Eastlink Showing 14 Herd Games

Eastlink released it's QMJHL television schedule and your Halifax Mooseheads will have fourteen games broadcast on the Atlantic Canada channel. Cape Breton, Charlottetown and Halifax all have select matches that are shown on Friday Night Hockey broadcasts.

The first broadcast involving the Herd will be on September 28 when the Mooseheads travel to Cape Breton to take on the Screaming Eagles. There will also be one special Saturday evening match and one Thursday evening match.

Below is the full schedule (all games 7pm):
September 28 at Cape Breton Screaming Eagles
October 11 at Charlottetown Islanders
October 26 at Cape Breton Screaming Eagles
November 3 vs. Val-D'or Fourers
November 9 vs. Cape Beton Screaming Eagles
November 16 vs. Saint John Sea Dogs
December 14 vs. Moncton Wildcats
December 28 at Charlottetown Islanders
January 4 vs. Rimouski Oceanic
January 11 at Cape Breton Screaming Eagles
January 18 vs. Acadie Bathurst Titan
February 1 vs. Sherbrooke Pheonix
February 15 vs. Gatineau Olympiques
March 15 vs. Saint John Sea Dogs
You can view the full schedule here.

#Our18: Halifax Mooseheads

The QMJHL has been doing some previews of each of their 18 teams this month and today they did our Halifax Mooseheads. Three questions were asked to the team brass about what's coming up for this season and the league interviewed Samuel Dube, Jared McIsaac and head coach Eric Veilleux.

From QMJHL.ca

All eyes are on the Mooseheads who will be hosting the next Memorial Cup tournament. How will the players manage the pressure that comes with all that attention? 

“These kids, it’s not solely up to them. I think it’s our job is to manage the expectations and stress that go along with hosting the Memorial Cup”, explained Russell. “We have to be very patient, it’s going to be a long season. We know we are going to be playing to the end of May.”

“You can’t win the Memorial Cup in September or November, so it’s going to be a season where we have to keep the expectations in check”, added Halifax’s general manager. “There’s a lot of great teams in our league and even in our division. We will make sure that’s it’s a team effort to manage all that.”


'The Mooseheads have a tradition of building championship teams and producing future National Hockey League stars. This year’s version of the ‘Herd’ boasts a plethora of high-profile NHL Draft Picks, NHL Draft Prospects, skilled young players coming into their prime and a great mix of impactful veterans.' According to another article the Q post.

Even though the Herd will be without their leading scorers from last year in Maxime Fortier and Otto Somppi and most likely Filip Zadina, the team brought in two veterans who won the Memorial Cup last season in Jordan Maher and Antoine Morand which should help. Plus after the year Raphael Lavoie had in 2017-18, expect the almost 18-year-old to make even more progress on the scoresheet this year, with the Q site saying he 'could eclipse the 50-goal plateau given his size, high skill set, skating ability and willingness to go to the dirty areas to contribute offensively.'

See what the head coach had to say about this upcoming season here.

PRESEASON: Stats Sunday (on Monday)

Games played: 6

Record: 2-2-2-0, 6pts

Scores*: 1-5, 2-3 OT, 6-3, 1-4, 1-2, 1-2 OT
Goals for/against: 15 / 16

Powerplay %: 18.8

Penalty kill %: 92.0

Shutouts: none

 

Top 3 leading scorers

Points: Marcel Barinka (5pts), Jordan Maher (4pts), Xavier Parent (4pts)

Goals: Marcel Barinka (3G), Jordan Maher (3G), Raphael Lavoie (2G)

Assists: Xavier Parent (4A), Antoine Morand (3G), Jocktan Chainey (2A)

Penalty minutes: Patrick Kyte (6mins), Justin Barron (6mins), Curtis Heffernan (6mins)

Plus/minus: Marcel Barinka (+2), Antoine Morand (+2), Felix Gascon (+2)

Rookie scoring: Marcel Barinka (5pts), Sonny Kabatay (3pts), Cole Stewart (2pts)

 

Goaltending stats

Alexis Gravel    1-0-0-0    0.66 GAA    0.975 SAV%
Cole McLaren    0-2-1-0    2.29 GAA    0.929 SAV%
Joel Goguen    1-0-0-0    4.93 GAA    0.872 SAV%
Jonathan Pickrem    0-0-1-0    5.91 GAA    0.813 SAV%

 

*Mooseheads score is first

Around the CHL ~ volume #1 preview edition #7

The Canadian Hockey League regular season begins in less than a week so to get you ready I thought I would recap how last season went. Check back all year long for more stories about the CHL and your Mooseheads.

here are last year’s winners:
Division champions 2017-18
WHL – Moose Jaw Warriors (East) 72 games played, 52-15-2-3 record, 109 points, 326 goals for/216 goals against; Everett Silvertips (U.S.) 72 games played, 47-20-2-3 record, 99 points, 246 goals for/167 goals against; Kelowna Rockets (B.C.) 72 games played, 43-22-5-2 record, 93 points, 280 goals for/249 goals against; Medicine Hat Tigers (Central) 72 games played, 36-28-8-0 record, 80 points, 260 goals for/252 goals against
OHL – Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds (West) 68 games played, 55-7-3-3 record, 116 points, 317 goals for/186 goals against; Hamilton Bulldogs (East) 68 games played, 43-18-4-3 record, 93 points, 252 goals for/207 goals against; Kitchener Rangers (Midwest) 68 games played, 90 points, 43-21-3-1 record, 246 goals for/218 goals against; Barrie Colts (Central) 68 games played, 89 points, 42-21-4-1 record, 297 goals for/229 goals against
QMJHL – Blainville-Boisbriand Armada (West) 68 games played, 50-11-4-3 record, 107 points, 276 goals for/184 goals against; Acadie-Bathurst Titan (Maritimes) 68 games played, 43-15-8-2 record, 96 points, 270 goals for/183 goals against; Rimouski Oceanic (East) 68 games played, 42-17-6-3 record, 93 points, 231 goals for/174 goals against

League championships 2018
President’s Cup – Blainville-Boisbriand Armada vs. Acadie-Bathurst Titan (Titan won series 4 games to 2 games)
J. Ross Robertson Cup – Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds vs. Hamilton Bulldogs (Bulldogs won series 4 games to 2game)
Ed Chynoweth Cup – Everett Silvertips vs. Swift Current Broncos (Broncos won series 4 games to 2 games)

Memorial Cup 2018
Teams – Acadie-Bathurst (QMJHL champion), Hamilton (OHL champion), Regina (hosts), Swift Current (WHL champion)

Final May 27, 2018 Acadie-Bathurst vs. Regina 3-0

ACADIE-BATHURST TITAN WIN 2018 MEMORIAL CUP!!!


Acadie-Bathurst will look to repeat as Memorial Cup champions. The Halifax Mooseheads will be celebrating their 25th anniversary by hosting the national championship in May. The 2019 Sherwin-Williams CHL/NHL Top Prospects game will be hosted by the Red Deer Rebels on January 23.

McLaren Stands Tall But Takes Loss

Photo - Myles Dennis

Rookie back up goaltender Cole McLaren, who received the start in tonight's pre-season match because Alexis is in Chicago currently, showed the Halifax faithful that the team brass made the right decision in selecting him for this year's roster. The 18 year old made an incredible 47 saves on Saturday evening as the Mooseheads hosted the Moncton Wildcats and were defeated 2-1 in overtime. Veteran Raphael Lavoie s on the board first with just over 5 minutes left in the opening frame despite Halifax being outshot 25-7. Two Wildcat powerplays gave the away team a big advantage at the start of the period and they continued it into the second tying the game with 26 seconds left. Shots were low for both teams in the third but the frame certainly wasn't boring. In overtime, Moncton was awarded a penalty shot after Nicolas Kinsbury-Fournier was tripped up and he had no problems roofing the puck to end the game. Next up regular season.


Moncton-Halifax Game at a Glance
FINAL: Moncton 2 at Halifax 1 OT
Moncton scorers: Jeremy McKenna, Nicolas Kinsbury-Fournier
Halifax scorers: Raphael Lavoie
Powerplay: MON - 0/4, HFX - 0/2
Shots: Wildcats - 49, Mooseheads - 17
Attendance: 1,300

Pre-season Gameday vs Moncton

Opponent: Moncton Wildcats
Where: Halifax Forum
When: September 15, 2018
Time: 7:00pm
Tickets: $10.00

Moncton Wildcats
Preseason record: 3-5-1-0, 7pts
Goals for: 22
Goals against: 35
Head coach: Darren Rumble
Scoring leader: Adam Capannelli (2G & 4A)
Leading goaltender: Charles-Antoine Lavallee (0.919 SAV%)

Halifax Mooseheads
Preseason record: 2-2-1-0, 5pts
Goals for: 14
Goals against: 14
Head coach: Eric Vielleaux
Scoring leader: Jordan Maher (3G & 1A)
Leading goaltender: Alexis Gravel (0.975 SAV%)

Notes

• The Mooseheads have called up several players; Liam MacKinnon, Matthew Raike, Brock McLeod, Ian Watt, Feaghus MacDonald, Sonny Kabatay, Cole Larkin, Zack Byard, Jonathan Pickrem.
• This is the last pre-season game for Halifax.
• Moncton has played quite a few exhibition games this year as they were also a part of the Kitchener pre-season showcase at the beginning of September.
• I'll be live tweeting tonight so follow me at @MC_MooseCountry.

Zadina, Other Herd in Prospects Tournaments

Believe it or not, it's the beginning of September which means the professional hockey season is around the corner. Training camps for NHL teams start this week with rookies reporting. There are quite a few Halifax Mooseheads players who are attending rookie camps this weekend. None will surprisingly be heading to camps for Canadian teams.

Photo - Detroit Red Wings website

The Chicago Blackhawks have three players on their prospect tournament roster that wore a Mooseheads jersey last season. Alexis Gravel, Jake Ryczek and Connor Moynihan are among the 25 players listed for the Traverse City tournament. Gravel and Ryczek were drafted by the Hawks in 2018 and 2016 respectively while Moynihan was recently signed by the Rockford IceDogs (Chicago's AHL affiliate). Chicago will go against prospects from Carolina, Columbus, Dallas, Detroit, Minnesota, New York Rangers and St. Louis.

Speaking of Columbus and Detroit, these two teams will have a few Herd players on their rosters as well. Filip Zadina and Jared McIsaac will be part of the 21 player Red Wings team that is hosting this tournament which will be held from September 7-11. The big story will most surely be Zadina who had a great rookie season for Halifax scoring 44 goals and will be looking to make the big club this year. Alumni Maxime Fortier will play for the Blue Jackets. Fortier signed a contract with Columbus' AHL affiliate, the Cleveland Monsters earlier this summer and is expected to play for them this season.

In another tournament; the Las Vegas Rookie Faceoff will have a few players participating. Antoine Morand and Benoit-Olivier Groulx will suit up for the Anaheim Ducks who will be joined by host Vegas, Arizona, Colorado, Los Angeles and San Jose. Both Groulx and Morand are expected to be offensive forces for Halifax this year. Antoine was drafted by the Ducks in 2017 during the second round while Benoit was picked 54th overall back in June. The Sharks announced their roster and it includes alumni Cavan Fitzgerald and Cody Donaghey. 22 year old Fitzgerald will try to impress the San Jose brass for a spot with the big club as he has spent the last two seasons with their AHL affiliate. The 6 teams will go head to head from September 8 to the 11th.

Other Mooseheads players who are attending rookie camps this week:
Jocktan Chainey - New Jersey Devils
Walter Flower - Tampa Bay Lightning
Arnaud Durandeau - New York Islanders
Otto Somppi - Tampa Bay Lightning

Good luck to all the current and former Mooseheads participating in rookie camps. Hopefully we'll see some of them in main camps as well.