Playoff Hopes Still Alive

With two games to go in the regular season, your Halifax Mooseheads still have hope of making the playoffs after picking up a huge overtime victory tonight versus the second place Charlottetown Islanders. Veteran Jake Coughler helped his Mooseheads get the win against his former team. The 20 year old scored a hat trick on Wednesday evening including the overtime winner 54 seconds into the extra frame to clinch the two points. It really shouldn't have gone to OT considering the first two periods Halifax played like they wanted to win. This determination led to some early cheers from the crowd at Scotiabank Centre with Max Fortier scoring practically an empty net goal 1:56 into the game. Just over 3 minutes later captain Keigan Goetz crashed the net and put the puck past Mark Grametbauer to give the home team a 2-0 lead. Halifax would go into the first intermission with a 3-0 lead while only allowing 4 shots on rookie Alexis Gravel who started his 14th game in a row. After 40 minutes the Islanders were down 5-2 but they wouldn't go away. A strong third period by the visiting team with goals by some of Charlottetown top guys tied the game in the third period, including one goal that was controversial on the powerplay. The Moose had a few good chances at the end of the game to win it in regulation but couldn't find the back of the net again. The win was big for a team that found themselves one point above 17th place Sherbrooke Phoenix and tied with the Rimouski Oceanic going into the Wednesday night game.

FINAL: Islanders 5 at Mooseheads 6 OT
Stars: 3. Alex Dostie CHA | 2. Nico Hischier HAL | 1. Jake Coughler HAL
Attendance: 7,772
MC's Top Herd: Jake Coughler

GAME LOG
First period
1:36 HAL Maxime Fortier (31) | A: Hischier & Groulx
4:43 HAL Keigan Goetz (8) | A: Moynihan & Bishop
14:04 HAL Benoit-Olivier Groulx (17) | A: Hischier & McIsaac

Second period
8:55 CHA Alex Dostie (28), PP | A: Brisebois & Beauchemin
9:58 HAL Jake Coughler (29), PP | A: Chainey & Hischier
17:42 CHA Alex Dostie (29) | A: Sprong

Third period
2:35 HAL Jake Coughler (30) | Durandeau & Lavoie
4:43 CHA Filip Chlapik (33) | A: Marsh & Vesterinen
7:21 CHA Kameron Kielly (33), PP | A: Marsh & Sprong
11:50 CHA Francois Beauchemin (44) | A: Dostie & Sprong

Overtime
0:54 HAL Jake Coughler (31) | A: Fortier & Gravel

Powerplay: CHA - 2-for-4, HAL - 1-for-2
Shots: 39-34 in favour of Halifax

MISSING IN ACTION: Barratt Dachyshyn (injury), Blade Mann-Dixon (injury), Caleb Rich and Ben Higgins

SCORES
Acadie-Bathurst 4 at Cape Breton 6
Saint John 5 at Moncton 0
Blainville-Boisbriand 3 at Drummondville 6
Chicoutimi 5 at Quebec 3
Rouyn-Noranda 2 at Shawinigan 3
Val-d'Or 3 at Sherbrooke 2

UP NEXT: Halifax will host the Cape Breton Screaming Eagles on Friday night for a special St. Patrick's Day game. Puck drops at 7pm.

GAMEDAY #66: vs. Charlottetown

GAME PREVIEW
HALIFAX MOOSEHEADS VS. CHARLOTTETOWN ISLANDERS
Puck drops at 7:00pm
Radio: News 95.7 | TV: Webcast | Live: @MC_MooseCountry
Scotiabank Centre (10,595) ~ Halifax, NS

Your Halifax Mooseheads look to finish off the season strong as they come back to Moose Country to end the year on a 3 game homestand. Halifax has had a tough schedule of late playing their divisional rivals for the last month and a half, picking up wins against the last place Moncton Wildcats. It's not going to get any easier with the Herd facing the top 2 teams this week plus a St Patrick's Day matchup against Cape Breton. The Mooseheads will need some luck on their side and big performances from the top guns; Max Fortier and Nico Hischier to make sure they get into the playoffs. Charlottetown meanwhile have won 9 of their last 10 games and has the CHL player of the week on their team in Daniel Sprong. The Pittsburgh Penguins draft pick has been racking up points and has been a thorn in the Mooseheads' back since he started in the QMJHL. With their strong play in the second half, the Islanders have shot up the standings and are only 5 points back of first place Saint John for the division crown. Halifax will try to put an end to Charlottetown's bid to win the division by picking up the two points in front of the home crowd at Scotiabank Centre.

This is the ninth and final game between these two teams this season. Charlottetown is 5-3-0-0 against the Mooseheads so far while Halifax has a 3-5-0-0 record versus the Islanders. The two teams last met on March 5 in Charlottetown where the Herd lost 3-1 with Arnaud Durandeau scoring the lone goal. Alex Gravel made 29 saves to take the defeat.

OVERALL RECORDS
Islanders: 43-17-3-0 = 93 points (2nd in Maritimes division, 4th overall)
Mooseheads: 26-34-2-3 = 57 points (5th in Maritimes division, 15th overall)

LEADING SCORERS
HAL: Maxime Fortier 83pts (30G & 53A), Nico Hischier 82pts (38G & 44A), Jake Coughler 50pts (28G & 22A)
CHA: Francois Beauchemin 94pts (43G & 51A), Filip Chlapik 87G (32G & 55A), Kameron Kielly 69pts (32G & 37A)

PREVIOUS GAMES
Charlottetown is coming off a 6-3 victory over the Titan on Saturday evening. Guillaume Brisbois led the Islanders with 2 goals and an assist on the road while Mark Grametbauer stopped 26 of Acadie-Bathurst's 29 shots to take the win.

Halifax is coming off a 5-3 loss to the Sea Dogs on Saturday. Otto Somppi scored two goals for the Mooseheads while Alex Gravel made 21 saves in what was Saint John's last home game of the season.

ALUM ON ISLANDERS - Jean-Sebastien Taillefer

HEAD-TO-HEAD
October 2  Halifax 2 at Charlottetown 9
October 8  Charlottetown 2 at Halifax 5
November 12  Charlottetown 4 at Halifax 7
December 28  Halifax 1 at Charlottetown 2
January 11  Charlottetown 1 at Halifax 2 
February 10  Halifax 3 at Charlottetown 4 
February 18  Charlottetown 5 at Halifax 1
March 5  Halifax 1 at Charlottetown 3
March 15  Charlottetown at Halifax – 7pm

OUT OF TOWN
Screaming Eagles vs. Titan - 7:00pm
Wildcats vs. Sea Dogs - 7:00pm
Voltigeurs vs. Armada - 8:00pm
Remparts vs. Sagueneens - 8:00pm
Cataractes vs. Huskies - 8:00pm
Phoenix vs. Foreurs - 8:00pm

AFTER THE BUZZER
Halifax will stay at home and welcome their provincial rivals; Cape Breton Screaming Eagles on Friday evening for St. Patrick's Day. Puck drops at 7pm.

QMJHL Names Scholastic POM

Every month, the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League announces a Scholastic Player of the Month which recognizes a player on each team with his performance on ice and in the classroom. The player is selected based on their school results, their implication, the school-hockey conciliation, their team spirit and their on-ice performances.

For your Halifax Mooseheads, Joel Bishop was named the Scholastic Player of the Month for February 2017. Bishop had two assists and twelve penalty minutes in 11 games played in the month of February while also being a minus-4.

Here's the full list:

BAC	Antoine Samuel	Cégep de Baie-Comeau
BAT	Kynan Berger	Bathurst High School
BLB	Anthony Poulin	Cégep de Saint-Jérôme
CAP	Tyler Hylland	Cégep à distance
CHA	Matthew Welsh	Colonel Gray High School
CHI	Julien Carignan	Cégep de Chicoutimi
DRU	Andrew Shewfelt	St. Mary’s University
GAT	Eric Eshweller	Glebe Collegiate Institute
HAL	Joel Bishop	Prince Andrew High School
MON	Alex Renaud	Ontario online High School
QUE	Christian Huntley	Correspondance study program NS
RIM	Alex-Olivier Voyer	Cégep de Rimouski
ROU	Rafaël Harvey-Pinard	Cégep de l’Abitibi-Témiscamingue
SHA	Samuel Asselin	Collège Shawinigan
SHE	Johnathan Legault	Cégep de Sherbrooke
SNB	Matthew Highmore	UNBSJ
VDO	Alex Bishop	NB University
VIC	James Phelan	Cégep de Victoriaville

GAMEDAY #59: vs. Acadie-Bathurst

GAME PREVIEW
HALIFAX MOOSEHEADS VS ACADIE-BATHURST TITAN
Puck drops at 7:00pm
TV: Eastlink | Radio: News 95.7 | Live: @MC_MooseCountry
Scotiabank Centre (10,595) ~ Halifax, NS

We're certainly getting to know our division again. I say again because there were a number of moves with the trade deadline. Your Halifax Mooseheads played their last game against a Quebec team back on February 12 and as such have all Maritime area matches left. The Herd will be hosting the Acadie-Bathurst Titan this evening on Eastlink for some Friday night hockey. Halifax has been struggling lately, going 3-6-1-0 in their last 10 games and are looking to right the ship. They'll be in tough to get a third win this week when they go up against a Bathurst team that has victories in 6 straight and a 8-2-0-0 record in their last 10 games coming into tonight. Matches between these two teams have generally been entertaining and close however the Titan can score big time. They are second in the league behind Charlottetown for the highest goals for with 247. It's a time for the Mooseheads to show that they can make some noise in the playoffs as they go up against strong teams down the stretch. The Herd will also want to make a good impression on their home fans as this is the last game at the Scotiabank Centre until March 15. Will the home team be able to put an end to the Titan's win streak and continue their own? Come out to cheer on the boys and find out.

This is the eighth match between these two teams this season. Halifax is 2-4-1-0 against the Titan so far while Acadie-Bathurst has a 5-2-0-0 record versus the Mooseheads. The two teams last met on February 17 in Bathurst where the home team crushed the away team by a score of 9-0. Alex Gravel made 10 saves on 15 shots before being pulled in favour of backup Cole McLaren who stopped 19 of 23 shots. 

OVERALL RECORDS
Titan: 33-20-3-2 = 71 points (3rd in Maritimes division, 6th overall)
Mooseheads: 26-27-2-3 = 57 points (5th in Maritimes division, 12th overall)

LEADING SCORERS
HAL: Maxime Fortier 80pts (29G & 51A), Nico Hischier 78pts (37G & 41A), Jake Coughler 45pts (27G & 18A)
BAT: Christophe Boivin 78pts (38G & 40A), Antoine Morand 62pts (21G & 41A), Vladimir Kuznetsov 59pts (25G & 34A)

PREVIOUS GAMES
Acadie-Bathurst is coming off a big 8-7 overtime victory in Saint John on Wednesday night. Danill Miromanov led the Titan with a goal and 3 assists while Anthony Dumont-Bouchard stopped 23 of the Sea Dogs 30 shots.

Halifax is coming off a 5-3 win over rival Moncton on Thursday evening. Rookie Mathieu Charlebois had a big night on enemy soil scoring his first 2 careers goals and assisting on 2 others to lead the Mooseheads while Alex Gravel made 22 saves.

ALUM ON TITAN - none

HEAD-TO-HEAD
October 12  Mooseheads 0 at Titan 3
October 26  Titan 4 at Mooseheads 6
November 20  Titan 11 at Mooseheads 10
November 22  Mooseheads 5 at Titan 3
December 14  Titan 5 at Mooseheads 3
February 2  Titan 4 at Mooseheads 3 OT
February 17  Mooseheads 0 at Titan 9
February 24  Titan at Mooseheads – 7pm
March 10  Mooseheads at Titan – 7pm

OUT OF TOWN
Screaming Eagles vs. Sea Dogs    7:00pm
Tigres vs. Sagueneens    8:00pm
Armada vs. Islanders    8:30pm
Voltigeurs vs. Huskies    8:30pm
Oceanic vs. Cataractes    8:30pm
Foreurs vs. Drakkar    8:30pm

AFTER THE BUZZER
The Mooseheads will have back to back games against the league leading Saint John Sea Dogs on the road starting with Sunday. Puck drops at 3pm.

Regina To Host 100th Memorial Cup

The Canadian Hockey League announced this week the host for the 100th Memorial Cup that will take place at the end of the 2017-18 season. On January 25, 2017 three clubs presented their bids to host the national championship with the Western Hockey League's Regina Pats being named the host team in the city of Regina. Not only is it the centennial year of the Memorial Cup but it is also the century season for the Pats.

“The 2018 Mastercard Memorial Cup and the celebrations around this centennial event will truly capture, preserve, and enhance the legacy of one of the most prestigious trophies in all of sport while honouring the brave men and women who served and continue to serve our country,” said CHL President David Branch.

This is the first time since 2001 that the city of Regina has hosted the prestigious tournament. The Pats have been national champs three times in their history and have been to a record 12 championships.

Congratulations to the Regina Pats on being named host for the 2018 MasterCard Memorial Cup!

QMJHL Names Scholastic POM

Every month, the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League announces a Scholastic Player of the Month which recognizes a player on each team with his performance on ice and in the classroom. The player is selected based on their school results, their implication, the school-hockey conciliation, their team spirit and their on-ice performances.

For your Halifax Mooseheads, Raphael Lavoie was named the Scholastic Player of the Month for January 2017. Lavoie had two goals and nine penalty minutes in 4 games played in the month of January while also being a minus-1.

Here is the full list:

Team	Player	Educational Institution
BAC	Xavier Bouchard	École secondaire Serge Bouchard
BAT	Noah Dobson	Bathurst High School
BLB	Alexandre Alain	Cégep de Saint-Jérôme
CAP	Olivier Bourret	Cégep à distance
CHA	Pierre-Olivier Joseph	Académie les Estacades
CHI	Keenan MacIsaac	Blyth Academy London
DRU	Marc-Olivier Duquette	Cégep de Drummondville
GAT	Ryan O’Bonsawin	High School
HAL	Raphaël Lavoie	Prince Andrew High School
MON	Duncan McIntyre	Athabasca University
QUE	Étienne Verrette	Cégep de Limoilou
RIM	Nick Gosse	Harrison Trimble High School
ROU	Zachary Lauzon	Cégep de l’Abitibi-Témiscamingue
SHA	Cavan Fitzgerald	Acadia University
SHE	Julien Bahl	Cégep de Sherbrooke / Université Laval
SNB	Alex D’Orio	Centre scolaire Samuel de Champlain
VDO	Yan Dion	Cégep de l’Abitibi-Témiscamingue
VIC	Vincent Lanoue	Cégep de Victoriaville

Mooseheads Name New Captain

Before hitting the ice on Thursday evening, the Halifax Mooseheads named their new leadership group that will remain for the rest of the season.

They have announced that 20 year old Keigan Goetz will serve as captain, a spot that was left vacant after Taylor Ford got traded to the Rouyn-Noranda Huskies at the deadline in January.

After going all season with out players with A's on their jerseys, head coach Andre Tourigny and his staff have given a few good players letters as well. Rookie Nico Hischier will serve as a full time alternate captain, while Otto Somppi and Max Fortier will wear the A for home games but during road matches Jake Coughler and Frederic Aube will have the honour on their sweaters.

All the best to Keigan and the rest of the team as they push towards the end of the season and the playoffs.