PLAYOFF GAMEDAY #3: vs Shawinigan

GAMEDAY

HALIFAX MOOSEHEADS vs. SHAWINIGAN CATARACTES

Series tied 1-1

Puck drops at 7:00pm

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

Halifax Forum (5,600) ~ Halifax, NS

Storm the Forum. That's the moniker for this week as the series between your Halifax Mooseheads and the Shawinigan Cataractes shifts to the Halifax Forum for three games. The Herd's home games in this round have been moved to the 87 year old arena because of curling at the Scotiabank Centre. With about half the capicity as the Scotiabank Centre, the Forum should be quite packed. Who's going to have the advantage with a loud packed crowd, the home side or the road team? We will have to wait and find out but no matter what happens it should be a couple of good games in Moose Country.

PLAYOFF SERIES
Game 1 Mar 27 Mooseheads 3 at Cataractes 2
Game 2 Mar 28 Mooseheads 2 at Cataractes 4
Game 3 Mar 31 Cataractes at Mooseheads
Game 4 Apr 1 Cataractes at Mooseheads
Game 5 Apr 3 Cataractes at Mooseheads
*Game 6 Apr 5 Mooseheads at Cataractes
*Game 7 Apr 7 Mooseheads at Cataractes

NOT PLAYING - There will most likely be a few healthy scratches announced shortly before game time

NOTES - Halifax got the split in Shawinigan that they wanted to get

TONIGHT'S GAMES
Remparts at Screaming Eagles - 7:00pm
Drakkar at Sea Dogs - 7:00pm
Oceanic at Tigres - 8:00pm
Foreurs at Huskies - 8:00pm
Armada at Olympiques - 8:30pm

NEXT GAME
The two teams will meet again tomorrow night in Halifax at the Forum. Puck drops at 7pm.

Top Herd

The regular season is over, I will be awarding my overall Top herd player award. This season I asked you, my readers to vote who you thought should get the award and the poll has closed. Thanks for make this the most voted poll. 

And the winner is....

Philippe Gadoury

In his sophomore season, Philippe Gadoury had an awesome year. Gadoury was a little bit less than a point per game this season collecting 57 points in 59 games. He ended 4th in team scoring with 28 goals. 

Here is the list of my Top Herd that I have done this season. I didn't name one every game.

Sept 19    Moncton - Kevin Resop

Sept 20    Saint John - Timo Meier

Sept 26    Chicoutimi - Philippe Gadoury

Oct 2        Rouyn-Noranda - Zach Fucale

Oct 5        Val-d'Or - Danny Moynihan

Oct 10      Charlottetown - Zach Fucale

Oct 17      Cape Breton - Nikolaj Ehlers

Oct 29      Charlottetown - Timo Meier

Nov 1       Moncton - Philippe Gadoury

Nov 7       Saint John - Kelly Bent

Nov 12     Acadie-Bathurst - Nikolaj Ehlers

Nov 14     Cape Breton - Zach Fucale

Nov 22     Rimouski - Sam Leblanc

Nov 23     Moncton - Kelly Bent

Dec 5        Charlottetown - Brett Crossley

Dec 11      Quebec - Matt Murphy

Dec 31      Charlottetown - Danny Moynihan

Jan 9         Gatineau - Timo Meier

Jan 15       Drummondville - Nikolaj Ehlers

Jan 30       Cape Breton - Kevin Resop

Feb 5        Sherbrooke - Ryan Falkenham

Feb 13      Shawinigan - Taylor Ford

Feb 14      Cape Breton - Maxime Fortier

Mar 4        Acadie-Bathurst - Sam Hunter

Here are the final poll results
Danny Moynihan - 16%, Kevin Resop - 4%, Timo Meier - 7%, Nikolaj Ehlers - 0%, Kelly Bent - 1%, Phil Gadoury - 69%

POSTGAME: Mooseheads 3, Cataractes 2

MC POST-GAME

Here's some stories from last night's 3-2 victory over the Shawinigan Cataractes in game 1

The Canadian Press' recap: Danny Moynihan scored the go-ahead goal on the power play in the thir period as Halifax edged the Cataractes in Game 1 of first-round playoff action.

Metro News' recap: One down, three to go.

The Chronicle Herald's recap: Danny Moynihan made sure the Halifax Mooseheads got their 2015 playoff run off on the right foot. 

halifaxmooseheads.com's recap: The pace was quick from the drop of the puck as the President Cup Playoffs began for the Halifax Mooseheads on Friday night in Shawinigan.

theqmjhl.ca's recap: Game summary.

MISSING IN ACTION: Brandon Vuic and Jordan King were healthy scratches while Connor Moynihan was suspended

SCORES
Gatineau 4 - 1 Blainville-Boisbraind
Cape Breton 3 - 2 Quebec
Charlottetown 8 - 2 Sherbrooke
Victoriaville 3 - 4 Rimouski OT
Rouyn-Noranda 2 - 6 Val-d'Or
Saint John 1 - 3 Baie-Comeau

NEXT GAME: Halifax will stay in Shawinigan to take on the Cataractes for game 2 of the playoffs. Puck drops at 5pm.

PLAYOFF GAMEDAY #1: at Shawinigan

GAMEDAY

SHAWINIGAN CATARACTES vs. HALIFAX MOOSEHEADS

March 27, 2015 at 8:30pm

Series tied 0-0

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

Centre Bionest de Shawinigan (4,125) ~ Shawinigan, QC

It's the best time of the year. Well probably the toughest and funnest part of a hockey season. The 2015 playoffs began last night across the Canadian Hockey League and it will begin tonight for your Halifax Mooseheads. It's a rebuilding season this year for the Herd but they've been good at times and can give hell to some of the best teams. Expect a bulk of the scoring to come from what was the top line for a couple weeks to end the season; Nikolaj Ehlers, Danny Moynihan and Timo Meier. If the Moose can get really good goaltending and defense during the series, it might go 6 or 7 games.

SEASON SERIES
Halifax and Shawinigan both won a game on the road in a 2 game regular season series this year

November 27, 2014 - Halifax def. Shawinigan 6-3
February 13, 2015 - Shawinigan def. Halifax 6-5

NOT PLAYING - Connor Moynihan (suspended), Jordan King (healthy scratch) and Brandon Vuic (healthy scratch)

NOTES

• Willy Palov of the Chronicle Herald makes his predictions
• Check out the QMJHL's preview of the series
• Don't forget that this series is 2-3-2 with three straight in Halifax next week

TONIGHT'S GAMES

Olympiques at Armada - 8:00pm

Screaming Eagles at Quebec - 8:00pm

Islanders at Phoenix - 8:00pm

Tigres at Oceanic - 8:30pm

Huskies at Foreurs - 8:30pm

Sea Dogs at Drakkar - 8:30pm

NEXT GAME

The two teams will meet again tomorrow night for game two in Shawinigan. Puck drops at 5pm. 

Golden Puck Nominees Announced

The quebec major Junior hockey league announced the nominees for their annual awards at the Golden Puck Gala. Nikolaj Ehlers and Timo Meier are the only current Moose to be nominated while a couple of former members are nominated as well.

Here are the nominees for the awards that will be passed out on April 8th.

*via the QMJHL
Michel Briere Trophy (Most Valuable Player)
Nikolaj Ehlers - Halifax Mooseheads
Conor Garland - Moncton Wildcats
Danick Martel - Blainville-Boisbriand Armada

RDS Cup (Rookie of the Year)
Samuel Girard - Shawinigan Cataractes
Dmytro Timashov - Quebec Remparts

Emile "Butch" Bouchard Trophy (Best Defenseman)
Nikolas Brouillard - Quebec Remparts
Jan Kostalek - Rimouski Oceanic
Daniel Walcott - Blainville-Boisbriand Armada

Frank J. Selke Trophy (Sportsman of the Year)
Kyle Farrell - Cape Breton Screaming Eagles
Kay Schweri - Sherbrooke Phoenix
Dominic Talbot-Tassi - Moncton Wildcats

Michael Bossy Trophy (Top Professional Prospect)
Timo Meier - Halifax Mooseheads
Evgeny Svechnikov - Cape Breton Screaming Eagles
Jakub Zboril - Saint John Sea Dogs

Marcel Robert Trophy (TELUS Scholastic Player of a Year)
Redgie Bois - Rouyn-Noranda Huskies
Jeremy Gregoire - Baie-Comeau Drakkar
Dominic Talbot-Tassi - Moncton Wildcats

Ron Lapointe Trophy (Coach of the Year)
Serge Beausoleil - Rimouski Oceanic
Joel Bouchard - Blainville-Boisbriand Armada
Darren Rumble - Moncton Wildcats

Maurice Filion Trophy (General Manager of the Year)
Serge Beausoleil - Rimouski Oceanic
Martin Mondou - Shawinigan Cataractes
Roger Shannon - Moncton Wildcats

Paul Dumont Trophy (Personality of the Year)
Nikolaj Ehlers - Halifax Mooseheads
Zachary Fucale - Quebec Remparts
Timo Meier - Halifax Mooseheads

Humanitarian and Community Involvement Trophy
Luca Ciampini - Baie-Comeau Drakkar
Danick Martel - Blainville-Boisbriand Armada
Tristan Pomerleau - Victoriaville Tigres

Please note that the following trophies will be awarded at special pre-game ceremonies held at the beginning of the playoffs: Raymond Lagace (Defensive Rookie of the Year), Michel Bergeron (Offensive Rookie of the Year), Guy Carbonneau (Best Defensive Forward), Kevin Lowe (Best Defensive Defenseman), Robert Lebel (Best goals against average - team), Jean Rougeau (Regular Season Champions) and Luc Robitaille (Best Offensive Team)

Raymond Lagace Trophy 

Samuel Girard - Shawinigan Cataractes

Luke Green - Saint John Sea Dogs

Jakub Zboril - Saint John Sea Dogs

Michel Bergeron Trophy 

Filip Chlapik - Charlottetown Islanders

Evgeny Svechnikov - Cape Breton Screaming Eagles

Dmytro Timashov - Quebec Remparts

Guy Carbonneau Trophy 

Frederik Gauthier - Rimouski Oceanic

Nikita Jevpalovs - Blainville-Boisbriand Armada

Alexis Loiseau - Rimouski Oceanic

Kevin Lowe Trophy

Simon Bourque - Rimouski Oceanic

Jan Kostalek - Rimouski Oceanic

Daniel Walcott - Blainville-Boisbriand Armada

The nominees for the Adminstrator of the Year, Marketing Director of the Year and Academic Consultant of the Year trophies will revealed at a later date as the actual awards will be presented at the Entry Draft in Sherbrooke.

Schedule for Round 1 Released

PLAYOFFS

#5 Shawinigan Cataractes vs #12 Halifax Mooseheads

1st round

The Halifax Mooseheads announced their first round schedule for the playoffs which they are playing against the Shawinigan Cataractes.

HALIFAX - Well here we go. It's time for the biggest part of the season; the playoffs!! For the first time in 3 years, Halifax will not have home ice advantage during the playoffs. A rebuilding year has the Mooseheads at 12th overall in the Quebec league this season. They'll be playing against a team that has the third best goaltender in goals against average in Marvn Cupper, the Shawinigan Cataractes. Something else is different about this series then the previous few first round match-ups. The Herd will be playing a Quebec team which they haven't done in the 1st round since 2011. Because of that, it will be a 2-3-2 series.

HEAD-TO-HEAD ~ all-time: 72 games 31-32-8-1-0; this season: 2 games 1-1-0-0; playoffs: 9 games 5-4-0-0

LAST GAME - the Mooseheads are coming off a 5-2 victory over the Moncton Wildcats to end the season on a high note on Sunday evening while Shawinigan ended the year with a 4-1 loss to the Gatineau Olympiques on Saturday night.

A limited amount of tickets will be available for the general public starting on Thursday morning at 10am at the Ticket Atlantic Box Office, select Superstore Outlets, www.ticketatlantic.com, the Halifax Forum or by calling (902) 451-1221

Game #1
Friday March 27 @ 8:30pm at Centre Gervais Auto ~ Shawinigan, QC
Game #2 
Saturday March 28 @ 5:00pm at Centre Gervais Auto ~ Shawinigan, QC
Game #3
Tuesday March 31 @ 7:00pm at Halifax Forum ~ Halifax, NS
Game #4 
Wednesday April 1 @ 7:00pm at Halifax Forum ~ Halifax, NS
Game #5*
Friday April 3 @ 7:00pm at Halifax Forum ~ Halifax, NS
Game #6*
Sunday April 5 @ 5:00pm at Centre Gervais Auto ~ Shawinigan, QC
Game #7*
Tuesday April 7 @ 8:00pm at Centre Gervais Auto ~ Shawinigan, QC

*if necessary

Ducharme To Help Coach WJC

Hockey Canada announced today the coaches that will be on the bench for the Canadians at the 2016 U18 and U20 World Championships. The head coach for the World Juniors will be Dave Lowry of the Victoria Royals while the U18 team will be headed by Kelly McCrimmon of the Brandon Wheat Kings.

Halifax Mooseheads head coach Dominique Ducharme will assist Lowry on Team Canada's bench come December. This is the third time the 42 year old Joliette, Quebec native has been on the bench for Hockey Canada. Ducharme was an assistant coach for Team Quebec at the World Under-17 Hockey Challenge back in 2011 and helped out on the bench with the Canadian Under-18 team at the 2013 Ivan Hlinka Memorial tournament.

For the full press release click here.

Congratulations Dom, go out there and help bring Canada another gold medal!!