Game Day 68: at Regiment

PREVIEW - After 6 months of playing tough hockey and battling it out, we have come to the final regular season game of 2025-26 and our Halifax Mooseheads are visiting the Newfoundland Regiment. The two teams met last night with the home Regiment winning quite handedly 6-1. Quinn Kennedy picked up his 31st goal of the season in the loss, which also locked up 7th place in the standings for the Mooseheads. Halifax's playoff opponent is still to be determined but it would be nice for the boys to go in to it with a victory. They're in a tough spot though as number 1 goaltender Owen Bresson is serving the 3rd of his 5 game suspension this afternoon, meaning that Nicolas Cirka will be in net. Newfoundland is led by overage forward Justin Larose who has 88 points this season which is good enough for 4th in the league. Meanwhile, rookie Oleg Kulebiakin still has the most points for the Herd with 73. 

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

Overall records
Mooseheads: 29-28-3-3 = 64 points (5th in Maritimes division, 12th overall)
Regiment: 37-22-3-1 = 78 points (2nd in Maritimes division, 6th overall)

Leading scorers
NFL: Justin Larose 88pts (32G & 56A), Marek Danicek 72pts (33G & 39A), Dawson Sharkey 60pts (31G & 29A)
HAL: Oleg Kulebiakin 73pts (29G & 44A), Shawn Carrier 61pts (36G & 25A), Quinn Kennedy 54pts (31G & 23A)

Head-to-head
Halifax is 2-5-0-0 against the Regiment this season while Newfoundland has a 5-2-0-0 record versus the Mooseheads. For their previous meeting, see above. 

Out of town
Eagles vs. Sea Dogs - 3:00 p.m.
Wildcats vs. Islanders - 4:00 p.m.
Sagueneens vs. Remparts - 5:00 p.m.
Drakkar vs. Oceanic - 5:00 p.m.
Olympiques vs. Voltigeurs - 5:00 p.m.
Cataractes vs. Tigres - 5:00 p.m.
Foreurs vs. Huskies - 5:00 p.m.
Phoenix vs. Armada - 5:00 p.m.

After the buzzer 
Halifax will continue on the road with the first two games of the post-season but opponent and time to be determined. 

Game Day 10 & 11: vs Regiment

PREVIEW - Our Halifax Mooseheads are in the midst of a six game home-stand and will welcome the Newfoundland Regiment for a two match set on Friday and Saturday night. The Regiment relocated to St. John's, NL this past summer after spending 27 years in Bathurst, NB. Newfoundland kicked off their inaugural season well, defeating the reigning champion Moncton Wildcats twice in back to back games to start the year but they find themselves with a 5-5-0-0 record going into tonight's contest. Halifax meanwhile is preforming better than most people expected them to early on in this campaign, with 6 victories over 9 games so far. Assuming they keep to what they posted on the selection form for half season packages, Moose Country should see an East Coast Kitchen Party this weekend at the Scotiabank Centre. Despite their record, the Regiment do have the top two current scoring leaders in the Q so our Herd will have to play well defensively against them. 

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

Overall records
Regiment: 5-5-0-0 = 10 points (5th in Maritimes division, 12th overall)
Mooseheads: 6-3-0-0 = 12 points (2nd in Maritimes division, 5th overall)

Leading scorers
HAL: Shawn Carrier 8pts (5G & 3A), Quinn Kennedy 8pts (5G & 3A), Oleg Kulebyakin 8pts (5G & 3A)
NFL: Justin Larose 19pts (7G & 12A), Marek Danicek 17pts (6G & 11A), Louis-Francois Belanger 12pts (6G & 6A)

Head-to-head
This is the first match of the season between these two teams. Halifax had a 2-3-3-0 record against the Titan in their last year in Bathurst while they went 6-2-0-0 versus the Mooseheads. Emile Perron had the overtime winner as Acadie-Bathurst came back from a 3-0 deficit to win 4-3 in extra time. Callum Aucoin had 2 goals for Halifax in the road loss. 

Out of town
Wildcats vs. Tigres - 7:00 p.m.
Islanders vs. Foreurs - 7:00 p.m.
Drakkar vs. Eagles - 8:00 p.m.
Armada vs. Voltigeurs - 8:00 p.m.
Oceanic vs. Phoenix - 8:00 p.m.
Sagueneens vs. Remparts - 8:00 p.m.
Olympiques vs. Cataractes - 8:00 p.m.

After the buzzer
Halifax will finish their home stand next Saturday when they welcome the Cape Breton Eagles for DND Appreciation Night. Puck drops at 7 p.m.

Introducing the Newfoundland Regiment

I'm a few weeks behind on sharing this but I thought I still would. 

What has been rumoured for the last couple of seasons became a reality back in December when the QMJHL announced the purchase of the Acadie-Bathurst Titan by a group named SPS Entertainment. They are business owners who plan to relocate the team to St. John's, Newfoundland in time for the 2025-26 season. Before the club even had a name, season tickets were on sale with fans being able to put down a deposit to hold their spot. 

From a CBC article posted on December 20; "St. John's is a market that the league has kept an eye on since the departure of the Fog Devils more than 15 years ago," said QMJHL commissioner Mario Cecchini in a new release on Friday. "The ownership is solid, the arena is outstanding, and Newfoundland and Labrador fans love hockey."

Photo - Regiment facebook page

A little over a month later, the team's identity was revealed at a press conference held on January 23 in a military building in St. John's with team ownership and government officials in attendance. The new team will be named the Newfoundland Regiment in honour of the province's military heritage. 

"The name Newfoundland Regiment not only pays homage to the incredible legacy left by these brave soldiers but also embodies the values of courage, unity and resilience. These qualities continue to be displayed by the men and women of the modern Royal Newfoundland Regiment," said Glenn Stanford, president of the new team. 

Video introducing the team name

No jerseys were unveiled during the press conference. I wonder if we will see them when the team makes their first selection at the 2025 Q entry draft on June 6. 

According to the team's press release 'the team's new logo prominently features a Woodland Caribou, the symbol for which the Regiment is known and a nod to the Regiment's past and current cap badge. This symbol, along with the regimental crest and the crown icon in the logo, captures the spirit of excellence and dedication exemplified by the Royal Newfoundland Regiment. Team colours include puttee blue, legacy maroon and heritage tan.'

This will be the second go around for a QMJHL franchise in the city following the St. John's Fog Devils from 2005 to 2008. The Newfoundland Regiment will play at the Mary Brown's Centre starting this fall.