Herd Word

NHL DRAFT
I'm super late to share this but since we're getting close to the end of the National Hockey League regular season, I thought I would share where some of our Halifax Mooseheads players were among the mid-season rankings back in January. There are 3 current Herd ranked this time. We may see these guys below move up (or down) when the final rankings are released in the next few weeks. 

Eddy Doyle - #66
Oleg Kulebiakin - #68

Daniel Walters - #147

Forward Gavin McKenna of the Penn State Nittany Lions was stilled ranked #1 and I'm sure we will see him go in that spot in late June. Meanwhile, Xavier Villeneuve was the top QMJHL player on the Central Scouting listing at 15. 

Photo - Herd website

HERD SWEPT
Well, there was no great upset this season for Halifax as the team were swept by the Chicoutimi Sagueneens in the first round of the playoffs. In the 2025 QMJHL playoffs the Eastern Conference 9th ranked Mooseheads defeated the Western Conference number 1 Drummondville Voltigeurs. Despite an improvement in wins and points, Halifax finished 7th in the East but had to take on the highest scoring team in the QMJHL; the Sags. Chicoutimi certainly showed their offensive talents outscoring the Herd 24-4 in the four game series. 

So the 2025-26 season is now over for our favourite team unfortunately. There is lots to look forward to though, including the different drafts and trade deadline. It will be interesting what moves Cam Russell and co. make this summer to bolster the roster for next year.

Thanks for another entertaining year Halifax Mooseheads. 

STUDENT OF THE YEAR

Veteran forward Liam Kilfoil was announced as the Mooseheads nominee for the Marcel-Robert Trophy earlier this month. The prestigious honour is awarded annually to the student-athlete of the year - the player who best combines on-ice performance with academic success. A total of 18 nominees were announced on April 2, one player from each of the QMJHL's teams, of which three will be named as finalists soon. 

Congrats to Liam and good luck to him. If I have kept track correctly, no Herd player has actually won the trophy though an alumni did (Mathieu Cataford, Rimouski - 2023-24). 

Photo - QMJHL website

DRAFT ODDS

The 2026 QMJHL Entry Draft will for the first time be held at the Scotiabank Centre in Halifax, NS by your Halifax Mooseheads. Halifax currently has fourteen picks over the two days. 

A week ago, the league released the draft lottery date and the lottery odds. Despite finishing outside of the bottom 5, Moose Country will still have an interest in the lottery as Halifax has the Rimouski Oceanic's first round pick. Rimouski finished 17th overall and out of the playoffs. The lottery will take place on April 21st at 6:30 p.m. (presumedly Eastern time).and be broadcaste live on RDS 

Here are the odds:

18th position: Rouyn-Noranda (from BAC) - 9 balls or 42.9%

17th position: Halifax (from RIM) - 6 balls or 28.6%

16th position: Shawinigan (from GAT) - 3 balls or 14.3%

15th position: Victoriaville - 2 balls or 9.5%

14th position: Saint John - 1 ball or 4.8%

JERSEY CONTEST

The CHL Jersey Contest auction raised thousands of dollars with 100% of the proceeds being donated to PC's Children's Charity. 

Classic Support from Moose Country 👏👏

A total of $13,425 was raised through our Real Atlantic Superstore #CHLJerseyContest auction. 100% of the proceeds have been donated to @PC_Charity which feeds 1-million children each year.

Thank you for your generosity | #GoMooseGo pic.twitter.com/Ac5HC9DQjT

— Halifax Mooseheads (@HFXMooseheads) April 7, 2026

Photo - Q website

ROOKIE TEAM

Mooseheads defenceman Malik L'Italien was named to the QMJHL's All-Rookie Team last week, the league announced. 

L'Italien finished 25th in rookie scoring while playing in all 64 games during the regular season. The 16-year-old posted 4 goals and twenty assists for 24 points in his first year as a major junior player. You can find the full team below.

Goaltender: Jan Larys, Drummondville

Defenseman: Tommy Bleyl, Moncton

Defenseman: Malik L'Italien, Halifax

Forward: Egor Shilov, Victoriaville
Forward: Alexey Vlasov, Victoriaville 

Forward: Alexis Joseph, Saint John

I'm surprised that Oleg Kulebiakin wasn't named to the team but congrats to Malik on being awarded the honour. 

Round 1 battle against Chicoutimi

Photo - Herd website

The playoffs are set to begin next week and on the last day of the regular season, our Halifax Mooseheads finally know who they will play in Round 1. Being the 7th seed in the Eastern Conference, the Herd will battle against the 2nd seed Chicoutimi Sagueneens. 

Halifax lost their last two games this weekend against Newfoundland on the road to finish with a 29-29-3-3 record. The Mooseheads went 0-1-1-0 against the Sagueneens in during the regular season but as we know anything can happen in the playoffs. Chicoutimi battled it out with Moncton for the last couple of months for the top spot in the QMJHL but they didn't get any help and finished with a 49-10-3-2 record, good enough for 103 points, just behind the Wildcats. The Sags have the top scorer in both points and goals in Maxim Masse who recorded 51 goals and 102 points. 

Full schedule below. With the distance between teams, this series will be 2-3-2 instead of the normal 2-2-1-1-1 format. 

Game 1    Friday March 27 @ 8:00pm at Centre Georges-Vezina
Game 2    Saturday March 28 @ 8:00pm at Centre Georges-Vezina
Game 3    Tuesday March 31 @ 7:00pm at Scotiabank Centre
Game 4    Wednesday April 1 @ 7:00pm at Scotiabank Centre
*Game 5  Friday April 3 @ 7:00pm at Scotiabank Centre
*Game 6  Monday April 6 @ 8:00pm at Centre Georges-Vezina
*Game 7  Tuesday April 7 @ 8:00pm at Centre Georges-Vezina

*if necessary

Single game tickets for Games 3 and 4 are on sale now, you can purchase them at ticketmaster.ca or by phone 902-451-1221. 

Herd Word

UNIVERSITY CUP
The 2025 University Cup was played back in March and once again there were a few Mooseheads alumni participating. This year the teams included were; #1 New Brunswick Reds (AUS champs - Peter Reynolds), #2 Saskatchewan Huskies (CW champs), #3 Concordia Stingers (OUA champs), #4 Toronto Metropolitan Bold (OUA finalist - Kevin Gursoy), #5 Mount Royal Cougars (CW finalist), #6 Moncton Aigles Bleus (AUS finalist - Denis Toner), #7 Queen's Gaels (OUA bronze - Ethan Larmand) and #8 Ottawa Gee-Gees (OUA semifinalist - David Lafrance). 

In a big upset, the host Gee-Gees defeated the top ranked Reds in their first round game 3-2 in overtime. That victory propelled the University of Ottawa to its first University Cup trophy on March 23. They met the Stingers in the gold medal game and won 3-2. 

Congrats to former Herd David Lafrance on winning gold at the tournament. 

Photo - Gee-Gees website

FROM THE OWNERS
Shortly after our Mooseheads were ousted from the playoffs, the owners of the club Peter and Sam Simon shared a letter to Moose Country about the season. 

A week ago our season came to an end, but as we reflect, we couldn't be prouder of our team, staff, and organization. This season was one of a new culture, character, and identity that will forever continue to be the "Mooseheads way". Our group worked hard each night and competed to the highest degree. The belief was strong as ever that even with our youth, there was no limity what we could achieve. Our foundation is solid, and this is the minimum standard moving forward. Now it is incumbent upon us, our staff, and the returning players to take the next step and be even stronger. We set our own expectations internally, and the standard will only elevate from here.

Peter Simon also met with Scott McIntosh for a year end interview to share his thoughts on the season, what's next for the team and more. You can watch it on the clubs YouTube channel. 

CSS RANKINGS
The ending of the NHL regular season allows fans and teams who didn't make the playoffs a chance to switch their focus to the next one. With that, the NHL and Central Scouting Services announced in mid-April their final rankings for the 2025 NHL draft. A few current Herd players were among the 225 players on the North American list. No surprise here but the top two players ranked come from the Ontario Hockey League with Matthew Schaefer of the Erie Otters first followed by the Saginaw Spirit's Michael Misa at #2. Misa led the who CHL in scoring during the 2024-25 regular season. Moncton Wildcats' Caleb Desnoyers is the highest ranked QMJHL player. 

Halifax players ranked
D Carlos Handel  - #73
C Liam Kilfoil  - #90
LW Shawn Carrier  - #148

Hopefully we will see these guys get drafted in late June. 

BRAVES CHAMPIONS

Photo - QJHL website

A late congrats to the Valleyfield Braves who won the 2025 QJHL playoffs on April 23 against the reigning champs Longueuil. Moose alum James Swan captained the Braves this season and was teammates with another former Herd player in Vincent Gauthier. Swan tied the league lead in regular season scoring with 89 points (58G & 31A) in 48 games played, while Gauthier had 26 points in the playoffs including a goal in Game 6 to help Valleyfield win the series 4-2. 

The Braves will now compete for the national championship in Calgary, AB for a chance to lift the Centennial Cup starting May 8.

NHL PLAYOFF UPDATE
We started with six Herd alumni in the NHL post-season but are now down to two. Brad Marchand and the Florida Panthers have already booked their ticket to the second round after defeating Tampa Bay in 5 games. They will play the Toronto Maple Leafs now. Nikolaj Ehlers has been injured and missed the Winnipeg Jets' first five playoff games but was back in the lineup on Friday. The Jets had a great regular season winning the President Trophy as the best team in the NHL and will hope that they can advance tonight with a Game 7 victory. 

The Colorado Avalanche lost last night in Dallas which means that they are out of the playoffs now. Halifax native Nathan MacKinnon scored in the game but it wasn't enough as the Stars won the match 4-2 picking up a 4-3 series win. MacKinnon had 7 goals and 11 points to lead the Avs while Jonathan Drouin recorded 3 assists. The New Jersey Devils were the only other team in the playoffs with former Mooseheads participating with two Swiss forwards. Both Nico Hischier (4A) and Timo Meier (2G & 2A) had 4 points in five games as the Devils lost their series 4-1 against the Carolina Hurricanes. 

WEEGAR 

Photo - Hockey Canada Twitter

The first 15 players who will wear the maple leaf at the 2025 IIHF World Championship were announced by Hockey Canada on Thursday and Moose alum defenseman MacKenzie Weegar was on the roster. Weegar previously suited up for Canada in 2023 and will look to help them back to a medal after the red and white finished 4th in last year's tournament. 

I have not seen many other countries naming players who will participate in the tournament which is taking place May 9-25 in Stockholm, Sweden and Herning, Denmark. With MacKinnon out of the playoffs now we may see him on Team Canada and hopefully Meier and Hischier will suit of for Switzerland. 

Congrats and good luck to MacKenzie in the championships. 

INTERVIEW WITH COACH
The latest This Is Moose Country podcast hosted by Scott MacIntosh and Brad Cuzner has an interview with head coach Andrew Lord. Skip to 26:48 of the video if you just want to hear what Lord has to say. 

A few other notes

• Shawn Carrier was the latest player to be featured in the Q's Meet the Future series. 
• Goaltender Zach Fucale, forward Ostap Safin and the Traktor Chelyabinsk finished on top of the KHL regular season standings and are currently leading their semi-final series 3 games to 0. 
• Check out the video that the Herd posted as the team came together following their second round playoff loss.
• Scott MacIntosh did an article about how the rest of the 2024 Mooseheads draft class performed during the 2024-25 season. A couple of prospects (Logan Trewin & Gavin Sudds) won the NSU18MHL championship with the Halifax Macs.
• The Rimouski Oceanic will look to advance to the QMJHL finals with a win this evening in Game 6 of their series against the Shawinigan Cataractes. Puck drops at 5 p.m. AT in Shawinigan. Rimouski has 3 alumni on their team. 

Mooseheads Upset Drummondville

Photo - Saltwire

Mooseheads move on to round 2! There's something I did not think I would be writing in 2025 but our Halifax Mooseheads have won their series after picking up a 2-0 victory on Tuesday night against the Voltigeurs in Drummondville. It was a pretty even first period with the two teams going to the dressing rooms tied 0-0 after 20 minutes and shots 12-11 in favour of the home team. A couple of Drummondville penalties was all the excitement really in the opening period. It seemed like it would be a scoreless game after two periods but with 64 seconds remaining in the frame, rookie forward Carlos Handel broke the deadlock. The Volts even had a 4 minute power play after Shawn Carrier took a high sticking penalty just under six minutes into the second but the Moose killed it off. Shots after 40 minutes were 20-19. Drummondville stepped up their pressure in the final frame though to try and tie the game, outshooting Halifax 18-4 but I would say Moose goaltender Jacob Steinman was not ready to finish his junior hockey career yet as he picked up the shutout. Liam Kilfoil sealed the win by scoring into the empty net with less than a minute remaining. 

FINAL: Mooseheads 2 at Voltigeurs 0
Stars: 3. Carlos Handel HAL | 2. Louis-Felix Charrois DRU | 1. Jacob Steinman HAL
Attendance: 2,545

GAME LOG
First period
No scoring

Second period
18:56 HAL Carlos Handel (1) | A: Schultz

Third period
19:09 HAL Liam Kilfoil (3), EN | A: Fontaine & Aucoin

Powerplay: HAL - 0-for-3, DRU - 0-for-2
Shots: 38-23 in favour of Drummondville

UP NEXT: Game 1 of round 2 versus Rouyn-Noranda Huskies on Friday 

Around the CHL Playoff Update

What a Friday night in Moose Country and in the QMJHL as a whole during night 6 of the 2025 playoffs. First, I apologize for not keeping up with previews/recaps - I try to write something but it just hasn’t come to me lately. So I thought I would do a post-season update and as you'll see, words came to me today. 

Photo - Herd Twitter

In a series that probably most thought that Drummondville would sweep, the Volts find themselves down 3-2 after a very exciting Game 5 last night in Halifax. The Mooseheads went on the road and picked up two gutsy victories, both by a score of 3-2. For Game 1, Halifax was outshot and in a 0-2 hole early in the third period but an injury to Voltigeurs starting goaltender Riley Mercer turned the tide. Back-up Louis-Felix Charrois let in three goals on 5 shots as Antoine Fontaine, Caylen Blake and Quinn Kennedy scored for Halifax. The second game was a bit more back and forth but once again the home team had the upper hand in shots, however they could not get the victory as the teams went to overtime. Liam Kilfoil scored the OT winner in that one. Coming back home with two wins, Moose Country was excited to see their team continue that play but Jacob Steinman could only hold the boys in it for so long and the Herd lost 4-1 in Game 3. Drummondville tied the series up on Wednesday night with a 3-1 win where shots were 54-17 Volts. 

Photo - Herd Twitter

For a young team, Halifax has shown heart all season and in most games have been competitive. Well, Friday night was no different. They came out acting like they wanted to win and win they did in front of 6,760 fans. The away team got on the board first with a power play goal by Ethan Gauthier, his 6th of the series, but before the end of the opening period, Brady Schultz picked up his first of the playoffs to bring life back into the Scotiabank Centre and tie the game. Braeden MacPhee then gave Halifax the 2-1 lead a little past the halfway point. Yoan Tassé tied it up at the 7:38 mark of the third period though 90 seconds later Lincoln Waugh gave the Herd back the lead. Liam Kilfoil scored late in the third to give Halifax the 4-2 victory. 

The series will now shift to Drummondville again for game 6 and if necessary, game 7 as well. 

In the rest of the Q, four more series wrapped up on Friday so Chicoutimi, Rouyn-Noranda, Shawinigan and Sherbrooke will join Moncton and Rimouski in the second round. The Wildcats and Oceanic swept their series’ on Wednesday night while the others mentioned finished 4 games to 1. Number 5 Sherbrooke defeating #4 Blainville-Boisbriand in five games is a bit of an upset, though only 5 points separated the two clubs so it really could’ve gone either way. With the Sagueneens ousting the Acadie-Bathurst Titan, it ends this era of major junior hockey being in the Chaleur region as the team will move to St. John’s, NL for next season. At least Game 5 in that series was in NB so they got to say goodbye to their fans. 

Photo - Eagles website

You may have noticed there was one series I haven’t mentioned yet. That would be the #4 Baie-Comeau Drakkar versus the #5 Cape Breton Eagles. The two teams played a marathon of a game last night as the Eagles were trying to extend their season after going down 3 games to 1 in the series. Cape Breton forced a Game 6 after Angelo Fullerton scored the game winner in the 5th overtime period! And they did it in front of their home fans. At 141:42 minutes, the match was the longest in both franchise's history but the 2nd longest in league history. Apparently the game could've been done earlier but Baie-Comeau had two goals called back in the second and fourth overtime, and Cape Breton had one disallowed in the third extra frame. The goaltenders of course were busy but Jakub Milota was the busier of the two, stopping 84 of the Drakkar's 86 shots earning him first star honours. 

Here's how all the playoff series in the Canadian Hockey League 
WHL
E1 Medicine Hat Tigers vs. E8 Swift Current Broncos  4-1
E2 Prince Albert Raiders vs. E7 Edmonton Oil Kings  2-3
E3 Calgary Hitmen vs. E6 Saskatoon Blades  4-0
E4 Lethbridge Hurricanes vs. E5 Brandon Wheat Kings  4-1
W1 Everett Silvertips vs. W8 Seattle Thunderbirds  2-2
W2 Victoria Royals vs. W7 Tri-City Americans  4-1
W3 Spokane Chiefs vs. W6 Vancouver Giants  3-1
W4 Prince George Cougars vs. W5 Portland Winterhawks  2-3

OHL
E1 Brantford Bulldogs vs. E8 North Bay Battalion  3-1
E2 Barrie Colts vs. E7 Niagara IceDogs  3-1
E3 Kingston Frontenacs vs. E6 Sudbury Wolves  4-0
E4 Oshawa Generals vs. E5 Brampton Steelheads  3-2
W1 London Knights vs. W8 Owen Sound Attack  4-0
W2 Windsor Spitfires vs. W7 Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds  4-1
W3 Kitchener Rangers vs. W6 Flint Firebirds  4-1
W4 Saginaw Spirit vs. W5 Erie Otters  1-3

QMJHL 
E1 Moncton Wildcats vs. E8 Quebec Remparts  4-0
E2 Rimouski Oceanic vs. E7 Charlottetown Islanders  4-0
E3 Chicoutimi Sagueneens vs. Acadie-Bathurst Titan  4-1
E4 Baie-Comeau Drakkar vs. E5 Cape Breton Eagles  3-2
W1 Drummondville Voltigeurs vs. E9 Halifax Mooseheads  2-3
W2 Rouyn-Noranda Huskies vs. W7 Gatineau Olympiques  4-1
W3 Shawinigan Cataractes vs. W6 Val-d'Or Foreurs  4-1
W4 Blainville-Boisbriand Armada vs. W5 Sherbrooke Phoenix  1-4

Round 1 Opponent, Schedule Confirmed

We had to wait until the last day to find out who the opponent would be but our Halifax Mooseheads will play the Western conference champ Drummondville Voltigeurs in the 2025 playoffs. The series will start on Friday in Drummondville. 

This is one of those years where an eastern conference team crosses over to the western conference because of having more points at the end of the season than the 8th (and last) place West team. The Mooseheads clinched their berth in the post-season on March 16 with a victory over Cape Breton. However, two losses in the final weekend along with the Gatineau Olympiques picking up a victory on Saturday evening against the Volts pushed the Mooseheads down to the final playoff spot. 

Halifax went 0-2-0-0 against Drummondville during the regular season but as we know, playoffs are a different game and things you don't expect can happen. This is only the second playoff series between these two clubs after they met in the 2019 semi-final round. 

To accommodate the distance between the two cities, this will be a 2-3-2 series instead of the normal 2-2-1-1-1. Find the full schedule below (puck drops are Atlantic time) 

Game 1    Friday March 28 @ 8:00pm at Centre Marcel Dionne
Game 2    Saturday March 29 @ 8:00pm at Centre Marcel Dionne
Game 3    Tuesday April 1 @ 7:00pm at Scotiabank Centre
Game 4    Wednesday April 2 @ 7:00pm at Scotiabank Centre
*Game 5  Friday April 4 @ 7:00pm at Scotiabank Centre
*Game 6  Monday April 7 @ 8:00pm at Centre Marcel Dionne
*Game 7  Tuesday April 8 @ 8:00pm at Centre Marcel Dionne

*if necessary

Single game tickets for games 3 and 4 in Moose Country will go on sale to the general public on March 25. You can purchase them online at ticketmaster.ca or at the Scotiabank Centre box office. 

U-Sports Playoffs Begin Wednesday

The Atlantic University Sport playoffs are set to open on Wednesday night and it will include several former Halifax Mooseheads players. Once again, the post-season includes the Acadia Axemen, Moncton Aigles Bleus, Saint Mary's Huskies, St. Francis X-Men, UNB Reds and UPEI Panthers. 

Here are the final standings  (W-L-OTL-SOL)
#    Team                                            Record     Pts          
1.  University of New Brunswick      28-1-1-0     57
2.  Universite de Moncton                19-9-2-0     40
3.  Saint Mary's University               17-11-2-0    36
4.  St. Francis Xavier University      15-13-1-1   32
5.  Acadia University                        14-14-1-1   30
6.  University of PEI                          9-19-0-2    20
7.  Dalhousie University                    3-26-1-0     7

The Reds and the Aigles Bleus receive a first round bye. The Huskies will take on the Panthers in a series that will start tomorrow night in Halifax. The X-Men go up against the Axemen beginning on Thursday in Antigonish. Both series are a best-of-three. 

Here is the quarter-finals schedule
Feb 19    UPEI at Saint Mary's
Feb 20    Acadia at St. FX
Feb 21    Saint Mary's at UPEI 
Feb 22    St. FX at Acadia
Feb 23    UPEI at Saint Mary's   *if necessary
Feb 24    Acadia at St. FX   *if necessary

Herd alumni on playoff team rosters include; Zack Jones (Acadia), Robert Orr (UPEI), Peter Reynolds (UNB), Cole Stewart (STFX), Brendan Tomilson (Acadia), Denis Toner (Moncton) and Cameron Whynot (Acadia). 

Despite not being local, the road to the Queen's Cup for being the Ontario University Association champion contains a few past Moose players as well. Kevin Gursoy (TMU), Stephane Huard (McGill), David Lafrance (Ottawa) and Ethan Larmand (Queen's). While goaltender Brady James is listed on the Concordia Stingers roster, he only played one game for the team in the regular season so I doubt we will see him in the playoffs. 

Good luck to all the teams and to our former players during the playoffs on the road to the University Cup that will be held in Ottawa later in March. 

Alumni Update: Champions, Signings, Records

As you will have noticed the past few seasons, I have not done well keeping my blog or social media accounts updated with news about the Halifax Mooseheads alumni. There are so many now that it is hard to keep track plus with the time differences, I don't always see things that teams post about our former players. The 2023-24 season was a pretty good year for a number of alum in terms of records broken, championships won and milestones so I thought I would share them in one post. The summer also brings along signings by hockey clubs so they can get ready for the upcoming season and there were a number of them as well. 

First, let's begin with the league that generally finishes the earliest; U-Sports. A total of 20 former Mooseheads played university hockey during the 2023-24 season. For the third straight year, goaltender Alexis Gravel, defenceman Jordan Lepage and the UQTR Patriotes were champions of the OUA playoffs. Congrats to the Patriotes on winning the Queen's Cup. 

Photo - UQTR Twitter

I did share this news on social media but figured I would post here as well. After spending about seven seasons in North America, former Herd Otto Somppi went back home to Finland and was able to win the SM-Liiga championship with Tappara on April 28. The 26-year-old recorded a goal and six assists in 16 playoff games following a 27 point regular season. On the same day, 39-year-old forward Petr Vrana (who played for Halifax between 2002-2005) once again captained HC Ocelari Trinec to a Czech Extraliga championship trophy. 

Photo - Toronto Star

It was another spectacular season for superstar Nathan MacKinnon. The year of course began with our Mooseheads raising his number to the rafters at the team's home opener and retiring #22. MacKinnon went on to record his first 50 goal season and had a career-high 140 points while playing in all 82 regular season games with the Colorado Avalanche. He scored two assists on April 18, allowing him to pass Peter Stastny for most points in a season in franchise history. 

Though he couldn't help the Avs out of the second round, the 28-year-old did pick up some hardware at the annual NHL Awards ceremony in late June. Nathan was voted as the regular season Most Valuable Player by the Writers' Association and won the Ted Lindsay Award (most outstanding player). 

Meanwhile, Ottawa, ON native MacKenzie Weegar also silently had a historic season becoming the first player in NHL history to score 20 goals and block 200 shots. The defenceman finished the 2023-24 season with a career high 52 points, which coincidently is his number with the Calgary Flames. Weegar played his 400th career game on November 10. 

Other milestones during the season for Mooseheads alumni in the NHL;
- Nikolaj Ehlers (Winnipeg): 400th point October 30, 600th game April 6
- Filip Zadina (San Jose): 200th game November 2
- Raphael Lavoie (Edmonton): NHL debut November 4
- Nico Hischier (New Jersey): 300th point December 16, 400th game December 19
- Jonathan Drouin (Colorado): 500th game November 20, 300th point January 4
- Timo Meier (New Jersey): 500th game January 17

Former Herd forward Jakub Voracek announced his retirement from hockey in mid-April after playing 1,058 regular season games split between the Columbus Blue Jackets and Philadelphia Flyers. I'm sure he would like to have continued his career considering he is only 35 however, the Kladno, Czechia native suffered a concussion during a game on November 4, 2022. The Flyers traded him to the Arizona Coyotes in hopes to give him a chance at coming back but the team made the move knowing it was unlikely. Congrats to Jakub on a great career, Moose Country wishes you all the best with your next adventure. 

Photo - NHL Facebook

In his rookie pro season, Moose alumni Zachary L'Heureux broke out during the 2024 Calder Cup playoffs for the Milwaukee Admirals of the American Hockey League. Though he played less games because the Admirals didn't make it to the final series, L'Heureux scored 10 goals which tied him for the league lead in that column by the end. At one point during the post-season, the Montreal, QC native actual led the overall scoring. 

Photo - Oilers Twitter

Like I mentioned, summer brings signings and a number of alum put their name on the dotted line. Below you will find a list of them with contract details

• Jonathan Drouin: (UFA) re-signed Colorado Avalanche - 1-year contract $2.5 million
• Benoit-Olivier Groulx: (UFA) signed with NY Rangers - 1-year contract $775,000
• Justin Barron: (RFA) re-signed Montreal Canadiens - 2-year contract $2.3 million
• Raphael Lavoie: (RFA) re-signed Edmonton Oilers - 1-year 2-way contract $775,000
• Martin Frk: signed with Calgary Flames - 1-year 2-way contract $775,000

There probably have been more but these are the ones I have seen so far for signings overseas. After ending this past season in Norway, Maxim Trepanier has signed a contract with the Herlev Eagles in Denmark meanwhile Jared McIsaac is taking his talents to Czechia so he can suit up for HC Litvinov. 

CHL Playoffs Have Begun

It's the end of March which means that the best time of the hockey season is underway across the Canadian Hockey League. Normally, I would do an Around the CHL post but I thought I would do things a little different to set up the first round of the playoffs this year. I'm not going to give predictions as I haven't been paying attention to any other team but the Mooseheads. Five series began on Thursday night, one being in the WHL and the other 4 in the OHL.

Below you will find the Round 1 series matchups in the three regional leagues. 

Ed Chynoweth Cup playoffs
E1 Saskatoon Blades vs. E8 Prince Albert Raiders

E2 Swift Current Broncos vs. E7 Lethbridge Hurricanes
E3 Moose Jaw Warriors vs. E6 Brandon Wheat Kings
E4 Medicine Hat Tigers vs. E5 Red Deer Rebels

W1 Prince George Cougars vs. W8 Spokane Chiefs
W2 Portland Winterhawks vs. W7 Victoria Royals
W3 Everett Silvertips vs. W6 Vancouver Giants
W4 Wenatchee Wild vs. W5 Kelowna Rockets

J. Ross Robertson Cup playoffs
E1 Oshawa Generals vs. E8 Barrie Colts
E2 North Bay Battalion vs. E7 Kingston Frontenacs
E3 Brantford Bulldogs vs. E6 Ottawa 67's
E4 Mississauga Steelheads vs. E5 Sudbury Wolves

W1 London Knights vs. W8 Flint Firebirds
W2 Saginaw Spirit vs. W7 Owen Sound Attack
W3 Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds vs. W6 Guelph Storm

W4 Kitchener Rangers vs. W5 Erie Otters

Gilles Courteau Trophy playoffs
E1 Baie-Comeau Drakkar vs. E8 Charlottetown Islanders
E2 Halifax Mooseheads vs. E7 Acadie-Bathurst Titan
E3 Moncton Wildcats vs. E6 Chicoutimi Sagueneens 
E4 Cape Breton Eagles vs. E5 Rimouski Oceanic

W1 Drummondville Voltigeurs vs. W8 Saint John Sea Dogs
W2 Rouyn-Noranda Huskies vs. W7 Gatineau Olympiques 
W3 Victoriaville Tigres vs. W6 Shawinigan Cataractes
W4 Sherbrooke Phoenix vs. W5 Blainville-Boisbriand Armada

Good luck to all the teams in this year's playoffs. Will we see a fifth straight QMJHL team win the Memorial Cup in May? 

Playoffs Begin Friday

Photo - QMJHL wesbite

The road to the 2024 Gilles Courteau Trophy begins on Friday as our Halifax Mooseheads take on the Acadie-Bathurst Titan in Round 1. 

Find the schedule of the Titan-Mooseheads series below:
Game 1   Friday March 29 @ 7:00pm at Scotiabank Centre
Game 2   Saturday March 30 @ 7:00pm at Scotiabank Centre
Game 3   Tuesday April 2 @ 7:00pm at KC Irving Regional Centre
Game 4   Wednesday April 3 @ 7:00pm at KC Irving Regional Centre
*Game 5  Friday April 5 @ 7:00pm at Scotiabank Centre
*Game 6  Sunday April 7 @ 3:00pm at KC Irving Regional Centre
*Game 7  Tuesday April 9 @ 7:00pm at Scotiabank Centre

*if necessary

Single game tickets for Games 1 and 2 are on sale already and can be purchased online at ticketmaster.com or at the Scotiabank Centre box office. 

Round One Matchup Official

Photo - AMH Photography

With just over a week to go in the regular season, the Halifax Mooseheads' first round playoff opponent is now official after Saturday's games. The Mooseheads will take on the Acadie-Bathurst Titan in the 2024 post-season. 

These two teams met in the opening round two years ago when Bathurst won the five game series 3-2 coming back from losing the first two games at home. This time, Halifax will have home ice advantage after winning the Maritimes division and finishing the regular season as the #2 in the Eastern conference. The Titan ended the year as the 7th place team. 

Halifax won the season series against Acadie-Bathurst 5-3-1-0. The Titan picked up wins in the last three matchups between the two clubs however including a 3-1 game on March 8. Game 1 will be played on Good Friday, March 29, in Moose Country with puck drop at 7 p.m Atlantic time. a

Individual tickets for Games 1 and 2 will go on sale on March 22 at 11am and you should be able to buy them on ticketmaster.com, at the Scotiabank Centre box office or by phone. 

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

Remparts Champions in Halifax

Our Halifax Mooseheads made it a series but in the end, the Quebec Remparts got a last minute goal in Game 6 and hosted the Gilles Courteau Trophy on Scotiabank Centre ice Sunday evening. It was yet another back and forth game tonight. The two teams were pretty even in the first period and after 20 minutes, the score was 0-0. Rookie Jack Martin scored the opening goal for the home team, recording his first of the playoffs, at the 2:18 mark of the second period. A little over three minutes later, overager Alexandre Doucet extended the Mooseheads lead to 2-0. Quebec got a power play opportunity late in the middle frame and they took advantage of it, making it a 3-2 Halifax game after 40 minutes. The Remparts came out in the third strong and Zachary Bolduc tied it up at the 5:18 mark. It looked like we would be going to another overtime as much didn't happen for about 10 minutes. With 3:13 left to go in regulation though, Zachary L'Heureux sent most of the 10,595 fans at the arena into a frenzy when he scored as the Mooseheads retook the lead. But the cheering didn't last long, as Quebec tied it again a minute later. 20-year-old Pier-Olivier Roy broke the hearts of the home team when he made it 5-4 for the Remparts with 59 seconds remaining. Congratulations to Quebec on winning the championship. We had a great series to witness and unfortunately for us Moose fans, it just wasn't meant to be this year. 

FINAL: Remparts 5 at Mooseheads 4
Stars: 3. Zachary Bolduc QUE | 2. Jack Martin HAL | 1. Alexandre Doucet HAL
Attendance: 10,300

GAME LOG
First period 
No scoring

Second period 
2:18 HAL Jack Martin (1) | A: Vidicek
5:38 HAL Alexandre Doucet (14) | A: Dumais & Martin
11:14 QUE Evan Nause (5) | A: Robidas & Savoie
15:24 HAL Josh Lawrence (12) | A: Dumais & Doucet
16:44 QUE James Malatesta (14), PP | A: Rochette & Bolduc

Third period
5:18 QUE Zachary Bolduc (11) | A: Rochette & Komarov
16:47 HAL Zachary L'Heureux (11) | A: Dumais
17:52 QUE Kassim Gaudet (5) | A: None
19:01 QUE Pier-Olivier Roy (6) | A: Gaudet

Powerplay: QUE - 1-for-3; HAL - 0-for-1
Shots: 36-25 in favour for Quebec

DID NOT PLAY - David Moravec and Attilio Biasca out with injuries

UP NEXT: Pre-season in August, opponent to be determined 

Schedule for Finals Released

The Halifax Mooseheads find themselves in the league finals once again and this year they will take on the Quebec Remparts. 

Halifax previously made it to the fourth round in 2003, 2005, 2013 and 2019 winning the championship once in 2013. The two teams ended the regular season with the best records in the league so it really isn't a surprise that they will determine the playoff champion. As Quebec finished with 109 points and the Mooseheads had 107 in the regular season, the Remparts will get home ice advantage in this series. The Remparts have had a pretty easy path to the upcoming series, winning the three previous rounds in sweeps while Halifax has gone 12-3 to get to this point in the post-season. Who will win the 2023 Gilles Courteau Trophy in about two weeks time? 

Find the schedule for the Mooseheads-Remparts series below: 

Game 1  Friday May 12 @ 8:00pm at Centre Videotron
Game 2  Saturday May 13 @ 8:00pm at Centre Videotron
Game 3  Tuesday May 16 @ 8:00pm at Scotiabank Centre
Game 4  Wednesday May 17 @ 8:00pm at Scotiabank Centre
*Game 5  Friday May 19 @ 8:00pm at Centre Videotron
*Game 6  Sunday May 21 @ TBD at Scotiabank Centre
*Game 7  Monday May 22 @ TBD at Centre Videotron

*If necessary 

You can watch the first two games of the series on Eastlink Community TV while TSN will broadcast the remaining matches hence the later times for our home games next week. 

Individual tickets for Games 3 and 4 in Moose Country will go on sale on Wednesday morning. 

Halifax off to Finals

Our Halifax Mooseheads are off to the QMJHL finals after a 1-0 victory against the Sherbrooke Phoenix on Sunday evening. Sherbrooke began the game on the right foot with the help of 4 power plays in the first period but Herd goaltender Mathis Rousseau stood his ground for the second straight game. The 18-year-old stopped 18 shots just in the opening frame and finished with 42 saves in a first star performance. Things were a little different in the second period with Josh Lawrence opening the scoring at the 4:47 mark and this ended up being the game winner. The Phoenix continued to push in the third period, even pulling their goalie with 2:23 remaining in the final frame. After pulling their veteran starter in Game 5, Sherbrooke chose to go with rookie Samuel St. Hilaire this evening in nets and despite the loss, he played well. Halifax won the semi-final series 4 games to 2, in which they won the last four matches. 

FINAL: Mooseheads 1 at Phoenix 0
Stars: 3. Samual St. Hilaire SHE | 2. Josh Lawrence HAL | 1. Mathis Rousseau HAL
Attendance: 4,005

GAME LOG
First period
No scoring

Second period

4:47 HAL Josh Lawrence (9) | A: Phillips & Cataford

Third period 

No scoring

Powerplay: HAL - 0-for-2; SHE - 0-for-5

Shots: 42-21 in favour of Sherbrooke

DID NOT PLAY - Jordan Dumais (injured) & Cam Whynot (illness)

Moose Dominate in Game 5

The Halifax Mooseheads started off shaky but calmed down in the second half of the game leading to a dominate 7-3 victory in Game 5 on Sunday afternoon over the Moncton Wildcats. Mathieu Cataford got the home team on the board first at the 3:19 mark of the opening frame. However, agitator Maxim Barbashev tied the game up a little more than 3 minutes later on what ended up being the lone power play of the game. The first period ended in a 2-2 tie but there was some sloppy play by both teams which continued in the second. Regular season leading scorer Jordan Dumais got a weak one past Jacob Steinman to give Halifax the lead with under 10 minutes to go in the middle frame. The Mooseheads didn't look back after that as the club scored two more times in the final minute of the second to make the score 5-2. Moncton closed the gap to two goals at the 7:58 mark and pulled their goaltender late in the third but the Wildcats couldn't get any closer. The victory gave the Mooseheads a 4-1 series win in Round 2. 

FINAL: Wildcats 3 at Mooseheads 7
Stars: 3. Dylan MacKinnon HAL | 2. Evan Boucher HAL | 1. Jordan Dumais HAL
Attendace: 8,667

GAME LOG
First period
3:19 HAL Mathieu Cataford (2) | A: Boucher
6:34 MON Maxim Barbashev (4), PP | A: Beaudoin & Morin
14:46 MON Trent Ballentyne (2) | A: Sampson
18:32 HAL Attilio Biasca (3) | A: Dumais & Martin

Second period
10:06 HAL Jordan Dumais (3) | A: Vidicek & Schultz
19:12 HAL Zachary L'Heureux (6) | A: Furlong & Schultz
19:40 HAL Evan Boucher (3) | A: Dumais & MacKinnon

Third period

7:58 MON Gabe Smith (1) | A: Auger & Hamel

18:13 HAL Josh Lawrence (6), EN | A: L'Heureux & Cataford

19:01 HAL Jordan Dumais (4), EN | A: L'Heureux

Powerplay: MON - 1-for-1; HAL - 0-for-0

Shots: 37-20 in favour of Halifax

DID NOT PLAY - David Moravec (illness)

Matchups for Round 2 Set

Some were over quickly while a few others took the full seven games to decide the series. Either way, the matchups for the second round are finally set. The Moncton Wildcats defeated the Baie-Comeau Drakkar on Tuesday night in Game 7 with an overtime victory to move on to Round 2. It was the last series that needed to be figured out. Below you will find the matchups across the league. 

Ed Chynoweth Cup

E1 Winnipeg ICE vs. E4 Moose Jaw Warriors
E2 Red Deer Rebels vs. E3 Saskatoon Blades

W1 Seattle Thunderbirds vs. W4 Prince George Cougars
W2 Kamloops Blazers vs. W3 Portland Winterhawks

J. Ross Robertson Cup

E1 Ottawa 67's vs. E4 Peterborough Petes

E2 North Bay Battalion vs. E3 Barrie Colts

W2 London Knights vs. W8 Kitchener Rangers

W3 Sarnia Stings vs. W4 Saginaw Spirit

Gilles Courteau Trophy

E1 Quebec Remparts vs. E5 Rimouski Oceanic

E2 Halifax Mooseheads vs. E3 Moncton Wildcats

W1 Sherbrooke Phoenix vs. W6 Drummondville Voltigeurs

W2 Gatineau Olympiques vs. W4 Rouyn-Noranda Huskies

Good luck to all teams for the rest of the playoffs. The London-Kitchener series begins on Thursday while all the other series kick off on Friday. 

Photos - league websites

Round 1 Schedule is Out

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

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

Find the schedule of the Eagles-Mooseheads series below:

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

*if necessary 

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

Halifax to Face Provincial Rivals

Photo - Herd website

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

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

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

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

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

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

Second Round Matchups Set

It's been a few days and the second round has actually begun but I've had a busy weekend so just getting to this now. Our Halifax Mooseheads were eliminated from the playoffs on Friday night in a small New Brunswick town after the Acadie-Bathurst Titan won Game 5 2-1. With that, the second round matchups have been set. 

Acadie-Bathust trailed 2-0 in the series and forced a winner take all final game by winning Game 4 in triple overtime on Wednesday. It became the longest game in team history after passing the 3:02 mark of the third OT period, the previous record which was set in 2008. 

The second round for the QMJHL 2022 post-season started on Sunday afternoon with the following teams going against each other. Once again, this round is a best-of-five. 

Eastern conference
#1 Quebec Remparts vs. #6 Rimouski Oceanic
#2 Charlottetown Islanders vs. #4 Acadie-Bathurst Titan

Western conference
#1 Sherbrooke Phoenix vs. #5 Blainville-Boisbriand Armada
#2 Gatineau Olympiques vs. #3 Shawinigan Cataractes

These matchups also mean that the Memorial Cup host Saint John Sea Dogs have been eliminated in the opening round in an upset. The club made moves during the season so they could be a top contender this year and win it all however, Rimouski surprised them by winning Game 5 in overtime. 

In the Ontario Hockey League, they are into their conference finals which will see the Hamilton Bulldogs (1) take on the North Bay Battalion (2) in the eastern conference while in the western conference, the Windsor Spitfires (1) will battle the Flint Firebirds (3). 

The conference final matchups in the Western Hockey League are not fully settled but we know three of the four teams that will be participating. The Winnipeg ICE (1) will take on the Edmonton Oil Kings (2) in the eastern conference.and the Kamloops Blazers (2) are still awaiting their opponent. 

Schedule for Round 1 Released

PLAYOFFS

#E4 Acadie-Bathurst Titan vs #E5 Halifax Mooseheads

1st round

The Halifax Mooseheads released their first round schedule for the 2022 playoffs which they are playing against the Acadie-Bathurst Titan. 

HALIFAX - It's playoff time Moose Country! A bad month in March by our Halifax Mooseheads and good play from the other teams led to a spread in what was a close Maritimes division until that point. It gave way to the Acadie-Bathurst Titan jumping over Halifax to get home ice advantage in this series between the two clubs. The first three rounds of this year's playoffs will be best-of-five so there isn't really time for a slow start but the Mooseheads are coming into the post-season hot and they'll look to keep it going when the series starts on Thursday in Bathurst. 

HEAD-TO-HEAD ~ all-time playoffs: 5-5-2-0, this season: 4-5-0-0

LAST GAMES - Halifax is coming off a 5-4 victory over the last place Eagles on May 1 in Cape Breton while Acadie-Bathurst were defeated by the Charlottetown Islanders 10-2 on that final day.

Playoff tickets for game 3 will go on sale at 11 a.m. on Tuesday at the Ticket Atlantic Box Office, www.ticketatlantic.com or by calling (902) 451-1121. 

Game #1
Thursday May 5 @ 7:00pm at KC Irving Regional Centre ~ Bathurst, NB
Game #2 
Friday May 6 @ 7:00pm at KC Irving Regional Centre ~ Bathurst, NB
Game #3
Monday May 9 @ 7:00pm at Scotiabank Centre ~ Halifax, NS
Game #4*
Wednesday May 11 @ 7:00pm at Scotiabank Centre ~ Halifax, NS
Game #5*
Thursday May 12 @ 7:00pm at KC Irving Regional Centre ~ Bathurst, NB

*if necessary