Zadina Gets 2 in Home Opener

What a way to introduce yourself to the Halifax faithful! Rookie Euro Filip Zadina scored two goals in the Mooseheads home opener on Saturday night to help lead the team to a 4-3 victory over division rivals; Acadie-Bathurst Titan. The Herd were able to rebound from a loss to the Titan just 3 days prior and started their home-stead on a high note. Halifax got out to a quick 3-0 lead in the first 15 minutes of the game with two of those coming on the powerplay. In the early goings of this new season, special teams are working out pretty well for the Moose as they see themselves on the top of the standings in PP% at 40% after tonight's game and third on the penalty kill. Acadie-Bathurst used a Connor Moynihan holding penalty as an opportunity to get back in the game and the Titan scored 3 unanswered goals to tie the match with over 11 minutes to go in the third period. A little more than a minute later, it looked like Halifax native Justin Barron had his first career goal but it was ultimately awarded to Arnaud Durandeau, giving the home team the lead. In the middle frame, Cole Rafuse hip checked goaltender Alexis Gravel in the head as he trying to cover up a puck and the 17 year old stayed down on the ice for a few minutes. However he did finish the game pick up his second win of 2017-18.

FINAL: Titan 3 at Mooseheads 4
Stars: 3. Jocktan Chainey HAL | 2. Justin Ducharme BAT | 1. Filip Zadina HAL
Attendance: 7,784
MC's Top Herd: Filip Zadina

GAME LOG
First period
5:02 HAL Filip Zadina (2), PP | A: Fortier & Groulx
8:46 HAL Benoit-Olivier Groulx (2), PP | A: McIsaac
13:47 HAL Filip Zadina (3) | A: Durandeau & Lavoie
15:46 BAT Samuel L'Italien (5), PP | A: MacIsaac & Holwell
19:10 BAT Jeffrey Truchon-Viel (3) | A: Rafuse

Second period
None

Third period
8:26 BAT Justin Ducharme (5) | A: Truchon-Viel & Malatesta
9:32 HAL Arnaud Durandeau (2) | A: Barron

Powerplay: BAT - 1-for-6, HAL - 2-for-5
Shots: 33-25 in favour of Halifax

MISSING IN ACTION - Walter Flower (injured), Otto Somppi (injured), Jordan Lepage (injured)

UP NEXT: Halifax will host the Charlottetown Islanders on Sunday afternoon. Puck drops at 3pm.

GAMEDAY #4: vs. Acadie-Bathurst

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

IT'S HOME OPENER GAMEDAY! The day we have been waiting six months for has finally come as we get to welcome our Halifax Mooseheads back home. Halifax began the season with 3 road games and will get the chance to play in front of the Moose Country faithful this evening at Scotiabank Centre. What I thought was a home and home series actually is not as the Acadie-Bathurst Titan played a game against Cape Breton last night. Either way your Mooseheads are looking to get revenge on the Titan after a disappointing loss in their last match against each other. In the early season, both teams have looked exciting and should be all year long. Matchups between Halifax and Bathurst will be good games this season with the two no doubt battling for the division crown. Come out and support your Herd as they open the home portion of 2017-18 while also looking for their third win.

This is the second game this season between the two teams. Halifax is 0-1-0-0 against the Titan so far while Acadie-Bathurst has a 1-0-0-0 record versus the Mooseheads. The two teams met on Wednesday which saw Bathurst pick up the victory with a 5-3 win at the KC Irving Centre. Maxime Fortier scored a goal & had an assist for the Herd in the loss while shots were tied at 28.

OVERALL RECORDS
Titan: 2-0-1-1 = 6 points (2nd in Maritimes division, 5th overall)
Mooseheads: 2-1-0-0 = 4 points (3rd in Maritimes division, 6th overall)

LEADING SCORERS
HAL: Maxime Fortier 6pts (4G & 2A), Filip Zadina 5pts (1G & 4A), Arnaud Durandeau 2pts (1G & 1A)
BAT: Liam Murphy 7pts (1G & 6A), Noah Dobson 7pts (7A), Antoine Moranda 5pts (2G & 3A)

PREVIOUS GAMES
Acadie-Bathurst is coming off a 4-3 overtime loss in Sydney against the Screaming Eagles on Friday night. Antoine Moranda recorded a goal and an assist to lead the Titan in scoring during the game while Dominik Tmej stopped 38 of Cape Breton's 42 shots.

See above for Halifax.

NOT DRESSED- Walter Flower, Jordan Lepage and Otto Somppi are out with injuries while Kyle Petten is day to day

ALUM ON TITAN
None

HEAD-TO-HEAD
September 27  Halifax 3 at Acadie-Bathurst 5
September 30  Acadie-Bathurst at Halifax – 7pm
November 26  Halifax at Acadie-Bathurst – 3pm
December 15  Acadie-Bathurst at Halifax – 7pm
January 7  Halifax at Acadie-Bathurst – 3pm
January 20  Halifax at Acadie-Bathurst – 7pm
February 3  Acadie-Bathurst at Halifax – 7pm
March 10  Halifax at Acadie-Bathurst – 7pm
March 17  Acadie-Bathurst at Halifax – 4pm

OUT OF TOWN
Armada vs. Foreurs   5:00pm
Remparts vs. Olympiques   5:00pm
Phoenix vs. Saguneens   5:00pm
Wildcats vs. Islanders   7:00pm
Voltigeurs vs. Drakkar   8:00pm
Tigres vs. Huskies   8:00pm

AFTER THE BUZZER
The Mooseheads will stay home and welcome the Charlottetown Islanders tomorrow afternoon. Puck drops at 3pm.

Halifax jumps to #8

Last week the Halifax Mooseheads were among the 3 honourable mentions in the Canadian Hockey League BMO Top 10 rankings for the pre-season. With 2 victories to start the season, the Herd jumped in to the number rankings this week. The CHL announced the rankings earlier Wednesday evening with five QMJHL on the list. Check it out below.

Week 1's CHL Top 10

1. Regina Pats (1-1-0-0) last week: 1 
2. Victoriaville Tigres (2-0-0-0) last week: 3 
3. Owen Sound Attack (0-0-0-1) last week: 2 
4. Portland Winterhawks (1-0-0-0) last week: 5 
5. Blainville-Boisbriand Armada (1-0-0-0) last week: 6 
6. Oshawa Generals (2-0-0-0) last week: -  
7. Kelowna Rockets (2-0-0-0) last week: -  
8. Halifax Mooseheads (2-0-0-0) last week: -
9. Acadie-Bathurst Titan (1-0-0-1) last week: 9
10. Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds (1-1-0-0) last week: 10Honourable mention
    Windsor Spitfires (3-0-0-0)
    Moose Jaw Warriors (2-0-0-0)
    Rouyn-Noranda Huskies (2-0-0-0)

Poll #18

I should've asked this before the season but time got away from me. You've seen the predictions, you've seen the first few games but now I ask you the fans of Moose Country where you see the Mooseheads finishing at the end of the season. What rank in the Maritimes division will Halifax be at in March?

A. Division winner
B. 2nd place
C. 3rd place
D. 4th place
E. 5th place
F. 6th place

GAMEDAY #3: at Acadie-Bathurst

GAME PREVIEW
ACADIE-BATHURST TITAN VS HALIFAX MOOSEHEADS
Puck drops at 7:00pm
TV: Webcast | Radio: News 95.7 | Live: @MC_MooseCountry
K.C. Irving Regional Centre (3,162) ~ Bathurst, NB

It's a mid-week matchup against a team that the Mooseheads are projected to fight for the division crown with. Halifax heads to northern New Brunswick today to take on the Acadie-Bathurst Titan tonight at 7pm. This is the first game of a home and home series between the two teams. The Herd will try to come home with 6 points on this season beginning road trip while Bathurst will try to give the away team it's first loss of the year. With it being almost the end of September, NHL teams have been sending players back in the last week and both teams find themselves with practically full rosters now. The Moose have 4 players out with injuries but have one coming back as Jared McIsaac has returned to the lineup after missing Saturday's match.

This is the first meeting between the two teams. Last year, Halifax was 2-6-1-0 against the Titan while Acadie-Bathurst had a 7-2-0-0 record versus the Mooseheads. The last matchup between the two teams saw the Titan come out on top with a 3-1 victory on March 10 where Raphael Lavoie scored the lone goal Halifax and Alexis Gravel made 38 saves.

OVERALL RECORDS
Mooseheads: 2-0-0-0 = 4 points (1st in Maritimes division, 3rd overall)
Titan: 1-0-0-1 = 3 points (3rd in Maritimes division, 6th overall)

LEADING SCORERS
BAT: Liam Murphy 3pts (1G & 2A), Noah Dobson 3pts (3A), Keegan MacIsaac 3pts (3A)
HAL: Maxime Fortier 4pts (3G & 1A), Filip Zadina 3pts (1G & 2A), Connor Moynihan 2pts (1G & 1A)

PREVIOUS GAMES
Halifax is coming off a close 3-2 victory over the Islanders in Charlottetown on Saturday. Connor Moynihan led the Mooseheads with a goal and an assist while Blade Mann-Dixon made 31 saves in his first game of the season.

Bathurst is coming off a big 7-4 win on home ice in a Sunday afternoon game against Moncton. Liam Murphy scored a goal and had two helpers to lead the Titan while Reilly Pickard stopped 21 of the Wildcats' 25 shots

NOT DRESSED - Walter Flower, Jordan Lepage, Otto Somppi and Kyle Petten are out with injuries

ALUM ON TITAN
None

HEAD-TO-HEAD
September 27  Halifax at Acadie-Bathurst - 7pm
September 30  Acadie-Bathurst at Halifax - 7pm
November 26  Halifax at Acadie-Bathurst - 3pm
December 15  Acadie-Bathurst at Halifax - 7pm
January 7  Halifax at Acadie-Bathurst - 3pm
January 20  Halifax at Acadie-Bathurst - 7pm
February 3  Acadie-Bathurst at Halifax - 7pm
March 10  Halifax at Acadie-Bathurst - 7pm
March 17  Acadie-Bathurst at Halifax - 4pm

OUT OF TOWN
Cataractes vs. Phoenix   8:00pm
Sagueneens vs. Drakkar   8:30pm
Foreurs vs. Huskies   8:30pm

AFTER THE BUZZER
The two teams will head to Moose Country for Halifax's home opener on Saturday night. Puck drops at 7pm.

Mooseheads Make Pre-season CHL Rankings

Before the season begins, the Canadian Hockey League announces it's BMO Top 10 Rankings and after 3 years of not being on them at all, your Halifax Mooseheads were among the three honourable mentions on the list. The news came out this past Wednesday. I have a feeling we will be seeing the Herd ranked quite a bit this year so check back as I'll be keeping you informed.

Top 10 Rankings - pre-season
1. Regina Pats
2. Owen Sound Attack
3. Victoriaville Tigres
4. Mississauga Steelheads
5. Portland Winterhawks
6. Blainville-Boisbriand Armada
7. London Knights
8. Tri-City Americans
9. Acadie-Bathurst Titan
10. Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds

Honourable mentions- Kelowna Rockets, Halifax Mooseheads, Peterborough Petes

Eastlink Showing 12 Herd Games

Today, Eastlink TV announced their broadcast schedule for QMJHL games during the 2017-18 season. Cape Breton, Charlottetown and Halifax all have select matches that are shown on Friday Night Hockey broadcasts.

Your Halifax Mooseheads will be on Eastlink twelve times this season. The first broadcast involving the Herd will be October 6 when the Quebec Remparts come to town for t-shirt night. There will also be 3 special Saturday evening matches.

Below is the full schedule (all games 7pm unless noted):

FRI October 6   vs. Quebec Remparts
FRI October 13   at Cape Breton Screaming Eagles
SAT October 28   at Cape Breton Screaming Eagles
FRI November 17   vs. Saint John Sea Dogs
FRI November 24   at Charlottetown Islanders
FRI December 1   vs. Rouyn-Noranda Huskies
SAT December 30   vs. Cape Breton Screaming (2pm)
FRI January 12   at Charlottetown Islanders
FRI January 19   vs. Cape Breton Screaming Eagles
FRI February 16   vs. Moncton Wildcats
SAT February 24   vs. Gatineau Olympiques
FRI March 16   vs. Moncton Wildcats

You can view the full schedule here.