Gameday #1: at Cape Breton

CAPE BRETON EAGLES VS HALIFAX MOOSEHEADS

October 2, 2020 at 7:00pm

TV: Webcast | Radio: News 95.7 | Live: @HFXMooseheads

Centre 200 ~ Sydney, NS

Welcome to the 2020-21 regular season! Our Halifax Mooseheads kick it off with a trip to Sydney and take on their provincial rivals the Cape Breton Eagles tonight. After 6 and a half long months in between regular season matches, the boys will be back on the ice and for the Maritime teams, in front of fans (although less than normal). The Mooseheads will dress five 16-year-olds this evening but don't think just because they are young, the club will be defeated easily this season. The competition will be fierce over the next few months as these two teams will face each other 12 times and play strictly in the Maritimes division because of COVID-19 protocols. Both clubs are missing some players, most notably international players who have yet been told that they can come to Canada. Cape Breton should be just as dangerous as they were in 2019-20 while Halifax are looking to improve on their last place finish and they should have the pieces to do so. Whether you're watching from the arena or somewhere else, the boys need our support and should put on a good show. Go Moose Go!!

Overall records
Mooseheads: 0-0-0-0 = 0 points (T-1st in Maritimes division, T-1st overall)
Eagles: 0-0-0-0 = 0 points (T-1st in Maritimes division, T-1st overall)

Leading scorers
CAP: n/a
HAL: n/a

Out of Town
Titan vs. Sea Dogs     7:00pm
Wildcats vs. Islanders     7:00pm
Sagueneens vs. Cataractes     8:00pm
Huskies vs. Voltigeurs     8:00pm
Phoenix vs. Armada     8:00pm
Foreurs vs. Olympiques     8:00pm
Tigres vs. Oceanic     8:00pm

After the Buzzer
The two teams will head to Halifax for the Mooseheads home opener tomorrow night. Puck drops at 7pm. 

Herd Name Captains

Photo - Herd website

Head coach J.J. Daigneault has made the announcement of the Halifax Mooseheads leadership group for the 2020-21 season. 

Veteran defenceman Justin Barron was named the Captain today. The 18-year-old was drafted by the Mooseheads in 2017 13th overall and has played 153 games for the club. He is currently on the injured list after receiving shoulder surgery a couple weeks ago. Barron is a top prospect eligible for the 2020 NHL draft which still hasn't been done because of the coronavirus and will be held on October 6-7. 

Barron will be joined by forwards Liam Peyton, Elliot Desnoyers and follow defenceman Jason Horvath who were all given an A on their jerseys. 

Congratulations to the four players, especially Justin. 

The announcement was made during a team meeting after this morning's practice with Barron and the international players on video call. You can view the video here. 

Roster for Opening Night

Photo - Mooseheads website

Just like the rest of this year where nothing has been done normally, I am doing the opening night roster post a little differently as well. Below you will find who I expect to dress for the Halifax Mooseheads on Friday when they open the regular season as the club has not officially announced their roster as of today. 

YOUR 2020-21 HALIFAX MOOSEHEADS

2  Brendan Tomilson  D  (Oshawa, ON)

4  Jake Furlong  D  (Upper Tantallon, NS)*

6  Markus Vidicek  C  (Kirkland, QC)*

7  Lucas Robinson  D  (Rocky Harbour, NL)*

9  Kyle Petten  RW  (Bay Roberts, NL)

11  Jordan Dumais  RW  (Ile Bizard, QC)*

15  Alexandre Tessier  D  (Mirabel, QC)*

16  James Swan  C  (Ville St-Laurent, QC)*

17  Cameron Whynot  D  (Kentville, NS)

21  Cole Foston  LW  (Beaver Bank, NS)*

23  Landon Miron  RW  (Halifax, NS)*

26  Alexandre David  C  (Pigeon Hill, NB)

29  Cole McLaren  G  (Annapolis Royal, NS)

33  Brady James  G  (Beaconsfield, QC)*

66  Zachary L'Heureux  LW  (Mercier, QC)
78  Liam Peyton  LW  (St. Albert, AB)
79  Jason Horvath  D  (Russell, ON)

88  Robert Orr  C  (Beaconsfield, QC)*

91  Elliot Desnoyers  C  (Saint-Hyacinthe, QC)

94  Samuel Dube  LW  (Bad Tolz, Germany)

*indicates rookie

A full roster of who should suit up for the club before the new year will be posted to the 'Roster' page. Justin Barron is out indefinitely recovering from shoulder surgery while Keegan Hunt will not be in the line-up for 2 weeks. Teams are still awaiting word if international players will be able to come to Canada. 

STATS SUNDAY: Pre-season

Games played: 5
Record: 3-1-1, 7pts
Scores*: 2-1 SO, 7-2, 3-1, 3-6, 3-4 OT
Goals for/against: 18 / 14
Powerplay %: 26.9
Penalty kill %: 84.2
Shutouts: none

Top 3 leading scorers
Points: Elliot Desnoyers (8pts), Zachary L'Heureux (6pts), Jordan Dumais (5pts)
Goals: Zachary L'Heureux (5G), Jordan Dumais (3G), Elliot Desnoyers (2G)
Assists: Elliot Desnoyers (6A), Samuel Dube (4A), Cameron Whynot (3A)
Penalty minutes: Zachary L'Heureux (13), Keegan Hunt (11), Jason Horvath (10)
Plus/minus: Brendan Tomilson (+6), Ethan Landry (+3), Alex Carr (+3)


Goaltending stats
Mathis Rousseau    1-0-0-0    0.93 GAA    0.967 SAV%

Brady James    0-1-0-0    2.06 GAA    0.914 SAV%

Cole McLaren    2-0-1-0    3.53 GAA    0.904 SAV%

*Halifax's score is first

Halifax Rebound But Lose in Overtime

Photo - The Chronicle Herald

The Halifax Mooseheads have wrapped up their exhibition schedule with an overtime loss to the Charlottetown Islanders on Saturday evening. Halifax got off to a pretty good start, scoring less than 11 and a half minutes in when sophomore Zachary L'Heureux put in the net. It didn't last long however as seconds later the Herd took a penalty and the Islanders tied it up on the man advantage. Two goals in the middle frame by Charlottetown gave them a 3-1 lead but L'Heureux picked up his second goal of the game before the period ended. Another newcomer to Halifax, Elliot Desnoyers, tied the match in the third period sending the clubs to overtime. Cole McLaren and Islanders' newly acquired goalie Colten Ellis both had good games and faced almost the same number of shots during the contest. Veteran Cedric Desruisseaux scored the overtime winner for Islanders. It was the first time that the Herd wore their red jerseys this pre-season and the first time the players wore their regular season numbers. 

Halifax-Charlottetown Game at a Glance
FINAL: Charlottetown 4 at Halifax 3 OT
Charlottetown scorers: Oscar Plandowski, Thomas Casey, Lukas Cormier and Cedric Desruisseaux
Halifax scorers: Zachary L'Heureux & Elliot Desnoyers
Powerplay: CHA - 1/5, HAL - 2/7
Shots: Islanders - 28, Mooseheads - 29

#Our18: Halifax Mooseheads

Photo - QMJHL website

The QMJHL has been doing some previews of each of their 18 clubs this month and today was finally our Halifax Mooseheads turn. 

From QMJHL.ca

After riding the wave of reaching both the 2019 President and Memorial Cup Finals, the Halifax Mooseheads came crashing down last season, albeit in somewhat calculated fashion. By the end of the 2020 trade period, most remaining pieces of the previous season's squad were plying their trade elsewhere. Left to compete was a group trying to learn the ropes on the fly with an underlying optimism for this season and years to come. 

That optimism was rewarded during June's QMJHL Draft with the arrival of 2018 QMJHL first round selection Elliot Desnoyers and 2019-20 Rookie All-Star Zachary L'Heureux via trade with the Moncton Wildcats. Joining them up front are veteran two-way winger Liam Peyton, acquired from the Charlottetown Islanders and 2019 first rounder Samuel Dube. Returnees Zack Jones, Senna Peeters, whose 23 goals led the club last year, as well as high scoring Swiss prospect Attillio Biasca are expected to arrive in camp in the coming weeks. Markus Vidicek and Jordan Dumais, both first-rounder selections at the 2020 QMJHL Draft and offensive threats at previous levels, will be given an opportunity to shine on a squad that will be replenishing up front. 

Defensively, the Moose will be anchored by 2020 NHL Draft prospect Justin Barron as he attempts to rebound after losing half of last season to a blood clot. Overager Jason Horvath returns to add some sandpaper to the blueline corps while sophomore Cameron Whynot looks to make use of his on-the-job training after posting big minutes, particularly in the latter half, during the 2019-20 season. 

A 2020 second-rounder and Upper Tantallon, Nova Scotia native, Jake Furlong will be embarking on his QMJHL career following a strong offensive campaign with Mount St. Charles Academy in Rhode Island. Between the pipes, with Alexis Gravel not reporting to camp, the ball will be carried by another veteran backstopper in Cole McLaren, with 2019 sixth-rounder Brady James acting as backup.

Perhaps the most interesting returnee in Halifax resides behind the bench. J.J. Daigneault's second season with the Mooseheads represents the first time since 2016 that a Head Coach has begun a second consecutive season with the organization. 

After selling big last year, it's the hope of the representatives from the Nova Scotia capital that the return on investment will begin to pay dividends sooner rather than later. 

Head Coach J.J. Daigneault and newly acquired forward Elliot Desnoyers share their thoughts on the Halifax Mooseheads' upcoming season. 

Top 5 Plays of 2019-2020

Pre-season Game at Saint John

The Halifax Mooseheads continue the pre-season as they visit the Saint John Sea Dogs.

Opponent: Saint John Sea Dogs
Where: TD Station
When: September 13, 2020
Time: 3:00pm

Halifax Mooseheads Preseason record: 3-0-0-0, 6pts
Goals for: 12
Goals against: 4
Head coach: J.J. Daigneault
Scoring leader: Elliot Desnoyers 3pts (1G & 2A)
Goaltending leader: Mathis Rousseau (0.967 SAV%)

Saint John Sea Dogs Preseason record: 1-2-0-0, 2pts
Goals for: 13
Goals against: 13
Head coach: Greg Gilbert
Scoring leader: Alex Drover 4pts (1G & 3A)
Goaltending leader: Carmine-Anthony Pagliarulo (0.867 SAV%)

Notes

• This is the second game of a home and home series in the pre-season between the two teams. 
• Halifax recently cut Sonny Kabatay from the training camp roster. 
• Saint John will stream the match on their YouTube channel. 
• Liam Peyton will make his pre-season debut, below is this afternoon's lineup.