Hischier Named to 3 Stars

The Quebec Major Junior Hockey League announced their three starsfor the week of October 24, 2016. For the first time this season, a Halifax Mooseheads player is among the 3 on the list that was put out today. Nico Hischier, a 17 year old rookie for the Herd, was named the second star of the week ending October 30. Hischier had seven points in the three games played this past week for Halifax. The Naters, Switzerland native had a big night on October 26 versus the Acadie-Bathurst Titan where he set a franchise record for most points in a single game for a rookie with 6 points. He was named the first star of the game on Wednesday after scoring a hat trick and assisting on 3 others helping the Moose to a 6-4 win.

QMJHL named Alexandre Goulet of the Victoriaville Tigres first star while Guilluame Beaudoin of the Blainville-Boisbriand Armada received third star honours.

Congratulations to Nico on being named the QMJHL's 2nd star of the week. Keep up the strong play this season.

STATS SUNDAY: October

Games played: 16
Record: 8-8-0-0, 16pts
Goals for/against: 58/66
Powerplay: 17.5%
Penalty kill: 76.7%
Shutouts: none

Top 5 leading scorers
Points: Maxime Fortier 21, Nico Hischier 20, Connor Moynihan 13, Otto Somppi 11, Bradley Kennedy 10
Goals: Maxime Fortier 8, Nico Hischier 8, Connor Moynihan 8, Otto Somppi 5, Bradley Kennedy 4
Assists: Maxime Fortier 13, Nico Hischier 12, Mathieu Charlebois 8, Otto Somppi 6, Bradley Kennedy 6
Penalty minutes: Keigan Goetz 39, Connor Moynihan 30, Bradley Kennedy 24, Mathieu Charlebois 23, Cooper Jones 21
Plus/minus: Mathieu Charlebois +7, Jordan Lepage +4, Taylor Ford +3, Brett Crossley +2, Benoit-Olivier Groulx +2
Rookie scoring: Nico Hischier 20, Mathieu Charlebois 8, Benoit-Oliver Groulx 6, Ben Higgins 4, Jared McIsaac 4

Goaltending stats
Alexis Gravel: 4-3-0-0     2.73 GAA     0.920 SAV%
Kevin Resop: 4-5-0-0     4.69 GAA     0.844 SAV%

Note: stats include two games played in September

Herd Word: Former Captain To Make Pro Debut Friday

Photo - Barracuda's Facebook page

MEIER
According to the San Jose Barracuda, former Halifax Mooseheads captain Timo Meier is set to make his professional debut on Friday night for the Barracuda. Meier's pro debut was pushed back a couple of weeks because the 20 year old was diagnosed with monocleosis at the end of September forcing him out of the lineup for at least 4 weeks. The San Jose Sharks, who drafted Timo 9th overall in the 2015 NHL draft, reassigned the forward to the AHL a couple of weeks ago to get some conditioning after he felt better. Meier had this to say on Tuesday after his first full practice since his diagnosis; “I feel great, and I can’t wait to get out there. I feel like we have a really good team, I think we can really achieve a lot.” According to the article, the Herisau, Switzerland native lost 10 pounds in the month that he was sick but has gained it back. In two and a half seasons with the Herd, Meier had 160 points which included 72 goals in 150 games played. Halifax traded Timo to the Rouyn-Noranda Huskies on January 6 where he scored 23 goals and 51 points in 29 games to help the team get 1st overall in the league. During the playoffs, the forward was second in team scoring and helped lead the Huskies to their first President's Cup win. He was also the captain of the 2016 Switzerland World Junior team where he finished with 5 points in 6 games. Good luck to Timo in your debut and this season with the Barracuda.

LOCAL NIGHT
Saturday evening's game versus the Cape Breton Screaming Eagles has been designated as Celebrate Local Night at Scotiabank Centre. The Moose will host Pierre-Luc Dubois and the Eagles in the second game of a home-and-home series. The team has stated that about 800 prizes will be handed out from local businesses. There will also be a few Nova Scotian Olympians and Paralympians who participated in the Rio Olympics in August, according to the release.

Photo - Team Canada twitter

U17 CHALLENGE
On Tuesday, Benoit-Olivier Groulx and Jared McIsaac, two rookies for the Mooseheads who have played quite well so far this season, left Halifax to head to Saint Ste. Marie to participate in the World Under-17 Hockey Challenge hosted by Hockey Canada. The Canadian teams announced their leadership group on Thursday and both boys are apart of their respective team's leaders. Groulx was named captain of Canada Red while McIsaac was given an A for Canada White. The tournament runs from October 28-November 5. Congratulations to Jared and Benoit-Olivier and good luck guys.

Photo - Team Canada twitter

SPORTSNET
It was announced on Friday that the January 7th game vs. the Saint John Sea Dogs will be broadcasted nationally across Canada on Sportsnet. Because the channel now shows NHL hockey on Saturday nights, the start of the Mooseheads game has been moved to 4:00pm Atlantic time instead of the normal 7pm to allow for the TV slot.

MACKINNON
Former Halifax Mooseheads star player Nathan MacKinnon had a little fun on Thursday to celebrate the Denver Nuggets basketball season getting underway. Dressed in a Nuggets jersey, Kid Mack tried some trick shots and made a nice basket while facing the opposite direction. Check it out here.

NEW SIGNEE
The Herd announced that they had signed a 17 year old Ontario free agent on Tuesday. Moose Country would like to welcome Caleb Rich to the team. Rich played 15 games in the Northern Ontario Hockey League this season for the French River Rapids before being signed by the Herd. In 68 career games with the Rapids, the Callander, ON native had 27 goals and 64 points. He was in the lineup for Halifax on Wednesday night even though he wasn't expected to be. General Manager Cam Russell feels "that he could be a top-six player since he was a point per game player as a 16-year-old." Russell also had this to say; “There’s lots to like there he’s got great size, good speed and he seems to play well in traffic.”

GAMEDAY #15: at Cape Breton

GAME PREVIEW
CAPE BRETON SCREAMING EAGLES VS HALIFAX MOOSEHEADS
Puck drops at 7:00pm
TV: Eastlink | Radio: News 95.7 | Live: @HFXMooseheads
Centre 200 (5,000) ~ Sydney, NS

What will Nico Hischier do now? The 17 year old broke a franchise record on Wednesday evening and will be looking to continue his point streak to seven games tonight when the Halifax Mooseheads travel to Sydney to take on provincial rivals, the Cape Breton Screaming Eagles tonight. Hischier scored his first career hat trick two days ago and assisted on 3 others to break the Mooseheads record for most points in a single game by a rookie. He now leads the team in scoring and is fifth in the league. For the fourth time this month, Halifax will be a part of a breast cancer awareness game as the Screaming Eagles are hosting their Pink in the Rink event today. This game is also a part of the QMJHL's rivalry week so the two teams will play a home and home series this weekend. Halifax and Cape Breton have the same record going into this weekend's series so both teams could get some space from the other if one wins both games. Goaltending will once again play a factor just as it has all season. The Eagles have the 7th best goalie on their team in terms of goals against average with Kyle Jessiman boasting a 2.56 GAA. The Moose will put Kevin Resop in nets who is coming off one of his best performances I would say but the defense played well in front of him on Wednesday night which hasn't happened much this year.

OVERALL RECORDS
Mooseheads: 7-7-0-0 = 14 points (5th in Maritimes division, 12th overall)
Screaming Eagles: 7-7-0-0 = 14 points (4th in Maritimes division, 11th overall)

LEADING SCORERS
CAP: Jordan Ty Fournier 12pts (6G & 6A), Vasily Glotov 12pts (3G & 9A), Olivier LeBlanc 12pts (3G & 9A)
HAL: Nico Hischier 19pts (8G & 11A), Maxime Fortier 18pts (8G & 10A), Connor Moynihan 12pts (7G & 5A)

PREVIOUS GAMES
Halifax is coming off a 6-4 victory on Wednesday at the Scotiabank Centre against the Titan. Nico Hischier led the team with a three goals and six points while Kevin Resop stopped 29 of Acadie-Bathurst's 33 shots to pick up the win.

Cape Breton is coming off a 5-2 win over Moncton on home ice also on Wednesday. Three different players had a goal and assist each while new goalie Colten Ellis stopped 23 shots against the Wildcats.

ALUM ON EAGLES - none

HEAD-TO-HEAD
October 1  Cape Breton 4 at Halifax 6
October 28  Halifax at Cape Breton – 7pm
October 29  Cape Breton at Halifax – 7pm
December 10  Halifax at Cape Breton – 7pm
December 30  Halifax at Cape Breton – 7pm
December 31  Cape Breton at Halifax – 2pm
January 17  Halifax at Cape Breton – 7pm
March 3  Halifax at Cape Breton – 7pm
March 17  Cape Breton at Halifax – 7pm

OUT OF TOWN
Titan vs. Islanders   7:00pm
Sea Dogs vs. Wildcats   7:00pm
Remparts vs. Oceanic   8:00pm
Drakkar vs. Sagueneens   8:30pm
Armada vs. Olympiques   8:30pm
Voltigeurs vs. Phoenix   8:30pm
Foreurs vs. Huskies   8:30pm

AFTER THE BUZZER
The two provincial rivals will meet again tomorrow night in Halifax. Puck drops at 7pm.

Hischier Has Career Night

It was a big night for rookie Nico Hischier on Wednesday evening and Moose Country was present to witness it. The Naters, Switzerland native set a franchise record for most points in a game by a rookie after scoring a hat trick and 3 assists to lead the Halifax Mooseheads to a big 6-4 win in front of the Scotiabank Centre crowd. Halifax got off to a fast start with Barrett Dachyshyn scoring just 90 seconds into the game and the Herd never let go of the lead. Hischier's big evening started with a helper on defenseman Jocktan Chainey's first period power play goal with under six to go in the frame. Chainey would also score the insurance goal (on the PP) for the home team 8:04 into the third, giving him his first multi goal game of his career. Nico scored his sixth of the season 8:36 in to the second period to give his team a 3-0 lead. Seconds later, 20 year old Bradley Kennedy and Titan captain Jeffrey Truchon-Viel dropped the gloves for a lengthy fight with both players getting some nice punches in. The in-game boxing match would wake up Acadie-Bathurst who scored consecutive goals within the next two minutes to close the gap to 3-2. Acadie-Bathurst and Halifax would trade goals in the later part of the middle frame and the shots were tied at 26 a piece after the Titan outshot the Moose 18-9 in the period. Hischier would record his hat trick goal on the power play less than five minutes in to the final period.

FINAL: Titan4 at Mooseheads 6
Stars: 3. Dawson Theede BAT | 2. Jocktan Chainey HAL | 1. Nico Hischier HAL
Attendance: 4,724
MC's Top Herd: Nico Hischier

GAME LOG
First period
1:30 HAL Barrett Dachyshyn (2) | A: Ford & Hischier
14:19 HAL Jocktan Chainey (1), PP | A: Moynihan & Hischier

Second period
8:36 HAL Nico Hischier (6) | A: Moynihan & Charlebois
9:25 BAT Dawson Theede (5) | A: Deschenes & Thibeault
10:27 BAT Daniil Miromanov (2) | A: L'Italien & Theede
13:06 HAL Nico Hischier (7) | A: Bishop
16:49 BAT Antoine Morand (6) | A: Desjardins

Third period
4:58 HAL Nico Hischier (8), PP | A: Kennedy & Fortier
8:04 HAL Jocktan Chainey (2), PP | A: Hischier & Moynihan
11:13 BAT Cole Rafuse (1) | A: Theede & Lemay-Champagne

Powerplay: BAT - 0-for-2, HAL 3-for-5
Shots: 33-32 in favour of Halifax

MISSING IN ACTION: Benoit-Olivier Groulx (U17 Challenge), Cooper Jones (healthy) & Jared McIsaac (U17 Challenge)

SCORES
Moncton 2 at Cape Breton 5
Charlottetown 2 at Saint John 5
Drummondville 3 at Blainville-Boisbriand 4
Victoriaville 3 at Val-d'Or 2 OT

UP NEXT: Halifax will now travel up north to take on the Cape Breton Screaming Eagles on Friday night in Sydney. Puck drops at 7pm.

GAMEDAY #14: vs. Acadie-Bathurst

GAME PREVIEW
HALIFAX MOOSEHEADS VS ACADIE-BATHURST TITAN
Puck drops at 7:00pm
TV: Webcast | Radio: News 95.7 | Live: @HFXMooseheads
Scotiabank Centre (10,595) ~ Halifax, NS

Your Halifax Mooseheads will have a little different look tonight when they host the Acadie-Bathurst Titan for some Wednesday night hockey. Rookies Benoit-Olivier Groulx and Jared McIsaac will miss the next 6 games as they are in Sault Ste. Marie for the U17 World Hockey Challenge and it's also been reported that Brett Crossley could be in the lineup after missing a few games with an injury. After a couple of losses on home ice, it's possible that lines might be changed as well. This will be the Mooseheads second Wednesday evening game of the season after visiting Bathurst two weeks ago (more on that below). Halifax will be looking to get back in the win column at home after losing to the 3rd CHL ranked Rouyn-Noranda Huskies and a comeback victory by the Val-d'Or Foreurs over the weekend. They'll have to play a full 60 minutes and get some strong goaltending to defeat the Titan who have won three in a row. Acadie-Bathurst will be without rookie defenenceman Noah Dobson who is also at the U17 Hockey Challenge.

This is the second meeting between the two teams this season. Halifax is 0-1-0-0 against the Titan this year while Acadie-Bathurst has a 1-0-0-0 record versus the Mooseheads. The two teams met 2 weeks ago on October 12 in Bathurst where the home team won 3-0 on the back of Reilly Pickard who made 26 saves. Samuel L'Italien scored twice for the Titan while Alexis Gravel made 32 saves for the Herd in the loss.

OVERALL RECORDS
Titan:7-4-1-1 = 16 points (2nd in Maritimes division, 6th overall)
Mooseheads: 6-7-0-0 = 12 points (5th in Maritimes division, 13th overall)

LEADING SCORERS
HAL: Maxime Fortier 17pts (8G & 9A), Nico Hischier 13pts (5G & 8A), Connor Moynihan 9pts (7G & 2A)
BAT: Christophe Boivin 18pts (8G & 10A), Antoine Morand 15pts (5G & 10A), Jeffrey Truchon-Viel 10pts (5G & 5A)

PREVIOUS GAMES
Acadie-Bathurst is coming off a 5-3 victory at the KC Irving Regional Centre over the Huskies. Jeffrey Truchon-Viel had two goals and an assist on Sunday afternoon to lead the Titan while Reilly Pickard stopped 28 of Rouyn-Noranda's 31 shots.

Halifax is coming off a 4-2 defeat at the hands of Val-d'Or on home ice on Sunday. Ben Higgins and Max Fortier scored for the Mooseheads who had a 2-0 lead after the first period, while Alexis Gravel made 16 saves against the Foreurs to pick up the loss.

ALUM ON TITAN - none

HEAD-TO-HEAD
October 12  Mooseheads 0 at Titan 3
October 26  Titan at Mooseheads – 7pm
November 20  Titan at Mooseheads – 2pm
November 22  Mooseheads at Titan – 7pm
December 14  Titan at Mooseheads – 7pm
February 2  Titan at Mooseheads – 7pm
February 17  Mooseheads at Titan – 7pm
February 24  Titan at Mooseheads – 7pm
March 10  Mooseheads at Titan – 7pm

OUT OF TOWN
Screaming Eagles vs. Wildcats   7:00pm
Sea Dogs vs. Islanders   7:00pm
Armada vs. Voltigeurs   8:00pm
Foreurs vs. Tigres   8:30pm

AFTER THE BUZZER
Halifax will finish the month with a home and home series against their provinicial rivals this weekend, starting with a visit to Sydney on Friday night. Puck drops at 7pm.

Streaks Are Over

Well the streaks are over. The Halifax Mooseheads are no longer undefeated on home ice this season after a visit from the 3rd ranked Rouyn-Noranda Huskies, who skated away with a 4-2 victory on Friday night. It was also the annual Pink in the Rink event at the Scotiabank Centre, which the Herd had won the last four years but they had no such luck tonight. There was a lot of back and forth action, mostly in the middle of the rink in the first 7 minutes of the game with both teams only having two shots each. Rouyn-Noranda got on the board first with a goal from Peter Abbandonato 9:17 minutes into the game. Abbandonato was parked right in front of the net and chipped in the behind the net pass. Less than two minutes later, Antoine Waked made it 2-0 Huskies with a shot that Kevin Resop looked like he might've had but it went off his glove and trickled into the net. When the Mooseheads play the Quebec teams, sometimes it's hard to believe that they only play two times a season with all the physical stuff that happens. That was the case tonight, there were quite a few penalties (a couple that probably shouldn't have counted) with Keigan Goetz having to sit in the box 4 times himself. In the third period there were a number of scrums between the two teams.

FINAL: Huskies 4 at Mooseheads 2
Stars: 3. Jocktan Chainey HAL | 2. Mathieu Boucher ROU | 1. Peter Abbandonato ROU
Attendance: 7,410
MC's Top Herd: Kevin Resop

GAME LOG
First period
9:17 ROU Peter Abbandonato (4) | A: Dzierkals & Boucher
11:05 ROU Antoine Waked (6) | A: none

Second period
3:09 ROU Peter Abbandonato (5), PP | A: Fontaine & Boucher
6:24 HAL Connor Moynihan (7) | A: Charlesbois & Hischier

Third period
18:11 ROU Philippe Myers (3), EN/SH | A: Fontaine & Harvey
18:29 HAL Ben Higgins (3), PP | A: Dachyshyn & Groulx

Powerplay: ROU - 1-for-7, HAL - 1-for-6
Shots: tied at 24 a piece

MISSING IN ACTION- Brett Crossley, Anthony Sorrentino

SCORES
Acadie-Bathurst 4 at Moncton 1
Val-d'Or 1 at Saint John 4
Blainville-Boisbriand 8 at Sherbrooke 2
Cape Breton 2 at Gatineau 4
Victoriaville 4 at Rimouski 5 OT
Charlottetown 3 at Baie--Comeau 6
Quebec 2 at Drummondville 2
Shawinigan 2 at Chicoutimi 0

UP NEXT: Halifax will welcome the Val-d'Or Foreurs to the Scotiabank Centre on Sunday afternoon. Puck drops at 3pm.