Feb 6: Mooseheads vs. Islanders preview

HALIFAX MOOSEHEADS VS CHARLOTTETOWN ISLANDERS
February 6, 2019 at 7:00pm
TV: Webcast | Radio: News 95.7 | Live: @MC_MooseCountry
Scotiabank Centre (10,595) ~ Halifax, NS

Wednesday evening games are not very common in junior hockey however tonight your Halifax Mooseheads will host the Charlottetown Islanders in what is their first of 3 mid-week matches in the next 6 weeks. Our Mooseheads have built up a good lead for first place in the Maritimes division after winning three straight last week, I imagine we’ll see the team move up in the Top 10 CHL rankings when they are released later today. Charlottetown will also have to contend with the line of Antoine Morand, Raphael Lavoie and Samuel Asselin if Coach Veilleux decides to keep them together which after putting up 28 points in those three victories I would be shocked if he didn’t. Halifax has been hit by the injury bug hard this season, with a total of 7 players out right now, but a few are soon to return. As a result, the Mooseheads have called up Sonny Kabatay and Gavin Hart from Junior A to fill in a couple of spots. The Herd will also be without Ben Higgins as he received a one game suspension for an incident during Saturday’s match in Moncton.

This is the seventh meeting between these two teams this season. Halifax is 5-1-0-0 against the Islanders while Charlottetown has a 1-4-1-0 record versus the Mooseheads. The last matchup was on back on December 28 in Charlottetown where the hometown Islanders took a 5-2 victory. Raphael Lavoie and Samuel Asselin scored for Halifax while Alex Gravel made 26 saves in the loss.

Overall Records
Islanders: 29-15-2-2 = 63pts (7th overall, 3rd in Maritimes division)
Mooseheads: 36-11-2-1 = 75pts (4th overall, 1st in Maritimes division)

Leading Scorers
HAL: Samuel Asselin 69pts (40G & 29A), Antoine Morand 54pts (17G & 37A), Raphael Lavoie 53pts (23G & 30A)
CHA: Daniel Hardie 60pts (31G & 29A), Nikita Alexandrov 49pts (24G & 25A), Jordan Maher 35pts (10G & 25A)

Previous Games
Charlottetown hosted the Phoenix on Saturday evening and lost 6-4 on home ice. Lukas Cormier and Drew Hunter had a goal and an assist each to lead the Islanders while Isaak Pelletier made 37 saves against Sherbrooke.

Halifax is coming off a 4-2 victory in Moncton on Saturday evening. Jared McIsaac led the Mooseheads with a goal and 3 assists while Alex Gravel stopped 20 of the Wildcats’ 22 shots he faced to pick up his 25th win.

Head-to-Head
September 22  Mooseheads 3 at Islanders 2
October 11  Mooseheads 8 at Islanders 2
November 20  Islanders 3 at Mooseheads 4 OT
December 9  Mooseheads 2 at Islanders 1
December 15  Islanders 2 at Mooseheads 6
December 28  Mooseheads 2 at Islanders 5
February 6  7pm  Islanders at Mooseheads
February 16  4:30pm  Islanders at Mooseheads
March 16  4:30pm  Islanders at Mooseheads

Out of Town
Cape Breton vs. Drummondville – 7:00pm
Rimouski vs. Chicoutimi – 8:30pm

After the Buzzer
Halifax will welcome the Acadie-Bathurst Titan on Friday evening to the Scotiabank Centre. Puck drops at 7pm.

Asselin Leads Q This Week

For the second time this season, veteran forward Samuel Asselin was named the QMJHL Player of the Week for the week ending on February 3. The 20-year-old finished the week with 11 points over the three matches Halifax played between January 28 and February 3. On Thursday, he had two goals and 2 assists as the Mooseheads won 7-5 against the Victoriaville Tigres while Asselin had great game on Friday, scoring a hat trick and a couple of helpers. Samuel was named the first star on Friday when the Sherbrooke Phoenix came to town. In Moncton, the L’Assomption, QC native had a goal and an assist to lead to the Herd’s third victory in as many nights. He is the first player in the Q to reach 40 goals this season. In his 3 previous seasons combined Asselin had 34 goals in total.

The QMJHL also announced the Team of the Week today which included forwards Asselin and Antoine Morand as well as defenceman Jared McIsaac. Morand had a career night on Thursday, scoring a hat trick and picking up two helpers for a 5 point game, earning him the first star. The 19-year-old ended the week with 9 points. McIsaac also recorded 9 points last week as he scored twice and had 7 helpers.

Coach Eric Veilleux put Asselin, Morand and 18-year-old Raphael Lavoie together on a line Thursday evening and it seemed to have worked as the line combined for 28 points in Halifax’s three victories.

Congrats to all three players on being recognized for their awesome production last week. Keep up the great work boys.Coach Eric Veilleux put Asselin, Morand and 18-year-old Raphael Lavoie together on a line Thursday evening and it seemed to have worked as the line combined for 28 points in Halifax’s three victories.

Photos - QMJHL website

Big Night For Morand

It was a really big night for 19 year old Antoine Morand on Thursday evening as the Halifax Mooseheads defeated the visiting Victoriaville Tigres 7-5 at the Scotiabank Centre. The game didn’t start off too good for the Herd as they found themselves down 2-0 thirteen minutes into the game but Morand got the home team on the board at the 16:21 mark with a shorthanded goal. That was the start of his career evening. There were goals galore in the middle frame and a number of penalties which the Mooseheads were able to convert on but the Tigres were not. Halifax third power play goal of the period gave them a 4-3 lead but Anthon Poulin scored with 4:33 left in the second to tie the game up again for Victoriaville and that would be the score going into the third. The away team took back the lead a couple minutes into the final frame but Antoine wasn’t going to let them leave Scotiabank Centre with a win, tying the match once again a few minutes later. His hat trick goal came at the 9:30 mark of the third which sent the 6,760 fans in attendance jump for joy as it gave the Mooseheads a 6-5 lead. The boys were able to hold off the Tigres in the final 10 minutes and Samuel Asselin scored his 36th of the season to give the team some insurance. Morand also recorded an assist on that 6th goal giving the captain a six point night, a career high. A weird bounce near the boards with about 90 seconds left got past Alex Gravel, however it was immediately waved off as the puck had hit a referees skate redirecting the puck into the net.

FINAL: Tigres 5 at Mooseheads 7
Stars: 3. Dominic Cormier VIC | 2. Samuel Asselin HAL | 1. Antoine Morand HAL
Attendance: 6,760
MC’s Top Herd: Antoine Morand

GAME LOG
First period
4:05 VIC Feliks Morozov (6) | A: Gallo-Demetris & Cormier
12:32 VIC Simon Lafrance (24) | A: Mathieu & Abramov
16:21 HAL Antoine Morand (15), SH | A: Asselin

Second period
2:46 HAL Benoit-Olivier Groulx (24), PP | A: Morand & McIsaac
3:04 VIC Dominic Cormier (10) | A: Mathieu & Abramov
8:28 HAL Jared McIsaac (10), PP | A: Lavoie & Morand
9:49 HAL Samuel Asselin (35), PP | A: Groulx & McIsaac
15:27 VIC Anthony Poulin (6) | A: Racicot

Third period
1:59 VIC Edouard Ouellet (2) | A: Boivin & Cormier
4:32 HAL Antoine Morand (16) | A: Lavoie & Kyte
9:30 HAL Antoine Morand (17) | A: Asselin
17:00 HAL Samuel Asselin (36) | A: McIsaac & Morand

Shots: 42-31 in favour of Halifax
Powerplay: VIC – 0-for-5; HAL – 3-for-4

NOT DRESSED – Jake Ryczek, Ostap Safin, Maxim Trepanier and Jocktan Chainey were out with injuries

SCORES
Sea Dogs 4 at Cataractes 5 SO

UP NEXT – The 10th overall Sherbrooke Phoenix will make their lone trip to Halifax on Friday evening. Puck drops at 7pm. .

Stats Sunday: January

Games played: 11
Record: 7-3-1-0, 15pts
Goals for/against: 45/30
Powerplay*: 25.7%
Penalty kill*: 88.0%
Shutouts: none

Top 5 leading scorers
Points: Benoit-Olivier Groulx 12, Antoine Morand 12, Samuel Asselin 11, Arnaud Durandeau 11, Jared McIsaac 11
Goals: Samuel Asselin 5, Arnaud Durandeau 5, Justin Barron 4, Joel Bishop 4, Benoit-Olivier Groulx 4
Assists: Antoine Morand 10, Jared McIsaac 9, Benoit-Olivier Groulx 8, Arnaud Durandeau 6, Denis Toner 6
Penalty minutes: Joel Bishop 13, Ben Higgins 13, Justin Barron 12, Jared McIsaac 11, Patrick Kyte 11
Plus/minus: Denis Toner +10, Benoit-Olivier Groulx +9, Justin Barron +7, Arnaud Durandeau +7, Joel Bishop +4
Rookie scoring: Denis Toner 6pts, Samuel Dube 2pts, Cole Stewart 2pts

Goaltending stats*
Cole McLaren: 10-2-0-0    1.72 GAA    0.931 SAV%
Alexis Gravel: 23-10-2-0    2.65 GAA    0.913 SAV%

*overall

Groulx Scores Two In Rough Contest

Eight or nine games a season and a 3 hour drive between cities has kept the rivalry between the Halifax Mooseheads and Moncton Wildcats alive even with the changes that happen every year in junior hockey. That rivalry really showed this evening as non-calls and frustrations caused a fight and a line brawl in the second period. Once again, the Mooseheads got on the board first after Benoit-Olivier Groulx scored his 21st of the season 3:36 into the game. More than 10 minutes later number 19 scored his second of the game to give the home team a 2-0 lead on a power play. Moncton were able to get one past Alex Gravel before the first period ended as Jakob Pelletier recorded his 25th of the year but that would be all Gravel would give up on Saturday night, making 24 saves. The always smiling Samuel Asselin scored to extend Halifax’s lead just 19 seconds into the middle frame. A little over 14 minutes later, Justin Barron would get hit behind the net and Patrick Kyte would stick up for his teammate, dropping the gloves with the Wildcats’ Dylan Seitz in a very good tilt. Both would get 5 minute majors. Just 63 seconds after that, more roughness happened by the Herd net and everyone on the ice grabbed a partner which filled the penalty boxes after the referees figured out what disciple should be handed out. A couple of goals in the third finished the scoring and gave the good guys their 32nd victory of the year.

FINAL: Wildcats 1 at Mooseheads 5
Stars: 3. Samuel Asselin HAL | 2. Jared McIsaac HAL | 1. Benoit-Olivier Groulx HAL
Attendance: 9,717
MC’s Top Herd: n/a

GAME LOG
First period
3:36 HAL Benoit-Olivier Groulx (21) | A: Sansfacon & Dube
14:29 HAL Benoit-Olivier Groulx (22), PP | A: Asselin & Morand
17:39 MON Jakob Pelletier (25), PP | A: McKenna & Khovanov

Second period
0:19 HAL Samuel Asselin (32) | A: None

Third period
2:22 HAL Arnaud Durandeau (22) | A: McIsaac
11:29 HAL Raphael Lavoie (21) | A: McIsaac & Parent

Shots: 29-25 in favour for Halifax
Powerplay: MON – 1-for-5; HAL – 1-for-3

NOT DRESSED – Jake Ryczek, Ostap Safin, Maxim Trepanier and Jocktan Chainey were out with injuries

SCORES
Voltigeurs 6 at Phoenix 1
Cataractes 1 at Drakkar 5
Sagueneens 2 at Remparts 1
Sea Dogs 2 at Foreurs 4
Islanders 1 at Huskies 8
Oceanic 4 at Olympiques 1

UP NEXT – The two clubs will meet again in a week to finish this home and home series in Moncton on January 26. Puck drops at 7pm.

Halifax Win 11th PITR Event

Your Halifax Mooseheads are now 6-5 in their Pink in the Rink events after a close 5-3 victory over the visiting Acadie-Bathurst Titan. The boys in pink had it in the bag but seemed to stop pushing late in the third and Bathurst was able to make it interesting scoring two goals in the final 2 minutes of the game. Samuel Asselin got the party started, recording his 30th of the season 5 minutes into the match. Keith Getson doubled the lead with 46 seconds remaining in the first period as the Mooseheads took a 2-0 lead into the first intermission. Despite outshooting the Titan 12-3 in the opening frame, it felt like a pretty back and forth game and in the second Bathurst got some life when Marc-Andre LeCouffe scored at the 4:54 mark to break Cole McLaren’s shutout. LeCouffe’s goal made it a 3-1 game. Asselin scored his 2nd of the night later in the second, which turned out to be the game winner. Halifax has had the best penalty kill pretty much all season but the boys didn’t do too well tonight as all three Acadie-Bathurst goals were scored with the man advantage. The Titan were 3-for-5 on the power play Friday evening.

FINAL: Titan 3 at Mooseheads 5
Stars: 3. Xavier Parent HAL | 2. Samuel Asselin HAL | 1. Arnaud Durandeau HAL
Attendance: 7,781
MC’s Top Herd: Samuel Asselin

GAME LOG
First period
5:01 HAL Samuel Asselin (30) | A: Durandeau & Kyte
19:14 HAL Keith Getson (17) | A: Higgins & Bishop

Second period
2:50 HAL Xavier Parent (11) | A: Toner & McLeod
4:54 BAT Marc-Andre LeCouffe (10), PP | A: Sutton & Tucker
15:52 HAL Samuel Asselin (31) | A: Durandeau & Groulx

Third period
2:30 HAL Raphael Lavoie (20) | A: Flower & McIsaac
18:18 BAT Jesse Sutton (14), PP | A: Tucker & MacKinnon
19:50 BAT Liam Leonard (5), PP | A: MacKinnon & Sutton

Shots: 34-13 in favour of Halifax
Powerplay: BAT – 3-for-5; HAL – 0-for-1

NOT DRESSED – Jocktan Chainey, Ostap Safin, Maxim Trepanier and Jake Ryczek were all injured

SCORES
Wildcats 2 at Screaming Eagles 3 SO
Phoenix 1 at Tigres 2
Cataractes 0 at Drakkar 5
Oceanic 5 at Armada 2

UP NEXT – Halifax will welcome the Moncton Wildcats tomorrow evening. Puck drops at 7pm.

Jan 18: Mooseheads vs. Titan preview

HALIFAX MOOSEHEADS VS ACADIE-BATHRST TITAN
January 18, 2019 at 7:00pm
TV: Eastlink | Radio: News 95.7 | Live: @MC_MooseCountry
Scotiabank Centre (10,595) ~ Halifax, NS

It’s Pink in the Rink night! The game, which helps raises money for breast cancer research, is normally hosted in October but since our Halifax Mooseheads’ home opener wasn’t until October 27 the club had to move it to a later date. This evening is the 11th annual match of this event and it will see the Herd take on the last place Acadie-Bathurst Titan. It will be the second game of a home and home series between these two teams this week. Halifax will be looking to add to their 30 wins on the season and have even more distance between them and the Moncton Wildcats, who they play tomorrow. Bathurst mean while is just looking for a victory as they have only 1 win in their last 10 games and seven on the season. The Titan gave the Mooseheads a scare last week when each time Halifax were able to take a lead, Bathurst was able to tie the game up shortly after but ultimately a coast to coast goal by Justin Barron with under 3 minutes to go gave the Herd a 5-4 win. The first game in this home and home series was a bit easier with our boys winning 4-1. Fans can buy raffle tickets at the Scotiabank Centre for a chance to win a special game worn pink jersey from a Moosehead player with all money going to the Atlantic region of the Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation.

This is the seventh meeting between these two teams this season. Halifax is 6-0-0-0 against the Titan while Acadie-Bathurst has a 0-6-0-0 record versus the Mooseheads. The last matchup was on Wednesday evening in Bathurst where the Mooseheads took a 4-1 victory. Benoit-Olivier Groulx led Halifax with a goal and two assists while the Titan were outshot 39-17.

Overall Records
Titan: 7-34-1-1 = 16pts (18th overall, 6th in Maritimes division)
Mooseheads 30-10-2-1 = 63pts (4th overall, 1st in Maritimes division)

Leading Scorers
HAL: Samuel Asselin 51pts (29G & 22A), Benoit-Olivier Groulx 44pts (20G & 24A), Raphael Lavoie 43pts (19G & 24A)
BAT: Jesse Sutton 27pts (13G & 14A), Marc-Andre LeCouffe 21pts (9G & 12A), Evan MacKinnon 21pts (6G & 15A)

Previous Games
See above.

Head-to-Head
October 14  Mooseheads 5 at Titan 0
November 7  Mooseheads 8 at Titan 2
November 10  Titan 0 at Mooseheads 9
December 8  Titan 0 at Mooseheads 6
January 8  Mooseheads 5 at Titan 4
January 16  Mooseheads 4 at Titan 1
January 18  7pm  Titan at Mooseheads
February 8  7pm  Titan at Mooseheads
February 27  7pm  Titan at Mooseheads

Out of Town
Cape Breton vs. Moncton – 7:00pm
Victoriaville vs. Sherbrooke – 8:00pm
Baie-Comeau vs. Shawinigan – 8:30pm
Blainville-Boisbriand vs. Rimouski – 8:30pm

After the Buzzer
Halifax will stick at home and host the Moncton Wildcats on Saturday evening. Puck drops at 7pm.