Moose Dominate in Game 5

The Halifax Mooseheads started off shaky but calmed down in the second half of the game leading to a dominate 7-3 victory in Game 5 on Sunday afternoon over the Moncton Wildcats. Mathieu Cataford got the home team on the board first at the 3:19 mark of the opening frame. However, agitator Maxim Barbashev tied the game up a little more than 3 minutes later on what ended up being the lone power play of the game. The first period ended in a 2-2 tie but there was some sloppy play by both teams which continued in the second. Regular season leading scorer Jordan Dumais got a weak one past Jacob Steinman to give Halifax the lead with under 10 minutes to go in the middle frame. The Mooseheads didn't look back after that as the club scored two more times in the final minute of the second to make the score 5-2. Moncton closed the gap to two goals at the 7:58 mark and pulled their goaltender late in the third but the Wildcats couldn't get any closer. The victory gave the Mooseheads a 4-1 series win in Round 2. 

FINAL: Wildcats 3 at Mooseheads 7
Stars: 3. Dylan MacKinnon HAL | 2. Evan Boucher HAL | 1. Jordan Dumais HAL
Attendace: 8,667

GAME LOG
First period
3:19 HAL Mathieu Cataford (2) | A: Boucher
6:34 MON Maxim Barbashev (4), PP | A: Beaudoin & Morin
14:46 MON Trent Ballentyne (2) | A: Sampson
18:32 HAL Attilio Biasca (3) | A: Dumais & Martin

Second period
10:06 HAL Jordan Dumais (3) | A: Vidicek & Schultz
19:12 HAL Zachary L'Heureux (6) | A: Furlong & Schultz
19:40 HAL Evan Boucher (3) | A: Dumais & MacKinnon

Third period

7:58 MON Gabe Smith (1) | A: Auger & Hamel

18:13 HAL Josh Lawrence (6), EN | A: L'Heureux & Cataford

19:01 HAL Jordan Dumais (4), EN | A: L'Heureux

Powerplay: MON - 1-for-1; HAL - 0-for-0

Shots: 37-20 in favour of Halifax

DID NOT PLAY - David Moravec (illness)

Golden Puck nominees announced

The Quebec Major Junior Hockey League announced the nominees for their annual awards at the Golden Puck Awards. It looks like there isn't going to be an actual award night once again this year, the league will announce the winners over the next month. A few Halifax Mooseheads have been nominated for awards with Mathieu Cataford getting two nominations. I expect we'll see some Herd players on the all-star teams as well once they are announced. 

*via QMJHL.ca

Michel-Bergeron Trophy – Offensive Rookie of the Year – April 13

• Félix Lacerte – Shawinigan
• Maxim Massé – Chicoutimi
• Thomas Verdon – Rouyn-Noranda

Raymond-Lagacé Trophy – Defensive Rookie of the Year – April 14

• Gabriel D’Aigle – Victoriaville
• Marcus Kearsey – Charlottetown
• Jacob Steinman – Moncton

Frank-J.-Selke Memorial Trophy – Most Sportsmanlike (and Effective) Player – April 20

• Thomas Belgarde – Victoriaville
• Attilio Biasca – Halifax
• Justin Robidas – Quebec

 Guy-Carbonneau Trophy – Best defensive forward – April 21

• Zachary Dean – Gatineau
• Nathan Gaucher – Quebec
• Milo Roelens – Sherbrooke

 Michael-Bossy Trophy – Top Professional Prospect – April 24

• Mathieu Cataford – Halifax
• Ethan Gauthier – Sherbrooke
• Etienne Morin – Moncton

Kevin-Lowe Memorial Trophy – Best defensive defenseman – April 26

• Tyson Hinds – Sherbrooke
• Pier-Olivier Roy – Victoriaville
• Nicolas Savoie – Quebec

Émile-Bouchard Trophy – Defenseman of the Year – April 27

• Frédéric Brunet – Victoriaville
• Tyson Hinds – Sherbrooke
• Tristan Luneau – Gatineau

 Marcel-Robert Trophy – Scholastic Player of the Year – May 1

• Julien Béland – Rimouski
• Mathieu Cataford – Halifax
• Maxime Pellerin – Victoriaville

 Ron-Lapointe Trophy – Coach of the Year – May 4

• Sylvain Favreau – Halifax
• Stéphane Julien – Sherbrooke
• Carl Mallette – Victoriaville

Maurice-Filion Memorial Trophy – General Manager of the Year – May 8

• Stéphane Julien – Sherbrooke
• Louis Robitaille – Gatineau
• Patrick Roy – Quebec

Paul-Dumont Trophy – Personality of the Year – May 10

• Stéphane Julien – Sherbrooke
• Louis Robitaille – Gatineau
• Joshua Roy – Sherbrooke

 Michel-Brière Memorial Trophy – Most Valuable Player – May 11

• Nathan Darveau – Victoriaville
• Jordan Dumais – Halifax
• Joshua Roy – Sherbrooke

_

Of note, the finalists for the Rookie of the Year, the Humanitarian of the Year, the Jean-Sawyer Trophy, the John-Horman Trophy and the Denis-Arsenault Trophy will be unveiled at a later date.

Matchups for Round 2 Set

Some were over quickly while a few others took the full seven games to decide the series. Either way, the matchups for the second round are finally set. The Moncton Wildcats defeated the Baie-Comeau Drakkar on Tuesday night in Game 7 with an overtime victory to move on to Round 2. It was the last series that needed to be figured out. Below you will find the matchups across the league. 

Ed Chynoweth Cup

E1 Winnipeg ICE vs. E4 Moose Jaw Warriors
E2 Red Deer Rebels vs. E3 Saskatoon Blades

W1 Seattle Thunderbirds vs. W4 Prince George Cougars
W2 Kamloops Blazers vs. W3 Portland Winterhawks

J. Ross Robertson Cup

E1 Ottawa 67's vs. E4 Peterborough Petes

E2 North Bay Battalion vs. E3 Barrie Colts

W2 London Knights vs. W8 Kitchener Rangers

W3 Sarnia Stings vs. W4 Saginaw Spirit

Gilles Courteau Trophy

E1 Quebec Remparts vs. E5 Rimouski Oceanic

E2 Halifax Mooseheads vs. E3 Moncton Wildcats

W1 Sherbrooke Phoenix vs. W6 Drummondville Voltigeurs

W2 Gatineau Olympiques vs. W4 Rouyn-Noranda Huskies

Good luck to all teams for the rest of the playoffs. The London-Kitchener series begins on Thursday while all the other series kick off on Friday. 

Photos - league websites

Season series versus each team

Below you will find the records of your Halifax Mooseheads versus each of the other seventeen teams in the Q plus the monthly records for the team this season. (note: Halifax's score is listed first)

West division
Blainville-Boisbriand 2 games 2-0-0-0 {3-2, 5-4OT}
Gatineau 2 games 1-0-0-1 {4-3SO, 2-3SO}
Rouyn-Noranda 2 games 0-0-1-1 {2-3SO, 2-3OT}
Val-d'Or 2 games 1-1-0-0 {3-2OT, 3-4}

Central division
Drummondville 2 games 1-1-0-0 {5-2, 4-6}
Shawinigan 2 games 2-0-0-0 {6-3, 5-2}
Sherbrooke 2 games 1-1-0-0 {6-2, 0-3}
Victoriaville 2 games 1-0-1-0 {3-4OT, 5-2}

East division
Baie-Comeau 2 games 2-0-0-0 {4-2, 4-0}
Chicoutimi 2 games 1-1-0-0 {5-8, 4-3OT}
Quebec 2 games 2-0-0-0 {2-1SO, 4-3}
Rimouski 2 games 2-0-0-0 {5-3, 6-1}

Maritimes division
Acadie-Bathurst 9 games 7-2-0-0 {6-4, 6-3, 4-7, 6-1, 4-0, 6-2, 4-1, 0-1, 6-3}
Cape Breton 9 games 6-2-1-0 {5-4OT, 3-5, 6-2, 5-6OT, 11-3, 5-4, 4-1, 6-1, 1-2}
Charlottetown 9 games 7-1-1-0 {3-1, 4-1, 0-2, 7-3, 7-2, 4-5SO, 4-2, 9-0, 10-5}
Moncton 9 games 6-2-1-0 {3-5, 8-3, 4-5, 3-4OT, 6-4, 11-3, 4-2, 6-4, 8-5}
Saint John 8 games 8-0-0-0 {7-0, 9-4, 5-0, 6-4, 8-1, 10-7, 5-2, 4-3}

Monthly records
October 12 games ~ 8-1-2-1 record overall, 3-0-1-1 home, 5-1-1-0 away
November 13 games ~ 7-6-0-0 record overall, 5-3-0-0 home, 2-3-0-0 away
December 10 games ~ 8-0-2-0 record overall, 3-0-1-0 home, 5-0-1-0 away
January 10 games ~ 10-0-0-0 record overall, 7-0-0-0 home, 3-0-0-0 away

February 11 games ~ 7-2-0-2 record overall, 2-0-0-0 home, 5-2-0-2 away
March 12 games ~ 10-2-0-0 record overall, 7-1-0-0 home, 3-1-0-0 away

Overtime/shootout records
OT ~ three overtime win, four overtime loss
SO ~ three shootout win, three shootout loss

Around the CHL ~ volume #2 season edition #14

For the first time since 2019, all three leagues will be doing playoffs and starting at the same time. With the regular season ending across the country in junior hockey over the past weekend, I thought I would share who led each team in the player categories and the division winners. Names below probably won't be a surprise but it is nice to see a Halifax Moosehead on the leader board once again. 

League leaders
Goals - Connor Bedard 71 goals (WHL Regina Pats), Alexandre Doucet 58 goals (QMJHL Halifax Mooseheads), Matthew Maggio 54 goals (OHL Windsor Spitfires)
Assists - Jordan Dumais 86 assists (QMJHL Halifax Mooseheads), Ty Volt 81 assists (OHL Sarnia Sting), Connor Bedard 72 assists (WHL Regina Pats)
Points - Connor Bedard 143 points (WHL Regina Pats), Jordan Dumais 140 points (QMJHL Halifax Mooseheads), Matthew Maggio 111 points (OHL Windsor Spitfires)
Defenceman points - Pavel Mintyukov 88 points (OHL Ottawa 67's), Tristan Luneau 83 points (QMJHL Gatineau Olympiques), Ben Zloty 81 points (WHL Winnipeg ICE)
Rookie points - Alexander Suzdalev 86 points (WHL Regina Pats), Maxim Masse 62 points (QMJHL Chicoutimi Sagueneens), Michael Misa 56 points (OHL Saginaw Spirit)
Goalie wins - Dylan Ernst 38 wins (WHL Kamloops Blazeers), Mathis Rousseau 36 wins (QMJHL Halifax Mooseheads), Dom DiVincentiis 36 wins (OHL North Bay Battalion)
Save percentage - Nathan Darveau 0.929 SAV% (QMJHL Victoriaville Tigres), Thomas Milic 0.928 SAV% (WHL Seattle Thunderbirds), Dom DiVincentiis 0.919 SAV% (OHL North Bay Battalion)
Goals against average - Thomas Milic 2.08 GAA (WHL Seattle Thunderbirds), William Rousseau 2.22 GAA (QMJHL Quebec Remparts), Dom DiVincentiis 2.33 GAA (OHL North Bay Battalion)

Division leaders
WHL - Winnipeg ICE 115 points/57 wins (East division), Seattle Thunderbirds 111 points/54 wins (U.S. division), Kamloops Blazers 103 points/48 wins (B.C. division), Red Deer Rebels 92 points/43 wins (Central division)
OHL - Ottawa 67's 107 points/51 wins (East division), North Bay Battalion 99 points/48 wins (Central division), Windsor Spitfires 94 points/44 wins (West division), London Knights 92 points/45 wins (Midwest division)
QMJHL - Quebec Remparts 109 points/53 wins (East division), Halifax Mooseheads 107 points/50 wins (Maritimes division), Sherbrooke Phoenix 105 points/50 wins (Central division), Gatineau Olympiques 105 points/49 wins (West division)

BMO CHL top ten ~ week 25
1. Gatineau Olympiques {49-12-5-2} week 24 #1
2. Sherbrooke Phoenix {50-13-3-2} week 24 #4
3. Winnipeg ICE {57-10-1-0} week 24 #3
4. Seattle Thunderbirds {54-11-1-2} week 24 #2
5. Quebec Remparts {53-12-1-2} week 24 #6
6. Ottawa 67's {51-12-3-2} week 24 #8
7. Halifax Mooseheads {50-11-4-3} week 24 #5
8. North Bay Battalion {48-17-2-1} week 24 #10
9. Kamloops Blazers {48-13-4-3} week 24 #7
10. Saskatoon Blades {48-15-4-1} week 24 HM
Honorable mentions: Sarnia Sting {41-18-5-4 #9}, Barrie Colts {42-17-6-3 HM}, Prince George Cougars {37-24-6-1 n/a}

Round 1 Schedule is Out

The road to the newly named Gilles Courteau Trophy begins on Friday around the league. 

After another interesting season that ended on a high note for our Halifax Mooseheads picking up their 50th win of the season, the Herd finished second in the league. The QMJHL announced yesterday the full schedule for round 1 of the 2023 playoffs. It will be a Battle of Nova Scotia series as our Mooseheads will take on the seventh place Cape Breton Eagles. The league has gone back to a best-of-seven series for all four rounds with this one being the normal 2-2-1-1-1 format. 

Find the schedule of the Eagles-Mooseheads series below:

Game 1  Friday March 31 @ 7:00pm at Scotiabank Centre
Game 2  Saturday April 1 @ 7:00pm at Scotiabank Centre
Game 3  Tuesday April 4 @ 7:00pm at Centre 200
Game 4  Wednesday April 5 @ 7:00pm at Centre 200
*Game 5  Friday April 7 @ 7:00pm at Scotiabank Centre
*Game 6  Sunday April 9 @ 4:00pm at Centre 200
*Game 7  Tuesday April 11 @ 7:00pm at Scotiabank Centre

*if necessary 

Single game tickets for Games 1 and 2 are already on sale and can be purchased at the Scotiabank Centre Box Office or online at ticketatlantic.com. 

STATS SUNDAY: March

Games played: 12
Record: 10-2-0-0, 20pts
Goals for/against: 65/29
Powerplay*: 27.1%
Penalty kill*: 81.0%
Shutouts: One

Top 5 leading scorers
Points: Jordan Dumais 31, Josh Lawrence 31, Alexandre Doucet 26, Attilio Biasca 14, Brady Schultz 12
Goals: Alexandre Doucet 13, Jordan Dumais 10, Josh Lawrence 10, Evan Boucher 6, Attilio Biasca 5
Assists: Jordan Dumais 21, Josh Lawrence 21, Alexandre Doucet 13, Brady Schultz 12, Attilio Biasca 9
Penalty minutes: Mathieu Cataford 13, Dylan MacKinnon 12, Evan Boucher 11, Zachary L'Heureux 9, Alexandre Doucet 8
Plus/minus: Josh Lawrence +16, Alexandre Doucet +15, Brady Schultz +12, Jake Furlong +9, Jordan Dumais +9
Rookie scoring: Owen Phillips 4pts, Reece Peitzsche 4pts, Braeden MacPhee 4pts, Jack Martin 2pts

Goaltender stats*
Mathis Rousseau     36-7-2-3     2.48 GAA     0.912 SAV%
Brady James     14-4-2-0     3.39 GAA     0.882 SAV%

*overall