STATS SUNDAY: October

Games played: 11
Record: 6-4-1-0, 13pts
Goals for/against: 40/40
Powerplay*: 16.7%
Penalty kill*: 88.2%
Shutouts: none

Top 5 leading scorers
Points: Raphael Lavoie 21, Benoit-Olivier Groulx 16, Maxim Trepanier 14, Walter Flower 9, Zack Jones 8
Goals: Raphael Lavoie 9, Maxim Trepanier 9, Benoit-Olivier Groulx 5, Zack Jones 4, Senna Peeters 4
Assists: Raphael Lavoie 12, Benoit-Olivier Groulx 11, Walter Flower 8, Maxim Trepanier 5, Zack Jones 4
Penalty minutes: Patrick Kyte 26, Jason Horvath 20, Raphael Lavoie 18, Benoit-Olivier Groulx 14, Maxim Trepanier 14
Plus/minus: Maxim Trepanier +11, Jason Horvath +5, Raphael Lavoie +5, Benoit-Olivier Groulx +5, Walter Flower +5
Rookie scoring: Zack Jones 8pts, Senna Peeters 7pts, Jeffrey Burridge 3pts, Cameron Whynot 3pts, Jordan McKenna 2pts

Goaltending stats*
Cole McLaren: 5-3-0-0    3.03 GAA     0.904 SAV%
Alexis Gravel: 2-4-1-0    4.10 GAA     0.878 SAV%

*overall

Comeback Falls Short

Photo - Shawn Davidson

Our Halifax Mooseheads have their first overtime loss of the season after Alexander Khovanov scored with 67 seconds remaining in the extra frame to propel the Moncton Wildcats to a 5-4 OT victory. Khovanov continues to be a thorn in Halifax’s side as the Herd were minutes away from picking up a win before the Russian tied the game, stopping our comeback. 

Moncton got off to a good start and found themselves up 1-0 after 20 minutes on a goal from Haligonian Ozzie King. The opening period didn't end without some physical stuff. Jason Horvath and Sean Stewart dropped the gloves late in the 1st with Horvath winning the bout. The second period was entertaining with more hatred and a few more goals. Elliot Desnoyers scored for the visiting Wildcats before defenceman Cam Whynot recorded his first goal of his QMJHL career to get the good guys on the board. Max Trepanier sent the two clubs to the dressing rooms tied at 2 after 40 minutes with a goal at the 18:33 mark of the second period. Khovanov would not leave Raphael Lavoie alone when the two were on the ice together and Lavoie finally had enough, forcing the referees to give them both penalties at the end of the middle frame. Moncton retook the lead in the third before the home team scored back to back goals to make it a 4-3 Mooseheads lead.

FINAL: Wildcats 5 at Mooseheads 4 OT
Stars: 3. Alexander Khovanov MON | 2. Zachary L'Heureux MON | 1. Maxim Trepanier HAL
Attendance: 7,152
MC's Top Herd: n/a

Powerplay: MON - 0-for-2; HAL - 0-for-1
Shots: 41-39 in favour of Halifax

NOT DRESSED - Brandon Tomilson (healthy), Jared McIsaac (injured), Said Abi-Faycal (healthy) and Cole Foston (injured)

SCORES
Drummondville 4 at Quebec 1
Acadie-Bathurst 0 at Val-d'Or 10
Rimouski 1 at Shawinigan 2 

UP NEXT - The Mooseheads hit the road for a single game and visit the Saint John Sea Dogs tomorrow. Puck drops at 7pm. 

Oct 19: Mooseheads vs. Eagles preview

HALIFAX MOOSEHEADS VS CAPE BRETON EAGLES

Puck drops at 7:00pm

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

Scotiabank Centre (10,595) ~ Halifax, NS

The Halifax Mooseheads host their first event of the season and it's the one raising money for breast cancer research; Pink in the Rink. The Cape Breton Eagles come to town for the second game of a home and home series as part of rivalry week. Like I said, these two clubs met last night with the Eagles coming away with a 5-3 victory in Sydney. Halifax had tied it in the third period at 3 goals a piece with a marker by Raphael Lavoie, who leads the team in scoring, but Derek Gentile scored with 12:29 minutes to go in the final frame to put Cape Breton ahead for good. The loss ended a 5 game win streak for the Mooseheads and they'll look to start another one tonight. Whichever goaltender is in nets for the home team this evening will have a big task of keeping the puck out as the Eagles are one of the top scoring teams in the league. Benoit-Olivier Groulx will be looking for his first win as the captain of the Herd. 

Overall Records
Eagles: 9-3-0-0 = 18pts (2nd in Maritimes division, 4th overall)
Mooseheads: 7-5-0-0 = 14pts (4th in Maritimes division, 10th overall)

Leading scorers
HAL: Raphael Lavoie 20pts (9G & 11A), Maxim Trepanier 14pts (7G & 7A), Benoit-Olivier Groulx 13pts (5G & 8A)
CAP: Egor Sokolov 21pts (10G & 11A), Ryan Francis 19pts (5G & 14A), Shawn Boudrais 17pts (9G & 8A)

Out of Town
Foreurs vs. Huskies    5:00pm
Drakkar vs. Sagueneens    5:00pm
Sea Dogs vs. Islanders    7:00pm
Wildcats vs. Titan    7:00pm

After the Buzzer
The Mooseheads will welcome the Moncton Wildcats to Halifax on Friday night. Puck drops at 7pm.

Hischier Signs Extension

Former Halifax Mooseheads forward Nico Hischier has signed an extension with the New Jersey Devils before his current entry level contract is over. The 20-year-old put his signature on the dotted line on a 7 year contract. It will come into effect at the beginning of the 2020-21 season and is worth 50.75 million dollars.

"I like the direction the organization is going in and the confidence they give me is all a player can ask for," said Hischier. "We have a young, exciting team, and I ma driven to try my best to help the team succeed every day. I was really welcomed here from day one, and I have always felt that I wanted to be part of the Devils."

Hischier has played 157 games so far (includes this year) and has recorded 101 points. The Brig, Switzerland native suited up for all 82 matches during his rookie season and scored 20 goals in 2017-18. He was originally drafted at the 2017 NHL draft and the Devils surprised some people by selecting him 1st overall.

Congratulations to Nico on being signed to a contract extension today and good luck in New Jersey.

Groulx Named Captain

Photo - Mooseheads website

The Halifax Mooseheads finally announced their captain for the 2019-20 season! 19 year old Benoit-Olivier Groulx was awarded the C by coach J.J. Daigneault today.

Halifax made the announcement by sharing a video on their social media accounts earlier this afternoon with Daigneault explaining the qualities he was looking for to the whole team after practice before showing a white jersey with Groulx's name on the back and the C on the front.

Many were expecting for the permanent leadership group to be named after Benoit was returned to the club from the Anaheim Ducks at the beginning of October but coach Daigneault wanted to wait and see who were good leaders himself before making a decision. "A good leader is somebody that the team comes first. Somebody that's selfless, somebody that's courageous, somebody who's focused on the task," said Daigneault. For the full video click here.

In the video, the new head coach is also heard mentioning that Patty Kyte will be a permanent alternate captain for the remainder of the season while the others will be announced later.

Congratulations to Benoit-Olivier and Patrick on being given letters.

Canada/Russia Series Rosters Announced

Photo - Harbour Station website

The Quebec Major Junior Hockey League along with the Canadian Hockey League, the hosting teams and Hockey Canada announced the roster for the upcoming Canada-Russia Series. Saint John, NB and Moncton, NB will host the first two games of the series on November 4 and 5, respectively.

Halifax has five players named to be apart of the team. I believe this is the most players that our Mooseheads have had be on the announced roster. However, Jared McIsaac is still out recovering from shoulder surgery and is not expected to return until at least the end of November so he most likely will not play. Other players on the roster from the Herd include; goaltender Alexis Gravel, defenseman Justin Barron, forwards Benoit-Olivier Groulx and Raphael Lavoie.

A number of 2020 NHL draft prospects cracked the roster, giving fans across the country a chance to see what they can do. All six games during the series will be broadcasted on Sportsnet at 8pm Atlantic time for the Q and OHL matches.

Full roster
GOALTENDERS
Gravel, Alexis (HAL)
Rodrigue, Olivier (MON)

DEFENSEMEN
Barron, Justin (HAL)
Bergeron, Justin (ROU)
Bolduc, Samuel (BLB)
Bouchard, Xavier (BAC)
Cormier, Lukas (CHA)
Guenette, Maxence (VDO)
McIsaac, Jared (HAL)
Poirier, Jeremie (SNB)
Spence, Jordan (MON)

FORWARDS
Beaucage, Alex (ROU)
Bourque, Mavrik (SHA)
Element, Shawn (BAT)
Fortier, Gabriel (BAC)
Groulx, Benoit-Olivier (HAL)
Laferriere, Mathias (CAP)
Lafreniere, Alexis (RIM)
Lapierre, Hendrix (CHI)
Lavoie, Raphael (HAL)
Legare, Nathan (BAC)
Mercer, Dawson (DRU)
Pelletier, Jakob (MON)
Poulin, Samuel (SHE)
Simoneau, Xavier (DRU)

Press release.

Q Team of the Week

The QMJHL released it's team of the week on Monday and there are three Halifax Mooseheads players on it. This is the first time this season that at least one Moosehead has been given the honour. The Q doesn't do the stars of the week anymore, just the top player for the week.

Raphael Lavoie, Benoit-Olivier Groulx and Walter Flower were among the 5 guys on the team of the week. Lavoie picked up 4 goals and 8 points in 3 games over Thanksgiving weekend while Groulx had five assists, eight points and a +5. Flower meanwhile had a goal and 5 points.

Lavoie was also put on the CHL team of the week as one of the forwards. He had a 4 point night on Sunday against the Val-d'Or Foreurs and was named the 2nd star of the game.

Congratulations to all three players and keep up the strong play.