Herd Word

Photo - Mariners Twitter

FRED PAGE CUP
A couple of former Halifax Mooseheads forwards will be hoping to represent eastern Canada at the Royal Bank Cup by winning the Fred Page Cup later this week. Brett Crossley, who played for the Herd from 2014 to 2018, helped his Yarmouth Mariners win the MJAHL playoff championship earlier in April. Crossley had 4 goals and 16 points in 14 games. The Mariners will join the Princeville Titan (LHJQ champions) and Ottawa Jr. A Senators (CCHL champions) as well as host Amherst Ramblers in the tournament. Amherst has another Moose alum in Caleb Rich who played for Halifax during the 2016-17 season. This is Rich's second season with the Ramblers. The Fred Page Cup is played from May 1-5, 2019.

Congrats to Brett and the Mariners on winning the Kent Cup. Good luck to all the teams and players,

PLAYER OF THE WEEK

Mooseheads goaltender Alexis Gravel was named the QMJHL's player of the week for the week ending May 29. The Asbestos, QC native had a 3-1 record over the past week in the playoffs with a 0.938 save percentage to help Halifax advance to the President Cup finals. In the three home games during their series with the Drummondville Voltigeurs, Gravel was named the first star after facing 35, 35 and 34 shots respectively in Game 3, 4 and 6. He was also named the CHL goaltender of the week today.

HOSTS
The Canadian Hockey League announced on April 19 the 6 host cities for the upcoming Canada/Russia series. Both QMJHL arenas are in the province of New Brunswick. For the 2nd time in the last three years, the Moncton Wildcats will be hosting a game. Below is the full schedule

Game 1 - Monday November 4 at Saint John, NB
Game 2 - Tuesday November 5 at Moncton, NB
Game 3 - Thursday November 7 at Kitchener, ON
Game 4 - Monday November 11 at London, ON
Game 5 - Wednesday November 13 at Saskatoon, SK
Game 6 - Thursday November 14 at Prince Albert, SK

QMJHL DRAFT
On the same day the Canada/Russia series hosts were announced, the QMJHL had their draft lottery and the winner ended up being the Saint John Sea Dogs. Even though they finished 17th in the league, Saint John had just a 4.8% chance to get the first overall pick because of trades that happened during the season. Val-d'Or received the Sea Dogs original pick while the pick Saint John won on was originally Blainville-Boisbriand's. For full story, click here.

MacKinnon getting interviewed on Sportsnet after Game 2
Photo - Avalanche Twitter

STANLEY CUP PLAYOFFS
The first round of the Stanley Cup playoffs has finished and the final 8 teams have started to battle each other. There are three alumnus still in the running for the ultimate trophy, two of them are battling each other. Nathan MacKinnon helped the Colorado Avalanche advance to the second round for the first time since the 2007-08 season. MacKinnon had 3 goals and 8 points in 5 games versus the Calgary Flames and the Avalanche are now taking on the San Jose Sharks. Nathan has been getting a lot of praise from his peers and fans a like.

The Sharks include former Herd Timo Meier who had a goal and 4 points in their opening series against the Vegas Golden Knights. In the Eastern conference, Brad Marchand, who played 26 games with Halifax, and the Boston Bruins are taking on the Columbus Blue Jackets in the second round. Marchand scored all 9 of his points in the 1st round.

University Commitments Begin

With competition of the junior hockey season coming close to an end, university commitments have started to be announced. For Halifax Mooseheads alumni, the first one I have seen comes about Ryan Barbosa. 

The University of Windsor Lancers announced recently that Barbosa will join the team for the 2019-20 USports hockey season. 

Photo - Lancers Twitter

Ryan, a native of Mississauga, ON, joined the Herd at training camp in 2017 as a free agent invite and made the 2017-18 team where he collected 5 assists in 38 games. Halifax didn't bring him back for his overage season so he returned home and spent 2018-19 with the Mississauga Steelheads of the OHL. The 21-year-old defenceman had 3 goals and 18 points this past year with the Steelheads in the regular season but unfortunately they were swept in the first round of the playoffs by Sudbury. 

Good luck to Ryan with the Lancers next season. 

President Cup schedule

For the fourth time in franchise history, our Halifax Mooseheads have a spot in the President Cup finals and they'll take on the Rouyn-Noranda Huskies.

The schedule was announced after the completion of the semi-final series on Sunday evening. Halifax took their series versus the Drummondville Voltigeurs in 6 games yesterday afternoon while Rouyn-Noranda swept the Rimouski Oceanic in 4 games. These two clubs have met three times previously in the post-season but have never played each other for the league title. With Halifax advancing to the finals, the Huskies know that they will be the QMJHL representative in the Memorial Cup tournament no matter what happens. 

Find the schedule for the Huskies-Mooseheads series below:

Game 1  Thursday May 2 @ 8:00pm at Arena Iamgold
Game 2  Friday May 3 @ 8:00pm at Arena Iamgold
Game 3  Monday May 6 @ 8:00pm at Scotiabank Centre
Game 4  Tuesday May 7 @ 8:00pm at Scotiabank Centre
*Game 5  Thursday May 9 @ 8:00pm at Arena Iamgold
*Game 6  Saturday May 11 @ 4:00pm at Scotiabank Centre
*Game 7  Monday May 13 @ 8:00pm at Arena Iamgold

*if necessary

Single game tickets for Games 3 and 4 at home go on sale Thursday morning at 11am and can be purchased at select Superstore outlets, Ticket Atlantic Box Office or charge by phone 902-451-1221. 

Third Round Stats

2019 President Cup Playoffs Round Three vs. #2 Drummondville Voltigeurs

Team stats
4-2-0-0 (12-5-0-0 overall)
17 GF/17 GA (58/45 overall)
30.8% on PP (2nd)
74.6% on PK (13th)

Team leaders
Points: 27 - Raphael Lavoie 17GP-17-10-27 (1st)
Goals: 17 - Raphael Lavoie (1st)
Assists: 11 - Jake Ryczek (7th)
Game winning goals: 2 - Jocktan Chainey, Raphael Lavoie, Antoine Morand & Xavier Parent (T-5th)
Penalty minutes: 32 - Jared McIsaac (1st)
Face-offs: 223 - Keith Getson 223/426 52.3%
Plus/minus: +8 - Jared McIsaac & Antoine Morand
Shots: 80 - Raphael Lavoie
Wins: 10 - Alexis Gravel (T-1st)
Goals against average: 2.52 - Alexis Gravel (5th)
Save percentage: 0.921 - Alexis Gravel (5th)

Results
Game 1  Friday April 19  Halifax 1 at Drummondville 3
Game 2  Saturday April 20  Halifax 5 at Drummondville 4 2OT
Game 3  Tuesday April 23  Drummondville 1 at Halifax 2
Game 4  Wednesday April 24  Drummondville 2 at Halifax 5
Game 5  Friday April 26  Halifax 2 at Drummondville 6
Game 6  Sunday April 28  Drummondville 1 at Halifax 2 OT


Other series
#1 Rouyn-Noranda Huskies vs. #5 Rimouski Oceanic (ROU wins 4-0)
#2 Drummondville Voltigeurs vs #3 Halifax Mooseheads (HAL wins 4-2)

Finals Here We Come

Game Six Recap

HAL wins series 4-2

HALIFAX - President Cup Finals bound! How does that sound Moose Country? Honestly I am surprised that I am able to say that sentence but on Sunday afternoon it became a reality after Xavier Parent scored less than 3 minutes into the extra frame to give the Halifax Mooseheads a 2-1 overtime victory. With the win against the Drummondville Voltigeurs today, the Mooseheads will face off against the CHL's top ranked Rouyn-Noranda Huskies in the fourth round. Halifax had a good start with Arnaud Durandeau scoring to give the home fans on their feet just 8:28 into the game. Drummondville would go into the middle frame down 1-0 but Halifax-native Gregor MacLeod would tie the game at a goal a piece at the 12:50 mark of the second. In the third, it was a goaltender battle between Anthony Morrone and Alexis Gravel with neither guy letting in another goal. For the Mooseheads, they certainly had their chances though to take back the lead in that final frame of regulation. Gravel was stellar in all three home games during this series and was awarded the 1st star each match, including tonight where he made 33 saves. Thankfully, it didn't take very long for the OT period to be done and our boys were jumping over the bench to celebrate. Keith Getson shot it wide, Joel Bishop picked it up behind the side of the net and passed it to Xavier Parent out front who put the puck perfectly above Morrone's glove to end the game.

FINAL: Voltigeurs 1 at Mooseheads 2 OT
Stars: 3. Xavier Parent HAL | 2. Anthony Morrone DRU 1. Alexis Gravel HAL
Attendance: 7,681

GAME LOG
First period
8:28 HAL Arnaud Durandeau (7) | A; Groulx & Chainey

Second period 
12:50 DRU Gregor MacLeod (7) | A: Veleno

Third period 
No scoring

Overtime
2:22 HAL Xavier Parent (4) | A: Bishop & Getson

Powerplay: DRU - 0-for-1; HAL - 0-for-1
Shots: 34-29 in favour of Drummondville

DID NOT PLAY - Cole Stewart, Alexis Sansfacon, Samuel Dube and Denis Toner were healthy scratches while Marcel Barinka is at the U18's

UP NEXT - President Cup finals against the Huskies in Rouyn-Noranda on Thursday night. Puck drop 8pm.

Pushed To The Brink

Game Four Recap 

HAL leads series 3-1

Halifax celebrates their win
Photo - Ashley Hennigar

Your Halifax Mooseheads have pushed the 2nd overall Drummondville Voltigeurs to the brink of elimination after a 5-2 victory in Game 4. Mooseheads goaltender Alexis Gravel was once again named the first star, making 33 saves in a game that the home team was outshot 35-23. The biggest save being a cross crease glove save in the second period that kept the game scoreless at that point and made the 7,848 fans in attendance stand on their feet in ovation. The first period was not really entertaining as both teams were not giving the other club much room to work but both goaltenders did have to make a few nice saves at each end. In the second period, the special teams became a huge factor as three of the four goals scored in the frame were scored on the power play. Dawson Merceer got Drummondville on the board first with 1 second remaining in a Raphael Lavoie slashing penalty but Lavoie answered for Halifax 62 seconds later, also on a man advantage. Xavier Parent's goal with 4:27 left in the second, which made it 3-1 Herd, was the lone marker in that middle frame that was not scored with an extra skater on the ice. The Mooseheads were in control to start the third, leading 4-1 after 40 minutes and the final 20 was just about keeping that lead. Steve Hartley decided to pull goaltender Olivier Rodrigue with 3:50 remaining trying to give his team a chance to close the gap but Samuel Asselin scored in the empty net to put a stop to that. A late high sticking penalty by Joel Bishop proved to give the Voltigeurs a little bit of life as they made it 5-2.

FINAL: Voltigeurs 2 at Mooseheads 5
Stars: 3. Maxim Trepanier HAL | 2. Joel Bishop HAL | 1. Alexis Gravel HAL 
Attendance: 7,848

GAME LOG
First period
No scoring

Second period
10:01 DRU Dawson Mercer (5), PP | A: Guay & Veleno
11:03 HAL Raphael Lavoie (17), PP | A: McIsaac & Morand
14:21 HAL Maxim Trepanier (4), PP | A: Chainey & Groulx
15:33 HAL Xavier Parent (3) | A: Bishop & Getson
19:07 HAL Antoine Morand (5), PP | A: Durandeau & McIsaac

Third period 
16:29 HAL Samuel Asselin (6), EN | A: Lavoie
18:48 DRU Joseph Veleno (7), PP | A: Guay & MacLeod

Powerplay: DRU - 2-for-5; HAL - 3-for-4
Shots: 35-23 in favour of Drummondville

DID NOT PLAY - Alexis Sansfacon, Dennis Toner, Cole Stewart and Samuel Dube were healthy scratches while Marcel Barinka is at the U18's

SCORES
Rimouski 3 vs. Rouyn-Noranda 6 

UP NEXT _ Game 5 will be played in Drummondville on Friday night. Puck drops at 8:30pm

PLAYOFF GAME #15: vs. Drummondville

PREVIEW

HALIFAX MOOSEHEADS VS DRUMMONDVILLE VOLTIGEURS

Game Four of Round Three

Scotiabank Centre (10,595) ~ Halifax, NS

HALIFAX - Who's ready for some mid-week Halifax Mooseheads hockey? Our hometown boys find themselves up 2-1 in their series now winning the last two games, including a big tight battle on Tuesday evening which resulted in a 2-1 victory for Halifax. The team will be looking to stifle the likes of Joe Veleno and Maxime Comtois once again when the Drummondville Voltigeurs invade the Scotiabank Centre tonight for Game 4. While Comtois did score late in the game last night to make it interesting, you didn't really notice him or Veleno out there. Despite giving up 30+ shots, Halifax did play a good defensive game and held the regular season goal leading team to just a single goal in Game 3. Alex Gravel played really well to keep the Volts at bay so he'll hopefully back stop them to another win tonight. For the first time in 2018-19, the Herd had a healthy lineup. Benoit-Olivier Groulx, who had the second most points on the club, was back on the ice last night after missing a month with mononucleosis. Should be another good game so come out and cheer on the Memorial Cup hosts as they take on Drummondville.

PLAYOFF SERIES
Game 1  Apr 19  Mooseheads 1 at Voltigeurs 3
Game 2  Apr 20  Mooseheads 5 at Voltigeurs 4 2OT
Game 3  Apr 23  Voltigeurs 1 at Mooseheads 2
Game 4  Apr 24  Voltigeurs at Mooseheads - 7pm
Game 5  Apr 26  Mooseheads at Voltigeurs - 8:30pm
*Game 6  Apr 28  Voltigeurs at Mooseheads - 2pm
*Game 7  Apr 30  Mooseheads at Voltigeurs - 8pm

NOT DRESSED - Marcel Barinka (U18s)

NOTES

• There's a few Moose players among the leaders as Raphael Lavoie has the most points (25) & goals (16) in the QMJHL while Alex Gravel is third in save percentage (0.920) 
• Jake Ryczek has 10 assists this year after picking another 2 up last night and becomes the 7th defender in club history to have 10+ assists in same post-season 
• Olivier Rodrigue came in relief on Tuesday and made 20 saves, will he make his first start of the playoffs after being out the whole time with an injury

OUT OF TOWN
Rimouski vs. Rouyn-Noranda - 8:30pm

NEXT GAME - The two teams will meet again on Friday night in Drummondville for Game 5. Puck drops at 8:30pm.