Welcome to Halifax

While the Halifax Mooseheads have known for 13 months that they will participate in the 2019 Memorial Cup because they were named the host team, the three other teams are now determined as well. The league finals wrapped up last night after the Prince Albert Raiders defeated the Vancouver Giants in overtime of Game 7 to win the Ed Cheynoweth Cup.

So I thought I would do a little preview to get you set up for the tournament. It will run from May 16 to May 26 here in Halifax.

TEAMS
A host club plus the three league champions participate in the 10-day tournament. This year the Rouyn-Noranda Huskies (QMJHL), Guelph Storm (OHL), Prince Albert Raiders (WHL) and our Halifax Mooseheads (hosts) will look to become national junior champions.

HOW THEY GOT HERE
Many people thought that Halifax would take the back door into the tournament as hosts, especially after the team lost their first two playoff games but the Mooseheads rebounded and made it all the way to President Cup finals. The club even showed that they could hang with the top dogs as they defeated the CHL's best Rouyn-Noranda Huskies twice during the last series. They defeated the Quebec Remparts in 7 games, swept the Moncton Wildcats in the quarter-finals, beat the Drummondville Voltigeurs in 6 matches before losing to the Huskies.

The biggest story would have to be the Guelph Storm, who have been the come back kids all playoffs long. The Storm swept the Kitchener Rangers in the first round before finding themselves down 0-3 in the second round to the London Knights which they ended that series in 7 games. Guelph defeated the Saginaw Spirit in 7 games to take the Western conference than pulled off 4 straight wins to finish the Ottawa 67's in 6 matches to get the J. Ross Robertson Cup.

Prince Albert also swept their first round, defeating the Red Deer Rebels in 4 games, then they took down the Saskatoon Blades in 6 matches before dispatching the Edmonton Oil Kings also in 6 to win the Eastern conference title. The Raiders were up 3-1 in the final series before the Vancouver Giants won two straight to force a Game 7 which as I mentioned above went to extra time with Dante Hannoun scoring the game winner.

The Rouyn-Noranda Huskies didn't have an easy time getting out of the opening round either as they defeated the last place Shawinigan Catactes in 6 games but defeated the Victoriaville Tigres and Rimouski Oceanic both in four matches. They won the President Cup in 6 games on Scotiabank Centre ice.


CHAMPIONSHIP FINAL
This is great. The last game will be an exciting one no matter who is in it.

SCHEDULE
We've known for a couple of months the dates and times but now we can put the teams in. Our Mooseheads will take on Prince Albert in the opening game of the tournament on Friday.

May 17   Prince Albert       Halifax              8:00pm/AT
May 18   Rouyn-Noranda   Guelph              4:30pm/AT
May 19   Halifax                 Guelph              8:00pm/AT
May 20   Rouyn-Noranda   Prince Albert    8:00pm/AT
May 21   Guelph                 Prince Albert    8:00pm/AT
May 22   Halifax                Rouyn-Noranda  8:00pm?AT

May 23   Tie-breaker       8:00pm/AT

May 24   Semi final       8:00pm/AT

May 26   Championship      8:00pm/AT

TICKETS
There are still tickets available for the round robin matches. As far as I know you can still get two game packs, there are three options for these all of which include at least one Mooseheads game. Single game tickets are also on sale and have been since April 9, they start as low as $35 plus a ticket Atlantic service charge. You can buy them at the box office, online or by calling 902-451-1221.


GOOD LUCK! It certainly should be #OneToRemember

4 Alum at Worlds

Photo - Nico Hischier Facebook page

The Halifax Mooseheads have a few former players at the IIHF Men's World Championships that begun on Friday in Kosice and Bratislava. Alumni Jakub Voracek, Nico Hischier and Ladislav Nagy will represent their countries during the tournament.

This is the first time that Hischier has participated at the Worlds while Nagy and Voracek have played in their home colours on multiple occasions, eight and six times respectively. Nico joins a Switzerland team that finished second in last year's competition and will be looking to at least repeat that this month. Jakob meanwhile will captain the Czech Republic and Ladislav is an alternate captain for the host Slovakian club. Hischier and Voracek with their respective teams will play each other on the last day of round robin competition on May 21.

Congrats to all three players, Moose Country will be cheering you on for the next two weeks. Good luck guys!

Below are the stats for the guys through 4 days of competition (as of May 13)
Jakub Voracek   3GP  0G  4A  0PIM  -1
Nico Hischier   2GP  2G  2A  0PIM  +4
Ladislav Nagy   3GP  1G  1A  0PIM  +3

Huskies Take It In Moose Country

Game Six Recap

ROU wins series 4-2

HALIFAX - The Rouyn-Noranda Huskies are President Cup champions. Unfortunately for the Halifax faithful they won it at the Scotiabank Centre on Saturday evening by a 4-0 score. After the buzzer went, the fans that stayed did get to congratulate Mooseheads on a great 25th season. Rouyn-Noranda got on the board first when Halifax native Tyler Hinam scored at the 13:32 mark of the first period. Both goaltenders were good the whole game, especially Samuel Harvey who made some really nice saves on Herd chances to keep the shutout. The Huskies came out of the gate flying and commanded the opening frame outshooting the Moose 16-7. Halifax turned it around in the second period but were unable to tie the game before the away team doubled their lead to 2-0 with 9:40 left in the frame. Benoit-Olivier Groulx took a nice pass from Jocktan Chainey soon after and ripped the puck past Harvey but the referees quickly reviewed it, determining it was offside. That would be the only rubber that the 20 year old goalie would allow by him while his team scored two more goals in the third to put it away. Being down 3-0, Eric Vellieux decided to pull Alexis Gravel with four and a half minutes remaining but the home team couldn't get anything through despite a few chances. Rafael Harvey-Pinard clinched Rouyn-Noranda's second league championship in club history with an empty net goal.

FINAL: Huskies 4 at Mooseheads 0
Stars: 3. Tyler Hinam ROU | 2. Alexis Gravel HAL | 1. Samuel Harvey ROU
Attendance: 9,602

GAME LOG
First period
13:32 ROU Tyler Hinam (4) | A: Hrehorcak & Dobson

Second period
10:20 ROU Rafael Harvey-Pinard (12) | A: Bergeron & Dobson

Third period 
13:21 ROU Alex Beaucage (5) | A: Abbandonato
18:49 ROU Rafael Harvey-Pinard (13), EN | A: None

Powerplay: ROU - 0-for-0; HAL - 0-for-2
Shots: 35-28 in favour of Rouyn-Noranda

DID NOT PLAY - Kyle Petten, Samuel Dube, Brock McLeod, Cole Stewart, Alexis Sansfacon and Marcel Barinka were healthy scratches

UP NEXT - Halifax will now play host of the Memorial Cup and will start the tournament against the WHL champions. Puck drops at 8pm.

Mooseheads Even Up Series With Huskies

Game Four Recap

Series tied 2-2

HALIFAX - Our Halifax Mooseheads have pushed the 1st overall Rouyn-Noranda Huskies to a series split after a 5-1 victory in Game 4. Mooseheads goaltender Alexis Gravel was once again a difference maker for his team, stopping 29 shots in a game that saw the home team outshot Rouyn-Noranda 37-30. The biggest save being a glove save in the second period that kept the game at a 1-1 tie at that point and made the 8,216 fans in attendance give a big ovation. The first period was not really entertaining as both teams were not giving the other club much room but both teams traded goals to head to the dressing rooms with the score 1-1. In the second period, the Herd opened up the play and it saw a point shot from Justin Barron tipped in front by Samuel Asselin to bang it home with just over 12 minutes to go in the middle frame. Jocktan Chainey scored the insurance goal with 3:17 left in the second, which made it 3-1 Halifax. The Mooseheads were in control to start the third and the final 20 was just about keeping that lead. Late in the third BO Groulx sent Arnaud Durandeau on a breakaway and he split the defence before roofing the puck past Huskies goaltender Samuel Harvey. About a minute later, Maxime Trepanier put the game away as he scored a power play goal. Thirty-two seconds after the Trepanier goal, Rouyn-Noranda went on the man advantage themselves but they couldn't get anything else past Gravel. The victory has forced a Game 6 back in Halifax on Saturday afternoon.

FINAL: Huskies 1 at Mooseheads 5
Stars: 3. Samuel Asselin HAL | 2. Jocktan Chainey HAL | 1. Arnaud Durandeau HAL
Attendance: 8,216

GAME LOG
First period
3:43 HAL Benoit-Olivier Groulx (4) | A: Durandeau & Trepanier
14:37 ROU Peter Abandanatto (5), PP | A: Harvey-Pinard & Bibeau

Second period
7:54 HAL Samuel Asselin (8) | A: Barron
16:43 HAL Jocktan Chainey (3) | A: Trepanier & Durandeau

Third period 
17:12 HAL Arnaud Durandeau (9) | A: Groulx & McIssac
18:30 HAL Maxim Trepanier (6), PP | A: Getson & Ryzeck

Powerplay: ROU - 1-for-5; HAL - 1-for-4
Shots: 37-30 in favour of Halifax

DID NOT PLAY- Alexis Sansfacon, Cole Stewart, Marcel Barinka, and Samuel Dube were healthy scratches

UP NEXT - Game 5 will be played in Rouyn Noranda on Thursday night. Puck drops at 8:00pm

PLAYOFF GAME #21: vs. Rouyn-Noranda

PREVIEW

HALIFAX MOOSEHEADS VS ROUYN-NORANDA HUSKIES

Game Four of Round Four

Scotiabank Centre (10,595) ~ Halifax, NS

HALIFAX - Hopefully this will not be the last home game of the 2019 QMJHL playoffs for our Halifax Mooseheads. The team will look to even their series up once as they host the Rouyn-Noranda Huskies in Game 4 of the President Cup finals tonight at the Scotiabank Centre. Rouyn-Noranda was the better team last night and they took the match 5-2 but Halifax did show signs of being able to take the win. The Mooseheads will need to clean some things up if they want a chance to send this series back to Rouyn 2-2. We should be in for another good game. Get ready to be on the edge of your seats once again Moose Country. Don't forget puck drop is 8pm.

PLAYOFF SERIES
Game 1  May 2  Mooseheads 2 at Huskies 5
Game 2  May 3  Mooseheads 5 at Huskies 4 2OT
Game 3  May 6  Huskies 5 at Mooseheads 2
Game 4  May 7  Huskies at Mooseheads - 8pm
Game 5  May 9  Mooseheads at Huskies - 8pm
*Game 6  May 11  Huskies at Mooseheads - 4pm
*Game 7  May 13  Mooseheads at Huskies - 8pm

NOT DRESSED - Everyone is healthy again so expect some scratches because of that

OUT OF TOWN
Prince Albert at Vancouver (WHL championship)

NEXT GAME - The two teams will head back to Rouyn-Noranda for Game 5 on Thursday night. Puck drops at 8pm.

PLAYOFF GAME #18: at Rouyn-Noranda

PREVIEW

ROUYN-NORANDA HUSKIES VS HALIFAX MOOSEHEADS

Game One of Round Four

Arena Iamgold (3,500) ~ Rouyn-Noranda, QC

Series tied 0-0

ROUYN-NORANDA - Buckle up Moose Country. For the fourth time in franchise history, our Halifax Mooseheads are playing the President Cup finals. This year, they'll take on the Rouyn-Noranda Huskies and will begin the series as the road team. Both clubs already know they will be participating in the 2019 Memorial Cup but both want to go into the tournament on a winning note. There was a lot of talk all playoffs if the Mooseheads were going to do anything in the Memorial Cup and deserved to be there especially after finding themselves down 2-0 in the first round. However, they got their stuff together, came back to win Round 1 in 7 games and have won two more series to show they deserve to be playing in May. They'll have a tough competitor in the finals though as Rouyn-Noranda was the top team in the Canadian Hockey League during the regular season but despite picking up a QMJHL record 59 wins, the Huskies showed they have some cracks. Rouyn-Noranda had to win their opening series in 6 games to the last place Shawinigan Cataractes.

TALE OF THE TAPE
                         Rouyn-Noranda                 Halifax
Record:              59-8-0-1=119            49-15-2-2=102
Standing:            1st West, 1st                1st East, 3rd
Powerplay:           26.5% 4th                   28.1% 2nd
Penalty kill:          83.3% 2nd                  85.6% 1st
PIM:                          660                               819
Leading scorer: Abbandanoto (111pts)  Asselin (86pts)

NOTES

• The Halifax Star has their preview of the series 
• Rouyn-Noranda and Halifax have met three times previously in the playoffs, two times in the semis with the Herd winning both those in sweeps plus a first round match up in 2017 where the Huskies took it in 6 
• Tickets for the two home games next week, go on sale today at 11am at the normal spots. Click here for online tickets 
• Alex Gravel was also named the CHL goaltender of the week on Tuesday

OUT OF TOWN

Guelph at Ottawa - 8:00pm (OHL championship)

NEXT GAME - The two teams will meet for Game 2 on Friday night in Rouyn-Noranda. Puck drops at 8pm. 

CHL League Finals Set

The individual league finals in the Canadian Hockey League are finally set. They became known on Monday night after the Ontario Hockey League Eastern conference final went to 7 games. The Guelph Storm came back from a 3-1 series deficit to defeat the Saginaw Spirit in Game 7. With our Halifax Mooseheads advancing to the QMJHL final, the Rouyn-Noranda Huskies will join the Herd and the winners of the other two leagues in Halifax in late May for the Memorial Cup.

2019 ED CHYNOWETH CUP FINAL
#E1 Prince Albert Raiders vs. #B1 Vancouver Giants; series starts Friday at 10:00pm

2019 ROSS ROBERTSON CUP FINAL
#E1 Ottawa 67's vs. #W4 Guelph Storm; series starts Thursday at 8:00pm

2019 PRESIDENT CUP FINAL
#1 Rouyn-Noranda Huskies vs. #3 Halifax Mooseheads; series starts Thursday at 8:00pm

Last games
Prince Albert: Game 6 Sunday Apr 28 Raiders 4 at Edmonton Oil Kings 2 (PA wins series 4-2)
Vancouver: Game 5 Friday Apr 26 Spokane Chiefs 2 at Giants 3 (VAN wins series 4-1)
Ottawa: Game 4 Wednesday Apr 24 67's 2 at Oshawa Generals 1 OT (OTT wins series 4-0)
Guelph: Game 7 Monday Apr 29 Storm 3 at Saginaw Spirit 2 (GUE wins series 4-3)
Rouyn-Noranda: Game 4 Wednesday Apr 24 Huskies 6 at Rimouski Oceanic 3 (ROU wins series 4-0)
Halifax: Game 6 Sunday Apr 28 Drummondville Voltigeurs 1 at Mooseheads 2 OT (HAL wins series 4-2)