cup is over for the two Q teams after the Rimouski Oceanic went 0-3 in the preliminary round while the Moncton Wildcats were defeated by London in the semi-finals 
• Beginning next year, the CHL along with its membership leagues, announced that Under Armour will be the exclusive jersey, footwear and apparel partner while Bauer will serve as the official equipment supplier 
• Another university commitment was made last week with assistant captain Braeden MacPhee joining the recruitment class for the UNB Reds 
• From Scott Wheeler; d-man Carlos Handel has been invited to this year's NHL draft combine which begins on Monday

Wildcats Are League Champs

Photo - QMJHL Facebook

First in the Maritimes division, regular season champions and now Gilles Courteau Trophy winners. The Moncton Wildcats were dominate this season and it continued in the playoffs with them finishing as league champs on Monday afternoon for the first time since 2010. 

The game started pretty even with the teams going to the locker rooms for the first intermission in a scoreless tie in Rimouski. Forward Gabe Smith scored the opening goal for Moncton at the 6:30 mark of the second period and he picked up another one later in the middle frame to give the Wildcats a 3-0 lead after 40 minutes. The Oceanic weren't going to go away easy though and they scored twice in the third to make the game close but at the final buzzer, the score was 3-2. 

Overage goaltender Mathis Rousseau, a former Halifax Mooseheads player, made 24 saves to pick up the victory. He and the Wildcats' other net-minder Rudy Guimond shared the load throughout the playoffs. 

Draft-eligible forward Caleb Desnoyers, who had 30 points during the post-season, was named Most Valuable Player. 

The moment they were all waiting for! @monctonwildcats | #QPlayoffs pic.twitter.com/WAtljX7u6n

— QMJHL (@QMJHL) May 19, 2025

Herd alumni Markus Vidicek captained the Wildcats and was the first person to lift the trophy before passing it to Rousseau. Fellow alum Dylan MacKinnon and Logan Crosby also became champions after falling just short 2 years ago with Halifax. 

On Rimouski, former Herd Mathieu Cataford finished in the top 10 of playoff scoring with 18 points. Lou Levesque and Jack Martin, who suited up for Halifax before being traded at Christmas time, now play for the Oceanic as well. 

Both clubs will join the London Knights of the OHL and the WHL's Medicine Hat Tigers in the 2025 Memorial Cup tournament, which will be held in Rimouski, QC starting on Friday night. 

Congratulations to Vidicek, Crosby, Rousseau, MacKinnon and the Moncton Wildcats on winning the Gilles-Courteau Trophy. 

Herd Word

Since I haven't posted all summer, below you will find some news that you may have missed if you are not on social media. 

Photo - TSN

CATAFORD MVP, ALL-STAR TEAMS
A couple Halifax Mooseheads players were announced as finalists for QMJHL awards back in May to celebrate the 2023-24 season. Mathieu Rousseau had a chance to win the Patrick Roy Trophy as the league's top goaltender, however it was given to William Rousseau of the Rouyn-Noranda Huskies. Meanwhile, Mathieu Cataford was nominated for two awards; the Marcel Robert Trophy (best scholastic player) and the Michel Briere Trophy. The 19-year-old won the latter, being named the QMJHL's regular season Most Valuable Player. He 'had an outstanding season with career highs in goals (40), assists (50) and points (90) to lead the team in scoring while finishing third in the QMJHL scoring race.'

After the individual awards were handed out, the league announced the all-star teams for the 2023-24 season which included forward Mathieu Cataford on the first team while the second team included goaltender Mathis Rousseau and forward Markus Vidicek. Congrats to these three guys on being recognized for their efforts.

Photo - Herd website

NEW HOCKEY STAFF
There were a number of staffing changes once again for our Halifax Mooseheads during the off-season. The first move was head coach Jim Midgley being released of his duties after Halifax bowed out of the 2024 playoffs with a first-round exit. GM Cam Russell made the announcement on April 16, saying the team also dismissed assistant coach Liam Heelis. 

A little less than two months later, Andrew Lord was hired as the 14th head coach in team history while Brad MacKenzie was promoted to associate coach. According to the press release, 'Lord is the reigning ECHL Coach of the Year after leading the Greenville Swamp Rabbits to a 44-23-4-1 record and the team's first South Division Championship in more than a decade.'

"We are thrilled to have Andrew join our staff and excited to watch him take the reigns of our young, revamped roster," said Russell. 

Two additions to the hockey staff were announced in late July as Morgan MacDonald was named the full-time Video & Player Development Coach while Charles Grant is the new Goaltending Coach. The positions were made available after Joey Perricone and Jon Sim departed. 

Welcome to the team to the new staff members. 

HISCHIER WINS SILVER
Former Halifax Mooseheads forward Nico Hischier has a silver medal after Switzerland lost to Czechia in the 2024 IIHL World Championship game back in late May. The Swiss finished second in Group A with a 5-1-0-1 (w-otw-otl-l) record during the preliminary round to advance to the quarter-finals. They defeated Germany and Canada (in a shootout) to make it to the gold medal match. Hischier had 6 goals and 5 assists in 10 games played during the tournament and finished 7th in scoring. 

Alum Cam Critchlow also participated in the tournament for Team Great Britain, who unfortunately finished 15th overall.  

QMJHL ENTRY DRAFT
Our Halifax Mooseheads added 15 prospects to their roster and made a couple of trades during the 2024 QMJHL Draft weekend that was held June 7-8 in Moncton, NB. 

Before the draft began, Halifax moved forwards Markus Vidicek and Dylan MacKinnon along with two third rounders to the Moncton Wildcats in two separate trades for Shawn Carrier and three 2026 draft picks. The Mooseheads received a first round draft pick in 2024 plus 4 other picks in exchange for Mathieu Cataford from the Rimouski Oceanic. 

Photo - Herd website

With the first rounder, the Moose drafted Halifax native Daniel Walters 11th overall. Walters played the 2023-24 season with the Halifax McDonalds where he scored 27 points (9G & 18A) in 27 games. 

Full list of selections is below:
RD 1 #11 - C Daniel Walters - Halifax Macs U18
RD 2 #34 - LW Caylen Blake - Mount St. Charles Academy
RD 3 #48 - C Amelio Santini - Lac St. Louis Lions U18
RD 4 #71 - RD Logan Trewin - Halifax Macs U18
RD 5 #89 - LD Mickael Fournier - Quinte Red Devils U16AAA
RD 6 #107 - LD Gavin Sudds - Halifax Macs U18
RD 7 #125 - G Nicolas Gillham-Cirka - Taft School USHS
RD 8 #143 - RW Noah Olmedo-Matte - College Esther-Blondin
RD 9 #150 - C Nico Ciardiello - Mount St. Charles Academy
RD 9 #161 - LW Thomas Cote - Quebec Blizzard
RD 10 #179 - F Elie Champagne - South Kent School
RD 11 #197 - LD Cole Bent - Cole Harbour U18
RD 12 #215 - C Cole MacLeod - Cole Harbour U18
RD 13 #233 - G Thomas Laplante - Mille-Isles QM17AAA
RD 14 #251 - RW Will Bent - Mount St. Charles Academy 

CHL IMPORT DRAFT
The Canadian Hockey League Import Draft was held on July 3 and the Mooseheads used their first of two selections to pick defenceman Carlos Handel from Erlangen, Germany. According to the press release, Handel is 6-foot-1 and played both at the J18 and J20 levels this past season with the Malmo Redhawks program in Sweden. "We've been watching him for the last year-and-a-half. We saw him about 18 months ago in Germany and he just dazzled us as an underage player. He's a heck of a hockey player and he plays a complete game," said General Manager Cam Russell. 

Handel will join sophomore Jan Sprynar as the team's two import roster spots for the 2024-25 season. 

TEAM CANADA WINS HLINKA
The annual summer Hlinka Gretzky Cup saw Team Canada be on top of the podium once again. Forward Liam Kilfoil scored in the championship game to help the Canadians win Gold as they beat Czechia 2-1 in Edmonton, AB. Kilfoil added two assists during the tournament, playing five games. A total of 22 players with ties to the CHL won the ultimate trophy. 

Prospect Carlos Handel participated in the tournament as his German team finished 6th out of eight teams. 

Congrats to Liam and Team Canada on becoming champions. 

Photo - Hockey Canada website

OTHER THINGS

• Goaltender Alexis Gravel agreed to teams on an ECHL standard player contract with the Orlando Solar Bears
• Former Mooseheads head coach Jon Greenwood was announced the new bench boss for the Truro Bearcats junior A team and will be joined by alum Ryan Falkenham who played for Halifax from 2011 to 2015 
• The WHL will host the 2026 Memorial Cup and five teams have announced they intend to bid on hosting: Brandon, Lethbridge, Medicine Hat, Spokane and Kelowna   
• Current Winnipeg Jets forward Nikolaj Ehlers helped Team Denmark book their ticket to the 2026 Olympics at the beginning of this month as the Danes won all three games in the final qualification tournament
• Jim Midgley wasn't out of a coaching job for long as PWHL Toronto announced he would be an assistant coach for the upcoming season 

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. 

Herd Word

HOCKEY CANADA SUMMER CAMPS
Three Halifax Mooseheads players will be in Calgary later this month for summer camps put on by Hockey Canada. After participating in the camp last year, 19-year-old Zachary L'Heureux was invited to the National Junior Team camp while new sophomores Mathieu Cataford and Dylan MacKinnon will be among the 44 players set to participate in the National Men's Summer U-18 Team camp. 

The U-18 players 'will compete for an opportunity to wear the Maple Leaf at the 2022 Hlinka Gretzky Cup in Red Deer, Alta. The selection camp, which takes place July 20-23, will include a variety of on- and off-ice sessions. Following the selection of the final roster on July 24, Team Canada will play a pair of games against Red and White teams from Canada's National Junior Team summer camp.' MacKinnon had two points in an injury filled season that saw him play only 52 games in his rookie season. Cataford, meanwhile, led the QMJHL's 16-year-olds with 46 points in 62 games and was nominated for rookie of the year. 

44 players will also be on the ice for the Junior Team camp which is set for July 23-27. "This is an exciting first step as we begin preparations for the upcoming season and the opportunity to compete at the 2023 World Juniors on home ice in Halifax and Moncton this December," Alan Millar added. " We are excited about this group of players, and we look forward to returning to the ice for a highly-competitive camp to kick off a new season." 

DUMAIS

Second year forward Jordan Dumais was once again rewarded for his discipline during the Canadian Hockey League awards that were held on June 28 in Saint John, NB. Dumais was one of the three nominations for the CHL Sportsman of the Year and named the 2021-22 recipient. Other nominees were Logan Stankoven of the Kamloops Blazers and Windsor Spitfires' Wyatt Johnston. The 18-year-old picked up only six penalty minutes during the regular season leading to him winning the QMJHL Sportsman of the Year award. 

Big congrats to Jordan on winning the award. 

FINAL RANKINGS

The final rankings were announced awhile ago but with the 2022 NHL Entry Draft coming up in a few days, I thought I would remind you where a few of our Herd players were ranked at the end of the season. Despite recording 109 points in 68 games, Jordan Dumais did not move up in the rankings and is still anticipated to go in the third round. 

Rankings amongst North American skaters
Jake Furlong  #68

Jordan Dumais  #73
Markus Vidicek  #116

You can catch the first round on Sportsnet at 8:00 p.m. AT on Thursday night, with rounds 2-7 happening on Friday afternoon. 

MEMORIAL CUP

After many delays, the 2022 Memorial Cup tournament was played in late June with the host Saint John Sea Dogs winning the final game and lifting the trophy on home ice. The Sea Dogs had a long break before playing in the Memorial Cup after getting ousted by the Rimouski Oceanic in Round 1 of the QMJHL playoffs. Saint John defeated the OHL champion Hamilton Bulldogs 6-3 on June 29 to win their second national championship in franchise history. 

Final standings 

Saint John Sea Dogs (hosts)
Hamilton Bulldogs (OHL champs)
Shawinigan Cataractes (QMJHL champs)

Edmonton Oil Kings (WHL champs)

CHL IMPORT DRAFT

Our Mooseheads used the 33rd overall pick in Friday's CHL Import Draft to select defenceman David Moravec of Czechia. The 2003-born Moravec is 6-feet-tall, weighs 190 points and is the 44th ranked European skater for the upcoming NHL Entry Draft. He recently represented his country at the 2022 World Junior Hockey Championship and has also played internationally at the U16, U17 and U18 levels. Moravec had four assists in 40 games in the 2021-22 season. 

Welcome to Moose Country David!

Cam Russell didn't use his second pick in the draft as forward Attilio Biasca is expected to be back on the team in 2022-23. The team also did not make any trades over the weekend when the summer trading period opened up on Saturday. 

Photos - Elite Prospects, Herd website, CBC website, The Hockey Writers

Herd Word: MacKinnon Off to Cup Finals

STANLEY CUP FINALS
The NHL Stanley Cup final series will begin on Wednesday and it will include a former Halifax Mooseheads player. Nova Scotia native Nathan MacKinnon and the Colorado Avalanche will be looking for the franchise's third Stanley Cup after sweeping the Edmonton Oilers last week in the conference finals. This will be first trip to the Stanley Cup final for MacKinnon in his career. The Herd alum scored a pivotal goal and registered seven shots on goal in the series clinching game which ended with a 6-5 score in overtime. Nathan has contributed 11 goals and 7 assists for 18 points in Colorado's 14 postseason games that has seen the team post an incredible 12-2 record in series wins over Nashville, St. Louis and Edmonton. The Avalanche had to wait a few days to find out who their opponent would be but now know and will take on the Tampa Bay Lightning for the trophy. Tampa is looking for their third straight championship. 

TICKETS

Our Halifax Mooseheads announced the prices and benefits for the 2022-23 season tickets the other day. One of the biggest benefits is the first right to not keep their seat for the 2023 World Juniors as long as you get your packages before July 15. Full season ticket packages begin at $225 for a youth ticket. Also available is the normal 15-game pack plus a family flex 20 package. 

Prices for a season membership are below:
                Red     Green

Adult       $615     $575
Senior     $515     $475
Student   $385     $445
Youth      $265     $225

Fans can get on the waiting list by going to the tickets page here or call 492-3470 as full packages don't go on sale until June 22. 

Q AWARDS
Mooseheads forward Jordan Dumais was named the QMJHL's most sportsmanlike player of 2022 a couple weeks ago. To be considered for the Frank J. Selke trophy, a player must prove his efficiency on the ice, demonstrate the utmost respect for opponents and officials as well as avoid the penalty box. One of the top used forwards on the Mooseheads, the Ile-Bizard, QC native spent no more than six minutes in the penalty box all season. Check out Dumais being presented the award here. Awesome job Jordan!

The league has been handing out the Golden Puck awards and recently announced the all-star rookie team for the 2021-22 season with Herd forward Mathieu Cataford cracking the list. Cataford led all 16-year-olds players in points with 46 after Halifax selected him with the sixth overall pick in the 2021 Q entry draft. Congrats to Mathieu on being given the honour. 

PRE-SEASON SCHEDULE

Our Halifax Mooseheads released their pre-season schedule for the upcoming season. The Herd will play a total of six games starting on August 23 with a trip to Sydney against the Cape Breton Eagles. Halifax's three home pre-season matches will be played at the RBC Centre in Dartmouth. Tickets will go on sale later in the summer. 

Full schedule below
August 23   Halifax at Cape Breton   7pm    Glace Bay Miners Forum
August 24   Cape Breton at Halifax   7pm    RBC Centre
August 26   Saint John at Halifax   7pm    RBC Centre
September 9   Halifax at Saint John   7pm    Centre Aitken 
September 11   Halifax at Cape Breton   3pm    Centre 200
September 16   Cape Breton at Halifax   7pm    RBC Centre

The regular season schedule was also announced on Tuesday but I will do a separate post for that. 

MEMORIAL CUP
Three of the four teams that will participate in the Memorial Cup are known now after the Edmonton Oil Kings won the WHL championship last night over the Seattle Thunderbirds. The Oil Kings won their series 4-2 after a 2-0 Game 6 victory in Alberta. Edmonton will join the Shawinigan Cataractes and the Saint John Sea Dogs in Saint John for the 2022 tournament. Shawinigan won the QMJHL title on June 11 with a 4-3 overtime win in Game 5. The OHL trophy will be handed out tomorrow evening as Game 7 is set to go in Hamilton between the hometown Bulldogs and the Windsor Spitfires. 

Congrats to Shawinigan and Edmonton on winning their respective leagues and to whoever wins the OHL. 

Photos - NHL and Mooseheads website, Sea Dogs Twitter

Saint John Named Memorial Cup Hosts

The Saint John Sea Dogs have been named the 2022 Memorial Cup hosts after a short bidding process. The announcement was originally supposed to be made the week of September 6 but was delayed twice, but the Canadian Hockey League came out with a video last night showing the trophy in the back of a car on the way to the host city which you can see here. 

From the CHL 
The Canadian Hockey League announced today that the Saint John Sea Dogs have been awarded the hosting rights of the 2022 Memorial Cup presented by Kia beginning June 3, 2022.

“We are extremely excited to be granting the rights to host this event to Saint John for the first time,” said CHL President Dan MacKenzie. “The bid committee did a fantastic job of outlining how Saint John will embrace the Memorial Cup with its Maritime hospitality to create an atmosphere that both celebrates the game and leaves a lasting legacy in the community.”

Founded in 2005, the Sea Dogs have participated in the Memorial Cup three times (2011, 2012, 2017) when the club finished as QMJHL President Cup titlists before claiming CHL supremacy in their first appearance. The 2022 rendition marks the first time the city of Saint John the year-end championship.

Finishing the 2020-21 season third place in the QMJHL’s Maritimes Division with a 15-14-3-1 record and 34 points, the Sea Dogs are led by general manager Trevor Georgie, head coach Gordie Dwyer, and returning leading scorer Ryan Francis. A Calgary Flames prospect, Francis is one of five NHL drafted prospects on the Sea Dogs alongside fellow forwards William Dufour (New York Islanders) and Cam MacDonald (Tampa Bay Lightning) as well as defencemen Jeremie Poirier (Calgary Flames) and William Villeneuve (Toronto Maple Leafs).

Saint John will be one of four teams to participate in the 2022 Memorial Cup presented by Kia alongside the playoff champion from each of the Western Hockey League, Ontario Hockey League, and Quebec Major Junior Hockey League. All games from the 2022 Memorial Cup presented by Kia will be nationally televised by TSN and RDS.

“Like all hockey fans across the country, Kia Canada is excited to welcome the return of the Memorial Cup tournament, which honours the men and women who have and continue to serve our great country,” said Kia Canada Director of Marketing Michael Kopke. “Congratulations to the Saint John Sea Dogs on their successful bid.”

The 2022 Memorial Cup presented by Kia site selection committee consisted of Colin Campbell (Sr. Executive Vice-President of Hockey Operations, NHL), Natalie Cook (Vice-President of TSN/RDS, Bell Media), Nancy Orr (P.E.I. Chief Provincial Court Judge), Dan MacKenzie (President, Canadian Hockey League), and Sébastien Vézina (Partner, Lavery Lawyers).

The Sea Dogs were one of two clubs alongside the Quebec Remparts to submit bids to host the 2022 Memorial Cup presented by Kia. Cancelled the past two years due to the global pandemic, the Memorial Cup was last played in 2019 when it was hosted by the Halifax Mooseheads and where the Rouyn-Noranda Huskies ultimately won their first-ever CHL championship.

Congrats to GM Trevor Gregoire, the rest of the Sea Dogs organization and the city of Saint John on winning the bid and getting the tournament for the first time. Let's hope that we can get through this season without much interruption and can finally have the Memorial Cup be presented in 2022.  

Herd Word

MESSAGE TO MOOSE COUNTRY
With the news on Tuesday afternoon that Nova Scotia will be delaying the start of Phase 5 of its reopening plan, questions were brought up about what restrictions will be in place for the Halifax Mooseheads home opener. According to Scotiabank Centre, the game will go on as planned but fans will be required to wear a mask at all times except for when eating or drinking and need to provide a proof of vaccination. The regulation around vaccination proof is not a surprise as it was announced that everyone attending would need it back a few weeks ago. 

See below the full message from the Herd.

INJURIES
The season hasn't even officially started and Cam Russell is already dealing with injuries. Elliot Desnoyers had surgery earlier in the summer and has been rehabilitating during the last while in Philadelphia but is expected to be in the lineup come opening night. Halifax was dealt another blow to their forward group over the weekend as two more players went down during training camp. Hand injuries will keep out sophomores James Swan and Attilio Biasca for a significant amount of time. 17-year-old Swan suffered a broken hand during practice last Thursday and is expected to be gone for 4-6 weeks. Biasca, 18, left Saturday's pre-season match early because of a thumb injury and was to undergo surgery this past Monday. How long he will be out is not clear at this time. 

PEETERS

Our Halifax Mooseheads have gotten one player back from NHL rookie camps as the Arizona Coyotes returned forward Senna Peeters to the club Wednesday. This means that the 19-year-old will not participate in the Coyotes prospect tournament like I thought he would. We may see a couple more players be sent back this weekend but hopefully one or two will make main camps later in the month. 

Here's a picture of Senna in the Coyotes uniform. The Duerne, Belgium native was a free agent invite.

MEMORIAL CUP
The announcement of who will host the 2022 Memorial Cup has been delayed again. It was originally planned to be made the week of Sept. 6 but was pushed to this week. Journalist Kevin Dube reported that the identity of the chosen team will be revealed next week now. Only two teams put their names forward for this year's tournament; the Saint John Sea Dogs and the Quebec Remparts. Saint John has never hosted the Memorial Cup while Quebec last hosted it in 2015 and in 2003 before that. 

It will be back-to-back years for the QMJHL to host the flagship tournament as the Halifax Mooseheads were the last team to host in 2019. The past two (2020 and 2021) have been cancelled because of the COVID-19 pandemic. The tournament will be held later this year from June 2-12. 

TOMILSON

20-year-old Brendan Tomilson was not without a team for long as he was acquired by the Pickering Panthers of the Ontario Junior A Hockey League the other day. Tomilson was released by the Mooseheads at the end of August despite having a stronger season in 2020-21 where he scored 3 goals and picked up 9 points in 25 games played. The Cameron, ON native had 8 points in 55 games the year before. 

Good luck Brendan with your new team in Picketing. 

Photos - Herd Twitter & Panthers Twitter

Around the CHL ~ volume #1 preview edition #8

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 2018-19
WHL - Prince Albert Raiders (East) 68 games played, 54-10-2-2 record, 112 points, 307 goals for/112 goals against; Vancouver Giants (B.C.) 68 games played, 48-15-3-2 record, 101 points, 228 goals for/162 goals against; Everett Silvertips (U.S.) 68 games played, 47-18-2-3 record, 99 points, 223 goals for/130 goals against; Edmonton Oil Kings (Central) 68 games played, 42-18-4-4 record, 92 points, 259 goals for/198 goals against
OHL - Ottawa 67's (East) 68 games played, 50-2-4-2 record, 106 points, 296 goals for/183 goals against; London Knights (Midwest) 68 games played, 46-15-6-1 record, 99 points, 299 goals for/211 goals against; Saginaw Spirit (West) 68 games played, 45-17-3-3 record, 96 points, 294 goals for/218 goals against; Niagara IceDogs (Central) 68 games played, 44-17-7-0 record, 95 points, 326 goals for/209 goals against
QMJHL - Rouyn-Noranda Huskies (West) 68 games played, 59-8-0-1 record, 119 points, 320 goals for/138 goals against; Drummondville Voltiguers (Central) 68 games, 52-13-2-1 record, 107 points, 338 goals for/173 goals against; Halifax Mooseheads (Maritimes) 68 games played, 49-15-2-2 record, 102 points, 300 goals for/164 goals against; Baie-Comeau Drakkar (East) 68 games played, 49-15-2-2 record, 102 points, 306 goals for/189 goals against

League championships 2019
President's Cup - Rouyn-Noranda Huskies vs. Halifax Mooseheads  (Huskies won series 4 games to 2 games)
J. Ross Robertson Cup - Ottawa 67's vs. Guelph Storm (Storm won series 4 games to 2 games)
Ed Chynoweth Cup - Prince Albert Raiders vs. Vancouver Giants (Raiders won series 4 games to 3 games)

Memorial Cup 2019
Teams - Guelph (OHL champion), Halifax (hosts), Prince Albert (WHL champion), Rouyn-Noranda (QMJHL champion)

Final May 26, 2019 Halifax vs. Rouyn-Noranda 4-2

ROUYN-NORANDA HUSKIES WIN 2019 MEMORIAL CUP!!!


Team changes
The Kootenay Ice of the Western Hockey League were relocated to Manitoba and named the Winnipeg Ice. The Cape Breton Screaming Eagles were renamed the Cape Breton Eagles. 

Rouyn-Noranda will look to repeat as Memorial Cup champions. This year the Memorial Cup will be held in Kelowna, home of the Kelowna Rockets 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 might include a few Halifax Mooseheads. The 2020 Sherwin-Williams CHL/NHL Top Prospects game will be hosted by the Hamilton Bulldogs on January 16.

Huskies Win National Title

Photo - Vincent Ethier

Well, the QMJHL's 50th season has come to an end and it couldn't have finished any better I'm sure as both league representative's in the tournament were in the championship game.

The Rouyn-Noranda Huskies defeated our Halifax Mooseheads for the sixth time in the month of May to claim it's first Memorial Cup trophy on Sunday night. Halifax got out to a 2-0 lead in the final match of the year before the Huskies came back to score 4 unanswered goals to win a trophy once again on Scotiabank Centre ice. Rouyn-Noranda were crowned the President Cup winners earlier this month while the Mooseheads were the tournament hosts. The two teams finished the round-robin with 2-1 records, Halifax was given a bye to the last game because of the tie-breaker rules while the Huskies had to defeat the Guelph Storm (OHL) in the semi-final. Peter Abbandonato scored what would end up being the game winning goal just 3:02 into the third period to help his team get a 4-2 victory.

Congratulations to the Huskies on being 2019 national champs!


In other news...

• With the best goals against average and save percentage of the tournament, Alexis Gravel was named the Top Goaltender. He was also named to the all-star team along with teammate Benoit-Olivier Groulx 
• The Stanley Cup finals are underway and there is one former Moosehead still playing; Brad Marchand and the Boston Bruins are taking on the St. Louis Blues for the holy grail. Marchand leads the Bruins with 8 goals and 19 points through 18 games in this year's playoffs 
• Herd alumni Ladislav Nagy played his last international game last Tuesday, representing Slovakia at the 2019 IIHF World Championships. Nagy, who turns 40 on Saturday, scored the shootout winner for the Slovaks against Denmark in the country's final round robin game as the team did not advance to the playoff round this year

Memorial Cup Championship Game

GAMEDAY

2019 Memorial Cup Game Eight

Championship

Rouyn-Noranda Huskies at Halifax Mooseheads

May 26 - 8:00pm

Scotiabank Centre

The biggest game to be played in Moose Country is happening tonight with our Halifax Mooseheads taking on the Rouyn-Noranda Huskies at 8pm. After 10 more days of hockey, the 2018-19 junior hockey season will come to an end today. This is the 8th time this month that these two teams have met each other and just like 15 days ago, a trophy is on the line. Rouyn-Noranda is looking to win their first Memorial Cup in club history while Halifax will be hoping to repeat what happened exactly six years ago when they won the Mooseheads only national championship. The Huskies are coming off a big 6-3 victory over the OHL champion Guelph Storm in Friday's semi-final game to get to this game. It's a sell out crowd for this evening but you can watch the match on Sportsnet if you don't have tickets.

Rouyn-Noranda: 1st West Division, 1st Western Conference, 1st QMJHL 59-8-0-1=119 points

Joel Teasdale (14G & 20A), Felix Bibeau (14G & 15A), Noah Dobson (8G & 21A)

Samuel Harvey 16-3-1-0, 1.97 GAA, 0.924 SAV%

def. Shawinigan Cataractes (4-2, 1st round), Victoriaville Tigres (4-0, quarters), Rimouski Oceanic (4-0, semis), Halifax Mooseheads (4-2, finals)

Coached by Mario Pouliot

Halifax: 1st Maritimes Division, 1st Eastern Conference, 3rd QMJHL 49-15-2-2=102 points

Raphael Lavoie (20G & 12A), Arnaud Durandeau (10G & 10A), Maxim Trepanier (6G & 14A)

Alexis Gravel 14-8-0-0, 2.73 GAA, 0.917 SAV%

def. Quebec Remparts (4-3, 1st round), Moncton Wildcats (4-0, quarters), Drummondville Voltigeurs (4-2, semis), by Rouyn-Noranda Huskies (4-2, finals)

Coached by Eric Veilleux

ROUYN-NORANDA WINS

May 24, 2019

Guelph Storm vs. Rouyn-Noranda Huskies

Attendance: 10,595

In what was most certainly a pro-Guelph crowd on Friday evening, the Rouyn-Noranda Huskies battled and defeated the Storm 6-4 to earn a spot in the Memorial Cup championship game on Sunday. The Huskies got off to a quick start, with Alex Beaucage scoring just under five minutes into the game on a power-play, but Guelph came back with two goals by Isaac Ratcliffe and Jack Hanley 60 seconds apart to take the lead. It seemed like we were going to get a even higher scorer game as it was tied 3-3 with 23:11 remaining but defence came into play in the later part of the second period. Felix Bibeau scored twice in the third to give Rouyn-Noranda a two goal lead before Ratcliffe made it interesting with 73 seconds to go. With the loss, the Storm's quest for another trophy has come to an end with a semi-final defeat.

Final: Rouyn-Noranda 6 at Guelph 4
Shot count: Storm - 38, Huskies - 39
Goal scorers: Alex Beaucage ROU (1) P1 4:58(PP), Isaac Ratcliffe GUE (2) P1 6:28, Jack Hanley GUE (1) P1 7:28, Joel Teasdale (ROU (3) P1 9:31, Cedric Ralph GUE (1) P2 5:53, Tyler Hinam ROU (3) P2 6:49, Felix Bibeau ROU (3) P3 5:40, Felix Bibeau ROU (4) P3 12:33, Isaac Ratcliffe GUE (3) P3 18:47, Rafael Harvey-Pinard ROU (1) P3 19:57(EN)
Powerplay: ROU 1/1, GUE 0/2
3 stars: 3. Noah Dobson ROU, 2. Dmitri Samorukov GUE, 1. Felix Bibeau ROU

MEMORIAL CUP GAME #7: Semi-final

GAMEDAY

2019 Memorial Cup Game Seven

Semi-final

Rouyn-Noranda Huskies at Guelph Storm

May 24 - 8:00pm

Scotiabank Centre

Rouyn-Noranda: 1st West Division, 1st Western Conference, 1st QMJHL 59-8-0-1=119 points

Joel Teasdale (14G & 20A), Felix Bibeau (14G & 15A), Noah Dobson (8G & 21A)

Samuel Harvey 16-3-1-0, 1.97 GAA, 0.924 SAV%

def. Shawinigan Cataractes (4-2, 1st round), Victoriaville Tigres (4-0, quarters), Rimouski Oceanic (4-0, semis), Halifax Mooseheads (4-2, finals)

Coached by Mario Pouliot

Guelph: 2nd Midwest Division, 4th Western Conference, 8th OHL 40-18-6-4=90 points

Nick Suzuki (16G & 26A), Isaac Ratcliffe (15G & 15A), Dmitri Samorukov (10G & 18A)

Anthony Popovich 16-7-1-0, 3.12 GAA, 0.894 SAV%

def. Kitchener Rangers (4-0, quarters), London Knights (4-3, semis), Saginaw Spirit (4-3, finals), Ottawa 67's (4-2, OHL finals)

Coached by George Burnett

Rouyn-Noranda wins

May 22, 2019 
Rouyn-Noranda Huskies vs. Halifax Mooseheads

Attendance: 10,004

The Halifax Mooseheads celebrated despite losing a close game against the Rouyn-Noranda Huskies to finish the round robin on Wednesday night. Because of the way the Canadian Hockey League decides their tie-break scenarios for first place if three teams have 2-1 records, the Herd needed to lose by one goal with the score 4-3 or lower, if they couldn't win, to secure a bye to the Memorial Cup championship game. That 4-3 result was how the match would end after the Huskies dominated in the third period and were able to get two goals past Alexis Gravel. It looked like Rouyn-Noranda might get the result they wanted to get the bye as they led 2-0 after twenty minutes with goals from Felix Bibeau and Joel Teasdale but Halifax took the intermission to regroup and had a very strong period. The Mooseheads scored three times in the middle frame, including a power play goal from Antoine Morand, which was his third of the tournament, coming with just 43 seconds left. William Rouleau picked up his first at the 10:!3 mark, making a lot of the 10,000 fans nervous. Jakub Lauko scored in the final minute to give his team the victory.

Final: Halifax 3 at Rouyn-Noranda 4
Shot count: Huskies - 40, Mooseheads - 27
Goal scorers: Felix Bibeau ROU (2) P1 14:38, Joel Teasdale ROU (2) P1 15:50, Benoit-Olivier Groulx HAL (1) P2 0:48, Arnaud Durandeau HAL (1) P2 7:34, Antoine Morand HAL (3) P2 19:!7, William Rouleau ROU (1) P3 10:13, Jakub Lauko ROU (2) P3 19:05
Powerplay: HAL 1/3, ROU 0/2
3 stars: 3. Jakub Lauko ROU, 2. Benoit-Olivier Groulx HAL, 1. Peter Abbandonato ROU

MEMORIAL CUP GAME #6: Hosts vs. QMJHL

GAMEDAY

2019 Memorial Cup Game Six

Round Robin

Halifax Mooseheads at Rouyn-Noranda Huskies

May 22 - 8:00pm

Scotiabank Centre 

It's a President Cup rematch tonight at the Memorial Cup as the round robin portion closes out. There's big stakes with this evening's game as a bye to the final is on the line. A win from our Halifax Mooseheads will give them a 3-0 record while a loss would leave three teams with 2-1 records and it would get complicated to determine who would get first in the standings. The Rouyn-Noranda Huskies will be the designated home team for the game and will be looking to win another contest on Scotiabank Centre ice but the Mooseheads will want some revenge. Even though it's a mid-week affair, I imagine the arena will be electric. Let's cheer on the boys Moose Country to a victory.

Halifax: 1st Maritimes Division, 1st Eastern Conference, 3rd QMJHL 49-15-2-2=102 points

Raphael Lavoie (20G & 12A), Arnaud Durandeau (10G & 10A), Maxim Trepanier (6G & 14A)

Alexis Gravel 14-8-0-0, 2.73 GAA, 0.917 SAV%

def. Quebec Remparts (4-3, 1st round), Moncton Wildcats (4-0, quarters), Drummondville Voltigeurs (4-2, semis), by Rouyn-Noranda Huskies (4-2, finals)

Coached by Eric Veilleux

Rouyn-Noranda: 1st West Division, 1st Western Conference, 1st QMJHL 59-8-0-1=119 points

Joel Teasdale (14G & 20A), Felix Bibeau (14G & 15A), Noah Dobson (8G & 21A)

Samuel Harvey 16-3-1-0, 1.97 GAA, 0.924 SAV%

def. Shawinigan Cataractes (4-2, 1st round), Victoriaville Tigres (4-0, quarters), Rimouski Oceanic (4-0, semis), Halifax Mooseheads (4-2, finals)

Coached by Mario Pouliot

GUELPH WINS

May 21, 2019

Prince Albert Raiders vs. Guelph Storm

Attendance: 9,248

The Guelph Storm have ended the season for the Prince Albert Raiders after a 5-2 victory on day 5 of the Memorial Cup. Guelph won their second game of the tournament to improve to 2-1 for the round robin while Prince Albert finished with a 0-3 record. Because of this, there will be no tie-breaker game on Thursday. The Raiders looked out of place in all three of their matches and it seemed like they didn't get any luck at all. The Storm looked dominate all game long and were led by Nick Suzuki  who scored the last goals. Toronto Maple Leafs prospect Fedor Gordeev picked up his first goal of the tournament as he beat fellow Leafs prospect Ian Scott to open the scoring. Prince Albert and the Storm would trade goals after that and the score was tied at 2-2 after 20 minutes. Liam Hawel scored on the power play just 1:21 into the second period to give the Ontario Hockey League champs the lead and they never looked back.

Final: Guelph 5 at Prince Albert 2
Shot count: Raiders - 21, Storm - 25
Goals scorers: Feder Gordeev GUE (1) P1 9:42, Sean Montgomery PA (1) P1 11:32, Isaac Ratcliffe GUE (1) P1 15:18, Dante Hannoun PA (1) P1 19:16, Liam Hawel GUE (1) P2 1:21(PP), Nick Suzuki GUE (2) P2 5:02, Nick Suzuki GUE (3) P3 6:42
Powerplay: GUE - 1/3, PA - 1/2
3 stars: 3. Brayden Pachal PA, 2. Nick Suzuki GUE, 1. Isaac Ratcliffe GUE

ROUYN-NORANDA WINS

May 20, 2019

Prince Albert Raiders vs. Rouyn-Noranda Huskies

Attendance: 9,186

Final: Rouyn-Noranda 6 at Prince Albert 3
Shot count: Raiders - 33, Huskies - 33
Goal scorers: Tyler Hinam ROU (1) P1 4:34, Cole Fonstad PA (1) P1 8:32, Brayden Pachal PA (1) P1 13:47, Joel Teasdale ROU (1) P1 18:32(PP), Felix Bibeau ROU (1) P2 12:59, Noah Gregor PA (2) P2 17:43, Tyler Hinam ROU (2) P3 15:28, Peter Abbandonato ROU (1) P3 16:53, Noah Dobson ROU (1) P3 18:19(EN)
Powerplay: ROU 1/3, PA 0/3
3 stars: 3. Rafael Harvey-Pinard ROU, 2. Tyler Hinam ROU, 1. Noah Gregor PA

MEMORIAL CUP GAME #4: QMJHL vs. WHL

GAMEDAY

2019 Memorial Cup Game Four

Round Robin

Rouyn-Noranda Huskies at Prince Albert Raiders

May 19 - 8:00pm

Scotiabank Centre

Rouyn-Noranda: 1st West Division, 1st Western Conference, 1st QMJHL 59-8-0-1=119 points

Joel Teasdale (14G & 20A), Felix Bibeau (14G & 15A), Noah Dobson (8G & 21A)

Samuel Harvey 16-3-1-0, 1.97 GAA, 0.924 SAV%

def. Shawinigan Cataractes (4-2, 1st round), Victoriaville Tigres (4-0, quarters), Rimouski Oceanic (4-0, semis), Halifax Mooseheads (4-2, finals)

Coached by Mario Pouliot

Prince Albert: 1st East Division, 1st Eastern Conference, 1st WHL 54-10-2-2=112 points

Brett Leason (10G & 15A), Dante Hannoun (14G & 10A), Noah Gregor (13G & 11A)

Ian Scott 16-6-1-0, 1.96 GAA, 0.925 SAV%

def. Red Deer Rebels (4-0, quarters), Saskatoon Blades (4-2, semis), Edmonton Oil Kings (4-2, finals), Vancouver Giants (4-3, WHL finals)

Coached by Marc Habscheid