Sweep

Game Four Recap 

HAL wins series 4-0

Morand celebrates his goal
Photo - TVA Sports

Your Halifax Mooseheads have done it! They are going to Round 3 after a 4-2 victory against the Moncton Wildcats on the road Wednesday night. A year after the Herd were swept by the Charlottetown Islanders, the team is now the ones doing the sweeping as they won 4 straight games against the pesky Cats. It was a battle all series both physically and on the scoreboard and it was no different tonight. While it wasn't as hard hitting and in each others faces as the first two matches, there was still some questionable contact and Halifax had to dig deep to get the win. The Mooseheads  fell behind for the first time in the series when Jakob Pelletier scored his second goal of the post-season to put the Wildcats up 1-0 in the first period. Moncton would score again with just over six minutes left in the middle frame to go up 2-0 but less than a minute and a half later, Halifax closed the gap to one goal when Patrick Kyte picked up his first playoff marker. In the third, despite being outshot it looked like the home team was going to get their first win of the series on the back of Francis Leclerc but a very nice pass from Antoine Morand to Keith Getson who put it past as sliding Leclerc tied the game at two with 6 minutes remaining and that's all the momentum the Herd would need. Morand tipped a Maxim Trepanier shot in to give the road club the lead and than Joel Bishop would seal the deal with an empty net goal.

FINAL: Mooseheads 4 at Wildcats 2
Stars: 3. Jakob Pelletier MON | 2. Francis Leclerc MON | 1. Antoine Morand HAL
Attendace: 4,352

GAME LOG
First period
14:17 MON Jakob Pelletier (2), PP | A: Spence & Khovanov

Second period
13:47 MON Jeremy McKenna (5), PP | A: Khovanov & Spence
15:10 HAL Patrick Kyte (1) | A: Barron & Trepanier

Third period 
14:00 HAL Keith Getson (4), PP | A: Morand
15:44 HAL Antoine Morand (4) | A: Trepanier & Kyte
18:47 HAL Joel Bishop (1), EN | A: Getson & Morand

Powerplay: HAL - 1-for-3, MON - 2-for-4
Shots: 46-34 in favour of Halifax

SCORES
Sherbrooke 2 vs. Drummondville 4

UP NEXT - The Mooseheads do not know who their Round 3 opponent will be yet but I'm sure that Game 1 of it will be Friday April 19.

Alumni Update: Moose In The Pros

Nikolaj Ehlers has been hit or miss all season &
will hope to get hot in the playoffs
Photo - Elite Prospects

We're into April which means regular seasons are coming to a close so I thought I would give you an update on how the former Halifax Mooseheads players are doing in the professional leagues. The National Hockey League and the ECHL ended on Saturday and begin their playoffs tonight while the American Hockey League doesn't conclude until April 15. So the guys in the AHL their stats will change from what it below.

There were a number of Herd alum in the 3 leagues this season and they all did pretty good. Guys who have been in the NHL for more than two years had career seasons, I feel a bit like a broken record saying that but these guys just keep getting better. A few alumni will be looking to help their teams win the respective league trophies including Timo Meier, Nathan MacKinnon, Brad Marchand and Nikolaj Ehlers al trying to get to the Stanley Cup finals. 

Nathan MacKinnon of the Colorado Avalanche saw himself in the top ten of league scoring once again, finishing 7th overall in the point race. The 23-year-old was so close to becoming the third Nova Scotian to record 100 points in 2018-19, falling just short in the last game of the year ending with 99 points. He had 41 goals and 58 assists in 82 games played. MacKinnon was highly praised during the first few months of the regular season as he and his teammates were seen by many fans and personalities alike as the best top line in the NHL. However, due to injuries they cooled off but will look to get the hot hand going again when they start the post-season on Thursday against the Calgary Flames. 

Timo Meier scored his 100th career point in 2018-19
Photo - Mercury News

Timo Meier of the San Jose Sharks also had a career season in 2018-19 almost doubling his points from last year. The 22-year-old recorded his 100th career point on March 11, an assist in a game against Minnesota. In 78 games the Herisau, SUI native played, Meier scored 30 goals while also collecting 36 helpers. Timo and the Sharks will take on the Vegas Golden Knights starting tonight.

Otto Somppi, Maxime Fortier and Connor Moynihan split the season between the AHL and ECHL in their first professional season. Somppi went back and forth between the Syracuse Crunch and Orlando Solar Bears. The 21-year-old recorded more than a point per game with Orlando as he scored 12 goals and had 12 assists in 21 games played while with the Crunch, Somppi was only able to muster three points in 24 games including his first AHL goal on December 12. Last that I saw reported is that Otto is with Syracuse currently. Fortier was also a point per game in the ECHL, picking up 12 goals and 25 points with the Jacksonville IceMen. 

Otto Somppi split time between Syracuse (AHL) & Orlando
(ECHL) in his first professional season
Photo - Getty Images

Below is how all the Moosehead alumni did in the NHL, AHL and ECHL during the regular season

Name	Team	League	GP	G	A	Pts
Nathan MacKinnon	Colorado	NHL	82	41	58	99
Jakub Voracek	Philadelphia	NHL	78	20	46	66
Brad Marchand	Boston	NHL	79	36	64	100
Nikolaj Ehlers	Winnipeg	NHL	62	21	16	37
Nico Hischier	New Jersey	NHL	69	17	30	47
Jonathan Drouin	Montreal	NHL	81	18	35	53
Martin Frk	Detroit	NHL	30	1	5	6
	Grand Rapids	AHL	10	4	9	13
Timo Meier	San Jose	NHL	78	30	36	66
MacKenzie Weegar	Florida	NHL	64	4	11	15
Filip Zadina	Detroit	NHL	9	1	2	3
	Grand Rapids	AHL	56	16	18	34
Max Fortier	Clevland	AHL	20	1	4	5
	Jacksonville	ECHL	24	12	13	25
Otto Somppi	Syracuse	AHL	24	1	2	3
	Orlando	ECHL	21	12	12	24
Alexandre Greenier	Laval	AHL	68	11	16	27
Shawn O'Donnell	Hartford	AHL	51	5	3	8
Cavan Fitzgerald	San Jose	AHL	63	7	12	19
Connor Moynihan	Rockford	AHL	2	0	0	0
	Indy	ECHL	52	6	8	14
Cameron Critchlow	Jacksonville	ECHL	72	11	17	28
Cody Donaghey	Orlando	ECHL	64	15	28	43
Stefan Fournier	Orlando	ECHL	9	1	1	2
	Wichita	ECHL	38	17	12	29

PLAYOFF GAME #10: at Moncton

PREVIEW

MONCTON WILDCATS VS HALIFAX MOOSEHEADS

Game Three of Round Two

Avenir Centre (8,800) ~ Moncton, NB

Halifax leads series 2-0

MONCTON - What a series this has been so far! With two games done, your Halifax Mooseheads have a 2-0 series lead heading to Moncton for Game 3 which will be played tonight. For the most part, the Herd have played well defensively in the first couple of matches at home but they will have to continue that and come out strong this evening if they want to get a victory. Francis Leclerc has been great for the Wildcats and they'll be looking to him to help force a Game 5. A bit of news came out late last night as it was made official that Alexander Khovanov was suspended for one game after a cross-check on Joel Bishop after the final buzzer had gone in Saturday evening's match which caused a scrum before the Mooseheads could celebrate their win. Moncton's defenceman Gabriel Sylvestre was also suspended for inappropriate gestures made towards the Moose Country fans. So it is a great opportunity for Halifax to put a offensive game together and take a 3 to nothing series lead. Either way, it should be an interesting one tonight as there has been quite a bit of hatred in every game played between these two clubs. If you head to New Brunswick, cheer loud and proud for those of us who can not. Go Moose Go!

PLAYOFF SERIES
Game 1  Apr 5  Wildcats 3 at Mooseheads 5
Game 2  Apr 6 Wildcats 2 at Mooseheads 3
Game 3  Apr 9  Mooseheads at Wildcats
Game 4  Apr 10  Mooseheads at Wildcats
*Game 5  Apr 12  Wildcats at Mooseheads
*Game 6  Apr 14  Mooseheads at Wildcats
*Game 7  Apr 16  Wildcats at Mooseheads

NOT DRESSED - Benoit-Olivier Groulx (sick), Cole Stewart (injured)

NOTES

• Francis Leclerc has the 4th best save percentage in the league
• Halifax will have a number of healthy scratches
• Raphael Lavoie leads the league in scoring with 18 points and was named the player of the week in the Q

OUT OF TOWN
Cape Breton vs. Rimouski - 7:00pm
Victoriaville vs. Rouyn-Norand - 8:00pm

NEXT GAME - The two teams will meet again tomorrow night in Moncton for Game 4. Puck drops at 7pm.

Lavoie Scores Two in Game 2

Game Two Recap

HAL leads series 2-0

Our Halifax Mooseheads seem to have found their groove and lead their round two series 2-0 after a 3-2 victory over the Moncton Wildcats on Saturday night. Raphael Lavoie kept his hot hand going as he scored his 10th of the post-season just 6:44 into the match. Less than 7 minutes later, the 6-foot-4 forward added another to give the home team a 2-0 lead after the first period. The teams traded goals in the middle frame as Mika Cyr scored his 5th in the playoffs with 12:40 to go in the second to make it 3-1 on a short handed opportunity. You could tell these two clubs don't like each other and Alexander Khavanov was a pest like he always is. Alexis Anttalainen made the almost nine thousand nervous when he got a wobbly puck over Alex Gravel to close the gap to a goal with less than 3 minutes to go. Khavanov caused some trouble at the buzzer by slashing a Moosehead player and received a 5 minute major and a game misconduct. Should be a couple of good games in Moncton. If you go up cheer for our boys loud!

FINAL: Wildcats 2 at Mooseheads 3

Stars: 3. Aleksi Anttalainen MON | 2. Jocktan Chainey HAL | 1. Raphael Lavoie HAL

Attendance: 8,902

GAME LOG
First period
6:44 HAL Raphael Lavoie (10) | A: Asselin
13:26 HAL Raphael Lavoie (11) | A: Morand

Second period 
2:10 HAL Jocktan Chainey (2) | A: Trepanier & Durandeau
7:20 MON Mika Cyr (5), SH | A: Sylvestre

Third period
17:13 MON Aleksi Anttalainen (1) | A: None

Powerplay: MON - 0-for-2; HAL - 0-for-4
Shots: 30-29 in favour of Moncton

SCORES
Voltigeurs 7 vs. Phoenix 1
Huskies 3 vs. Tigres 1

UP NEXT - The two teams will meet in Moncton on Tuesday night for Game 3. Puck drops at 7pm.

Schedule for Round 2

The Halifax Mooseheads and Moncton Wildcats will renew their rivalry when they hit the ice for round two starting tomorrow night.

The QMJHL announced the full schedule for the second round yesterday. Moncton played the upset role in the opening round, defeating the Eastern Conference 2nd place Baie-Comeau Drakkar in seven games. Halifax had a hard time despersing the Quebec Remparts, winning also in 7. This will most likely end up being another tight series and really could go either way. Since the two teams are only 3 hours away, we'll have the normal 2-2-1-1-1 series format.

Find the schedule of the Wildcats-Mooseheads series below:

Game 1  Friday April 5 @ 7:00pm at Scotiabank Centre
Game 2  Saturday April 6 @ 7:00pm at Scotiabank Centre
Game 3  Tuesday April 9 @ 7:00pm at Avenir Centre
Game 4  Wednesday April 10 @ 7:00pm at Avenir Centre
*Game 5  Friday April 12 @ 7:00pm at Scotiabank Centre
*Game 6  Sunday April 14 @ 4:00pm at Avenir Centre
*Game 7  Tuesday April 16 @ 7:00pm at Scotiabank Centre

*if necessary

Single game tickets for Games 1 and 2 went on sale this morning and can be purchased at select Superstore outlets, Ticket Atlantic Box Office or charge by phone 902-451-1221.

Mooseheads Hold On For Series Win

Game 7 victory celebration
Photo - Ashley Hennigar

We're off to round two baby! It shouldn't have taken seven games but your Halifax Mooseheads officially eliminated the Quebec Remparts on Tuesday evening with a 3-1 victory. After losing the first two matches on home ice, the Mooseheads won 4 of the next five to get the series victory. Right from the opening puck drop, the over 8,000 fans in attendance were taunting Remparts head coach Patrick Roy, who has been very unhappy with goal calls seemingly being biased to the Herd and is just generally an interesting bench boss, with PATRICK chants. Quebec had the puck more often in the first 10 minutes and were able to get on the board first with a marker from Sam Dunn. The 20-year-old was a thorn in Arnaud Durandeau's back later in the third period, holding him and cross checking him but the referees just let the two teams play. Maxim Trepanier has been dominate since he returned from injury and he picked up his third goal of the post-season with just under 6 minutes remaining in the first to square the score. Jocktan Chainey broke the even game with a nice goal which was the second one of the match that Roy asked to be reviewed. Halifax played a pretty good defensive game in the final frame to hold the Remparts off the score sheet but there were a few minutes were the away team had some good pressure, especially during their power play in the third period. The Herd extended their lead late in the game and with 30 seconds left, the Moose Country faithful knew that it was over and stood cheering for the final moments plus the team celebration and handshakes.

FINAL: Remparts 1 at Mooseheads 3
Stars: 3. Sam Dunn QUE | 2. Jocktan Chainey HAL | 1. Alex Gravel HALAttendance: 8,168

GAME LOG
First period
8:27 QUE Sam Dunn (2) | A: Verrette & St- Laurent
14:09 HAL Maxim Trepainer (3), PP | A: Ryczek & Parent

Second period
4:41 HAL Jocktan Chainey (1) | A: Getson & Durandeau

Third period
17:13 HAL Keith Getson (3) | A: Kyte & Lavoie

Powerplay: QUE - 0-for-2; HAL - 1-for-2
Shots: 31-27 in favour of Halifax

DID NOT PLAY- Cole Stewart (injured), Sam Dube (healthy), Alexis Sansfacon (healthy), Benoit-Olivier Groulx (sick) and Marcel Barinka (healthy)

SCORES
Tigres 4 vs. Foreurs 3 OT
Drakkar 2 vs. Wildcats 3

UP NEXT- Halifax will open the second round of the playoffs where they will take on the Moncton Wildcats. Puck drops at 7pm.

Complete Game 6 Win

Photo - Myles Dennis

In what was a do or die match for our Halifax Mooseheads, the boys came out to play on Monday night in Game 6 at the Scotiabank Centre, defeating the Quebec Remparts 6-1. Halifax began the series down 0-2 going to Quebec for three road games, which the Mooseheads picked up victories in the first two before losing Game 5 4-2 on Saturday. The Herd needed a really good complete disciplined game tonight and they accomplished that goal to tie the best-of-seven series at 3 games a piece. The good guys controlled the play for the the first half of the 1st period as it took 9:31 minutes for Quebec to get a shot. A lose puck that Carmine-Anthony Pagliarulo couldn't get his glove on to get a whistle was taken by Samuel Asselin who passed it to Raphael Lavoie. Number 50 was able to put it in past Pagliarulo on the far side and give the home team a 1-0 lead 4:58 into the opening frame. Samuel Dickner tied the match for the Remparts with 9:33 remaining in the period on a weak shot that went off Alex Gravel and into the net but that would be the only rubber that would get past the home goaltender. The teams would go into the intermission with the score 1-1. The second period was a key 20 minutes for Halifax, who have been shaky in the middle frame all season, and they played their best hockey I would say. Quebec was outshot 20-7 in the 2nd while Antoine Morand and Keith Getson gave the Mooseheads some breathing room in the last two minutes. Samuel Asselin scored to make it 4-1 just twenty-six seconds into the third period which chased Pagliarulo and force Kyle Jessiman to come in for the away team. Patrick Roy has always been one to buck the trend and he did something tonight that I don't think I've ever seen before. With 9:13 to go in the final frame, down three goals, Roy sat Jessiman on the bench to get an extra player on the ice. That lasted 53 seconds before he was back in the net but with 7:06 left, the Remparts were playing with 6 players on the ice again. Lavoie got his second goal of the game in the empty net to extend the Mooseheads lead to 5-1. So with the victory, we'll have a Game 7 tomorrow night at the Scotiabank Centre.

FINAL: Remparts 1 at Mooseheads 6
Stars: 3. Alexis Gravel HAL | 2. Raphael Lavoie HAL | 1. Keith Getston HAL
Attendance: 7,623

GAME LOG
First period
4:58 HAL Raphael Lavoie (6) | A: Asselin & Chainey
10:27 QUE Samuel Dickner (1) | A: St-Laurent & Savoie

Second period
18:05 HAL Antoine Morand (3) | A: Lavoie & Ryczek
19:08 HAL Keith Getson (1) | A: Durandeau & Trepanier

Third period
0:26 HAL Samuel Asselin (2) | A: Barron
13:40 HAL Raphael Lavoie (7), EN | A: Flower
17:13 HAL Keith Getson (2), PP | A: Barron & Safin

Powerplay: QUE - 0-for-2; HAL - 1-for-4
Shots: 41-24 in favour of Halifax

DID NOT PLAY - Cole Stewart (healthy), Jared McIsaac (suspended), Alexis Sansfacon (healthy), Benoit-Olivier Groulx (sick) and Marcel Barinka (healthy)

SCORES
Huskies 8 vs. Cataractes 2
Tigres 6 vs. Foreurs 2
Drakkar 1 vs. Wildcats 3

UP NEXT - Halifax and Quebec will meet in Moose Country on Tuesday night for Game 7. Puck drops at 7pm.