STATS SUNDAY: September

Games played: 4
Record: 2-2-0-0, 4pts
Goals for/against: 12/16
Powerplay: 19.1%
Penalty kill: 75.0%
Shutouts: None

Top 5 leading scorers
Points: Oleg Kulebiakin 4, Shawn Carrier 3, Quinn Kennedy 3, Jasu Mensonen 2, Will Bent 2
Goals: Oleg Kulebiakin 2, Shawn Carrier 2, Quinn Kennedy 2, Will Bent 1, Patrick McNab 1
Assists: Oleg Kulebiakin 2, Amelio Santini 2, Shawn Carrier 1, Quinn Kennedy 1, Will Bent 1
Penalty minutes: Daniel Walters 8, Eddy Doyle 6, Mathieu Taillefer 6, Oleg Kulebiakin 4, Quinn Kennedy 4
Plus/minus: Malik L'Italien +1, Patrick McNab +1, Junior Gualberto +1, Amelio Santini E, Justin Chiras E
Rookie scoring: Oleg Kulebiakin 4pts, Jasu Mensonen 2pts, Malik L'Italien 1pt

Goaltender stats
Owen Bresson     2-1-0-0     3.57 GAA     0.857 SAV%
Nicolas Cirka     0-1-0-0     4.17 GAA     0.846 SAV%

Game Day 3 & 4: vs Sea Dogs

PREVIEW - It's back to back home games for our Halifax Mooseheads against the Saint John Sea Dogs this weekend. The Sea Dogs updated their logo and jerseys before the start of the season in a move that the team is calling the #NextWave. Both teams are amidst a rebuild with Saint John winning the first overall pick at the 2025 draft where they selected forward Alexis Joseph. The rookie has yet to record his first point in the Q but we are only one weekend into the season. Halifax's rookie Jasu Mensonen will look to continue his good start after picking up a goal in both games against Charlottetown last week. I expect this will be another tight series between these two clubs, after they each won 4 out of eight games played in 2024-25. The Mooseheads should get some help in the scoring department as Liam Kilfoil, who led Halifax in scoring for most of last year, was released by the Detroit Red Wings from his tryout contract earlier this week. Not only do the Sea Dogs have the same records as well as goals for/against numbers but the teams are both led by first year players heading into tonight's match. 

Fans in Moose Country will get a rematch tomorrow night as Halifax hosts their first ever (I think) Country Night. I'm not sure what it is planned for the evening but it still should be a good way to spend a Saturday night. 

Coverage
TV: Eastlink | Radio: News 95.7 | Live: @MC_MooseCountry

Overall records
Sea Dogs: 1-1-0-0 = 2 points (3rd in Maritimes division, 8th overall)
Mooseheads: 1-1-0-0 = 2 points (5th in Maritimes division, 13th overall)

Leading scorers
HAL: Jasu Mensonen 2pts (2G & 0A), Shawn Carrier 2pts (1G & 1A), William Bent 1pt (1G & 1A)
SNB: Olivers Murnieks 3pts (0G & 3A), Elliot Dube 2pts (2G & 0A), Zachary Morin 2pts (1G & 1A)

Head-to-head
This is the first match of the season series between these two teams. Halifax had a 4-3-1-0 record versus the Sea Dogs in 2024-25 while Saint John went 4-4-0-0 against the Mooseheads. Their last match on March 8 saw our Herd lose 3-1 on home ice with Halifax goaltender Jacob Steinman earning 1st star honours after stopping 31 of the 33 Sea Dogs' shots. 

Out of town
Eagles vs. Wildcats - 7:00 p.m.
Huskies vs. Remparts - 8:00 p.m.
Olympiques vs. Drakkar - 8:00 p.m.
Armada vs. Cataractes - 8:00 p.m.
Phoenix vs. Voltigeurs - 8:00 p.m.

After the buzzer
Halifax's fifth game of the season will see the Baie-Comeau Drakkar coming to town for student night on October 2. Puck drops at 7 p.m.

Mensonen helps Herd get SO win

Rookie forward Jasu Mensonen has only played two matches but is showing that the North American game has not phased him. After scoring the lone goal in the season opener, the Imatra, Finland native got our Halifax Mooseheads on the board first in front of the fans at the Scotiabank Centre. He also scored the game winner to help the home team to a 5-4 shootout victory on Saturday night over the Charlottetown Islanders. It seemed like the Islanders were chasing the game but a two men advantage around the mid point of the first period gave the away team some life with Jude Herron scoring a PP goal and overage  forward Nathan Leek tied the natch up at 2 a few minutes later. Early in the middle frame, Quinn Kennedy gave Halifax back the lead. The Mooseheads looked to be in pretty control, outshooting Charlottetown 24-14 through 40 minutes. A short-handed goal by the Isles in the third tied the game again. Not very often do we see an extra frame in the home opener but we did tonight. A tripping penalty by rookie Oleg Kulebyakin had all the momentum in the overtime on the Islanders side as they outshot Halifax 6-0 but goaltender Owen Bresson stopped them all to send the match to a shootout. Mensonen was sent out as the second shooter and put it in while Kennedy also scored to secure the win for the good guys. 

FINAL: Islanders 4 at Mooseheads 5 SO
Stars: 3. Carlos Handel HAL | 2. Anthony Flanagan CHA | 1. Shawn Carrier HAL
Attendance: 8,205
MC's Top Herd: Quinn Kennedy

GAME LOG
First period
3:25 HAL Jasu Mensonen (2), PP | A: None
5:50 HAL William Bent (1) | A: None
10:01 CHA Jude Herron (1), PP | A: Chen & Watroba
13:41 CHA Nathan Leek (2) | A: Herron

Second period

0:59 HAL Quinn Kennedy (1) | A: Carrier & Kulebyakin

Third period
4:28 CHA Anthony Flanagan (1), SH | A: B. Peddle
14:34 HAL Shawn Carrier (1) | A: Doyle
15:09 CHA Anthony Flanagan (2) | A: Watroba 

Overtime
None

Shootout
HAL Bent        MISS           
CHA Flanagan         MISS
HAL Mensonen         GOAL       
CHA Campbell        MISS
HAL Kennedy       GOAL

Powerplay: CHA - 1-for-7; HAL 1-for-7
Shots: 41-26 in favour of Halifax

Did not play - Alec Nesreddine (healthy), Liam Kilfoil (NHL camp), Lincoln Waugh (injured), Junior Gualberto (healthy)

Next game
Halifax will welcome first overall pick Alexis Joseph and the Saint John Sea Dogs on Friday night. Puck drops at 7 p.m. 

Game Day 1: at Charlottetown

PREVIEW - The 2025-26 regular season begins tonight for our Halifax Mooseheads as they visit the Charlottetown Islanders. It will be the Islanders home opener at the Eastlink Centre, you can watch the game on Eastlink's Friday Night Hockey or the QMJHL's new webcast provider; FloHockey. Halifax was near the bottom of the age range last year and once again find themselves there, though they are somehow even younger this season than the 2024-25 season. Despite that, they do come in to the new season with more experience especially in the playoffs where the Mooseheads defeated one of the top teams as the 16th seed. They'll look to improve their record and I can't imagine them not doing so. Charlottetown had the upper hand last season but are going to be without captain Marcus Kearsey and Owen Conrad because of NHL camps this weekend so if the Herd want to get an advantage, now is the time. However, Halifax will also be without a player as Liam Kilfoil is participating in Detroit Red Wings camp. Get excited Moose Country, it's time for the games that matter. 

Coverage
TV: Eastlink | Radio: News 95.7 | Live: @HFXMooseheads

Overall records
Mooseheads: 0-0-0-0 = 0 points 
Islanders: 0-0-0-0 = 0 points

Leading scorers
CHA: n/a
HAL: n/a

Head-to-head
This is the first match of the season series between these two teams. Halifax had a 3-4-0-1 record versus the Islanders in 2024-25 while Charlottetown went 5-2-0-1 against the Mooseheads. Their last battle was on March 22 where the Charlottetown Islanders defeated the home Mooseheads 3-2 in a shootout in Halifax. 

Out of town
Regiment vs. Wildcats - 6:30 p.m. 
Sea Dogs vs. Eagles - 7:00 p.m.
Oceanic vs. Drakkar - 8:00 p.m.
Huskies vs. Armada - 8:00 p.m.
Foreurs vs. Olympiques - 8:00 p.m.
Cataractes vs. Tigres - 8:00 p.m.
Voltigeurs vs. Sagueneens - 8:00 p.m.
Phoenix vs. Remparts - 8:00 p.m.

After the buzzer
Halifax will play their home opener on Saturday night in a rematch against the Charlottetown Islanders. Puck drops at 7:00 p.m.

Several alumni at NHL main camps

There are a number of young men on NHL teams main camp rosters that have suited up for the Halifax Mooseheads sometime in their career. Out of the two current Herd players that were invited to rookie camps last weekend, Kilfoil made the main camp. 

Justin Barron - Nashville Predators
Mathieu Cataford - Vegas Golden Knights
Elliot Desnoyers - Minnesota Wild
Jonathan Drouin - New York Islanders
Jordan Dumais - Columbus Blue Jackets
Nikolaj Ehlers - Carolina Hurricanes
Cavan Fitzgerald - Chicago Blackhawks
Martin Frk - Calgary Flames
Jake Furlong - San Jose Sharks
Benoit-Olivier Groulx - Toronto Maple Leafs
Nico Hischier - New Jersey Devils
Liam Kilfoil - Detroit Red Wings
Zachary L'Heureux - Nashville Predators
Raphael Lavoie - Vegas Golden Knights
Nathan MacKinnon - Colorado Avalanche
Brad Marchand - Florida Panthers
Timo Meier - New Jersey Devils
Xavier Parent - New Jersey Devils
Mackenzie Weegar - Calgary Flames

Check out each club's social media accounts for updates throughout the next few weeks. I will make a post of where alumni have landed this season late next month. Good luck to all the players at their respective training camps. 

Next QMJHL Draft to be in Halifax

The QMJHL Commissioner held a press conference on Tuesday morning to launch the 2025-26 season and made a few announcements. 

Among the news shared was that our Halifax Mooseheads will officially host the 2026 Entry Draft on June 5 and 6 at the Scotiabank Centre. The first round is set to take place on Friday evening while round 2 to 12 will be held on Saturday. It is the first time in franchise history Halifax will welcome the 17 other teams for this annual event. 

Photo - Mooseheads website

Halifax currently own two picks in the first round in 2026 - their own and the first pick of the Rimouski Oceanic. 

"The QMJHL is very pleased and excited to hold its 2026 Draft presented by Fenplast in the beautiful city of Halifax, a very important market in our league," said the commissioner, Mario Cecchini. "The players, families and teams present at the Draft will be able to fully enjoy the beautiful attractions of the city."

"We are thrilled to be able to bring this event to Halifax, especially for our deserving fans who will no doubt make this the most exciting draft in QMJHL history," said Chairman/Owner Sam Simon and Peter Simon, President of Simon Sports. 

I'm sure more information on how fans can enjoy this free event will be made available next spring when it is closer to the draft. 

Herd Word

Photo - Trevor MacMillan via The Hockey News

It's opening week finally.

The Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League regular season begins this week when the defending league champion Moncton Wildcats visit the Newfoundland Regiment on Thursday night. It will be the first QMJHL game in St. John's since 2008. 

Our Halifax Mooseheads will play a home-and-home series against the Charlottetown Islanders this weekend to start the year, opening up on the road before hosting their home opener on September 20. 

Photo - Crushers Facebook

MHL SEASON UNDERWAY
The Maritime Junior A Hockey League regular season got underway this past Thursday and there are a number of Herd alumni playing in the league. Defenseman Dominic MacKenzie along with forwards Logan Crosby and Cade Moser will suit up with the Pictou County Crushers while the Truro Bearcats have forwards Liam Welsh, Jake Todd and Callum Aucoin on their roster. 

Halifax affiliate players Cole Bent (Valley), Tucker Makinen (Yarmouth), Ryan Fletcher (Valley), Jameson George (Chaleur), Aidan Bent (Valley) and Cole MacLeod (Yarmouth) have also been named to rosters. 

19-year-old Logan Crosby, who played 163 games with the Mooseheads before being traded to the Moncton Wildcats, will wear the C on his chest for the Crushers after being named captain on September 11. In his third season with the Bearcats, Liam Welsh, 20, was given the C while Jake Todd was named an assistant captain on the Truro club. 

KILFOIL SCORES
While participating in Detroit Red Wings camp, forward Liam Kilfoil scored a really nice goal in the Wings' 6-5 loss against the Dallas Stars prospects on Sunday. 

Detroit has not announced their main camp roster so I am not sure if Kilfoil has been invited but I haven't seen the team announce they have released him either. 

A beauty from Liam Kilfoil pic.twitter.com/A0CoJaKTAK

— Detroit Red Wings (@DetroitRedWings) September 15, 2025

SIMONS PUTTING UP MONEY
Back in June, it was announced that the Halifax Mooseheads were asking the Halifax regional council for a loan worth about 1.5 million dollars to build a 4,720-square-foot training facility extension to the RBC Centre in Dartmouth. The council said they would look into it but as of September, had not made a decision. 

Well now, the clubs owners, Simon Sports, are saying they will be willing to pay for the full price of the construction. There are still questions and the final plan needs to be given the green light by the council either way it sounds like. Even once it is, the facility wouldn't be complete for another additional year or so. For the full story, click here. 

QMJHL FIGHT
After not being offered an entry level contract by the Nashville Predators who drafted him in 2023, former Moose defenseman Dylan MacKinnon was invited to Boston Bruins rookie camp over the weekend. The Bruins participated in the two-game Prospects Challenge hosted by Buffalo. During the team's game against New Jersey, MacKinnon fought fellow Q alumnus Cam Squires. 

ARENA UPGRADES
Talking about the home opener, fans should expect to see some changes when they head to the Scotiabank Centre on Saturday evening. A new public address system has been added to the facility, along with new interior and exterior digital signage. There will be new concessions offerings though no more info is given. Work is also currently being completed on a new state-of-the-art player area for the Mooseheads players and coaching stuff which is slated to open later this fall according to the article released by the team. 

Scotiabank renewed its naming rights partnership with the arena back in the spring and it was long rumoured (or known) that upgrades would be made once again to the almost 50 year old building. 

"We're excited to start a new season with our incredible fans. There are many new additions to the fan experience that we are looking forward to sharing with them. We have a great young team and we can't wait for all of us to be together again on Saturday night in Moose Country," said President Brian Urquhart. 

CHL TOP 10 
While our Mooseheads did not make the pre-season top 10 rankings, I thought I would share them for anybody who is interested. 
1. Blainville-Boisbriand Armada 
2. Brantford Bulldogs 
3. Spokane Chiefs 
4. Chicoutimi Sagueneens 
5. Windsor Spitfires
6. Edmonton Oilers
7. Kitchener Rangers
8. Moncton Wildcats
9. Kelowna Rockets
10. Niagara IceDogs

Other things..

• This is a little late but I wanted to still share it anyways. Nova Scotia was well represented at Hockey Canada's Olympics orientation camp in late August & the four players attending got together for a picture.

  

  'Coupla bluenosers' Marchand, Turnbull, Crosby & MacKinnon
  Photo - Blayre Turnbull's Instagram

  
  
• FloHockey lists Halifax forward Liam Kilfoil as one of top future NHL prospects to watch in the QMJHL this year. Kilfoil went undrafted in 2025 but is eligible again for the 2026 entry draft. 
• Pictou County's Logan Crosby (3G & 1A) and Cade Moser (1G & 3A) have started the MHL season on a good note, with both recording 4 points each in 2 games. Jake Todd had two goals for Truro over the weekend. 
• On September 4, it was announced that the Guelph Storm and Kitchener Rangers were named the finalists to host the 2027 Memorial Cup.