Game Day 18: vs. Baie-Comeau

It will be a special game this evening as our Halifax Mooseheads host league-leading scorer Justin Poirier and the Baie-Comeau Drakkar for DND Appreciation Night. The Mooseheads will be honouring the military tonight as they continue to raise money for the Camp Hill Veterans Memorial Hospital by wearing themed jerseys and auctioning them off after the match. Halifax has struggled as of late but it isn't unexpected especially with the club dealing with injuries as well. Goaltender Mathis Rousseau has given the guys in front of him a chance pretty much every match he has started and the rest of the team have been competitive mostly. They will need to have another strong complete game as Baie-Comeau is coming into this one on a five game win streak. Like I previously mentioned, the Drakkar also have the current league-leading scorer in Poirier who has 30 points in sixteen games played. 

Game coverage
TV: Webcast | Radio: News 95.7 | Live: @MC_MooseCountry

Overall records
Drakkar: 12-5-1-0 = 25 points (2nd in East division, 4th overall)
Mooseheads: 8-7-2-0 = 18 points (4th in Maritimes division, 12th overall)

Leading scorers
HAL: Liam Kilfoil 15pts (6G & 9A), Shawn Carrier 13pts (6G & 7A), Antoine Fontaine 11pts (5G & 6A)

BAC: Justin Poirier 30pts (17G & 13A), Matyas Melovsky 23pts (7G & 16A), Louis-Charles Plourde 22pts (14G & 8A)

Head-to-head
This is the first game between these two clubs this season. Halifax had a 1-0-1-0 record versus the Drakkar last season while Baie-Comeau went 1-0-1-0 as well against the Mooseheads. Their last matchup was November 23, 2023 where Baie-Comeau won 4-3 in overtime in Halifax who was led by Markus Vidicek recording 2 goals and an assist. 

Out of town
Oceanic vs. Sea Dogs - 5:00 p.m.

Huskies vs. Armada - 5:00 p.m.

Foreurs vs. Tigres - 5:00 p.m.

Eagles vs. Islanders - 7:00 p.m.

Next game

Halifax will finish their four game homestand tomorrow afternoon when they welcome the Acadie-Bathurst Titan. Puck drops at 3 p.m. 

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, Patrick McNab was named the Scholastic Player of the Month for October. 

Team	Player	Program	Academic Establishment
Acadie-Bathurst Titan	Mathis Langevin	Formation générale	CÉGEP à distance
Baie-Comeau Drakkar	Mathys Routhier	Sciences humaines	CÉGEP Baie-Comeau
Blainville-Boisbriand Armada	Matéo Nobert	Grade 12	Northern Pre-University
Cape Breton Eagles	Romain L’italien	Secondaire 5	Académie Les Estacades
Charlottetown Islanders	Maxwell Jardine	Business Fegree	PEI University
Chicoutimi Saguenéens	Alex Huang	Sciences de la nature	CÉGEP de Chicoutimi
Drummondville Voltigeurs	Luke Woodworth	Général	Université de Frédéricton
Gatineau Olympiques	Gabriel Séguin	Sciences humaines	CÉGEP de l’Outaouais
Halifax Mooseheads	Patrick McNab	Grade 12	Woodlawn High School
Moncton Wildcats	Isaiah Shantz	Science	University of New Brunswick
Québec Remparts	Loïc Goyette	Science humaine profil administration	CÉGEP Limoilou
Rimouski Océanic	Anthony Paré	Science humaine	CÉGEP de Rimouski
Rouyn-Noranda Huskies	Samuel Rousseau	Tremplin DEC	Cégep à distance
Saint John Sea Dogs	Olivier Duhamel	Secondaire 5	Académie Les Estacades
Shawinigan Cataractes	Mathieu Plante	Sciences humaines et Gestion des affaires	CÉGEP Shawinigan
Sherbrooke Phoenix	Elias Pedrotti	Grade 12 – Sciences	Northern Pre-University
Val-d’Or Foreurs	Connor Macey	Construction Management	St-Mary’s University
Victoriaville Tigres	Mathis Aguilar	Technique compt. et gestion	CÉGEP Victoriaville

Alumni Update: Where Are They Now?

Welcome to November Moose Country. Since we are now well into the 2024-25 season I thought I'd share where former Halifax Mooseheads players are suiting up for this year. First, I'll start with the same league that the Herd play in followed by the professional leagues overseas. Than I'll do the North American leagues. 

Quebec Major Junior Hockey League (5)
Alex Carr - Rouyn-Noranda Huskies
Mathieu Cataford - Rimouski Oceanic 
Dylan MacKinnon - Moncton Wildcats
Reece Peitzsche - Shawinigan Cataractes
Markus Vidicek - Moncton Wildcats

Czechia/Czechia2 (6)
Marcel Barinka - HC Vitkovice
Jared McIsaac - HC Litvinov
David Moravec - HC Energie Karlovy Vary
Jan Stransky - BK Mlada Boleslav
Petr Vrana - HC Ocelari Trinec
Tomas Knotek - HC Slavia Praha (2nd tier)

DEL/DEL2 (4)
Konrad Abeltshauser - EHC Munchen
Alexandre Grenier - Kolner Haie
Andrew Bodnarchuk - EC Kassel Huskies (2nd tier)
Shawn O'Donnell - EHC Freiburg (2nd tier)

EIHL (4)
Jake Coughler - Guildford Flames
Cameron Critchlow - Manchester Storm
Cody Donaghey - Cardiff Devils
Patrick Kyte - Fife Flyers

Kontinetal Hockey League (3)
Arnaud Durandeau - Amur Khabarovsk

Zach Fucale - Traktor Chelyabinsk
Ostap Safin - Lada Togliatti

Liiga/Mestis (3)
Antoine Morand - Lukko
Otto Somppi - Tappara
Evan Boucher - RoKi (2nd tier)

Switzerland (5)
Attilio Biasca - EV Zug, NL
Filip Zadina - HC Davos, NL
Sam Asselin - HC Sierre, SL
Josh Lawrence - HC Sierre, SL
Yannik Ponzetto - GC Kusnacht Lions, SL

Other European leagues (9)
Gabriel Desjardins - SonderjyskE, Denmark
Maxime Trepanier - Herlev Eagles, Denmark
Frederik Cabana - Heilbronner Falken, Germany3
D'Artagnan Joly - Tilburg Trappers, Germany3
Maxime Fortier - IF Bjorkloven, HockeyAllsvenskan
Randy Gazzola - Asiago, ICEHL
Senna Peeters - EC-KAC, ICEHL
Jordan Lepage - Amiens, Ligue Magnus
Andrew Shewfelt - Romford Raiders, NIHL

National Hockey League (9)
Justin Barron - Montreal Canadiens
Jonathan Drouin - Colorado Avalanche
Nikolaj Ehlers - Winnipeg Jets
Nico Hischier - New Jersey Devils
Zachary L'Heureux - Nashville Predators (called up in mid-Oct & currently on Preds roster)
Nathan MacKinnon - Colorado Avalanche
Brad Marchand - Boston Bruins
Timo Meier - New Jersey Devils
MacKenzie Weegar - Calgary Flames

American Hockey League (7)
Elliot Desnoyers - Lehigh Valley Phantoms
Alexandre Doucet - Grand Rapids Griffins
Cavan Fitzgerald - Rockford IceHogs
Martin Frk - Calgary Wranglers
Jake Furlong - San Jose Barracuda
Benoit-Olivier Groulx - Hartford Wolf Pack
Raphael Lavoie - Henderson Silver Knights

ECHL (7)
Kelly Bent - Orlando Solar Bears
Lou-Felix Denis - Reading Royals
Taylor Ford - Adirondack Thunder
Alexis Gravel - Orlando Solar Bears
Jason Horvath - Maine Mariners
Cooper Jones - Jacksonville Icemen 
Matt Murphy - Cincinnati Cyclones

SPHL (2)
Kevin Resop - Pensacola Ice Flyers
Ben Higgins - Birmingham Bulls

LNAH (4)
Garrett Clarke - Jonquiere Marquis
Stefan Fournier - Thetford Mines Assurancia
Simon Desmarais - Quebec National
Olivier Desroches - Thetford Mines Assurancia

AESHL (8)
Joel Bishop - St. John's Sr. Caps
Chad Earle - Clarenville Caribous
Curtis Heffernan - St. John's Sr. Caps
Adam Nolan - Conception Bay Blues
Justin Pender - Clarenville Caribous 
Kyle Petten - HGOE CeeBee Stars 
Brandon Pye - Southern Shore Sr. Breakers
Travis Randell - Southern Shore Sr. Breakers

LHSAAAQ (5)
Said Abi - La Tuque Loups
Eric Brassard - Plessisville Metal Pless
Jacob Jacques - Levis Poulin Dev
Brian Lovell - Granby Bisons
Frederic Piche - Granby Bisons

Canadian Junior A (3)
Luke McPhee - Truro Bearcats, MHL
James Swan - Valleyfield Braves, LHJQ
Liam Welsh - Truro Bearcats, MHL

University Sports (16)
Cole Foston - RMC Paladins
Brody Fournier - Dalhousie Tigers
Kevin Gursoy - TMU Bold
Stephane Huard - McGill Redmen
Brady James - Concordia Stingers
Zack Jones - Acadia Axemen
David Lafrance - Ottawa Gees-Gees
Ethan Larmand - Queen's Gaels
Brock McLeod - York Lions
Robert Orr - UPEI Panthers
Liam Peyton - Dalhousie Tigers
Peter Reynolds - UNB Reds
Cole Stewart - St. Francis Xavier X-Men
Brendan Tomilson - Acadia Axemen
Denis Toner - U de M Aigles Bleus
Cameron Whynot - Acadia Axemen

Rousseau Has First Star Performance

Photo - AMH Photography

Overage goaltender Mathis Rousseau had maybe his best game of his career and his 48 saves helped the Halifax Mooseheads to a 2-1 shootout victory over the Rouyn-Noranda Huskies on Friday night. As for the guys in front of him, they started a little late but were still able to break the scoreless game at the 10:09 mark of the second period. The first period was an interesting one with the Huskies getting the getting the first 11 shots of the match. Rousseau stood tall when Halifax had to kill off a 4 minute high sticking penalty, with half of it actually being a 5 on 3 after Brady Schultz was called for interference. The shots after 20 minutes were 19-1 for Rouyn-Noranda however the two clubs went to their dressing rooms with the score 0-0. Halifax native Daniel Walters got his first home goal to opening the scoring while Huskies rookie Bill Zonnon tied the game up with under 14 minutes to go in the third. Overtime would solve nothing and it looked like we would be getting an extended shootout before Liam Kilfoil got one past Samuel Meloche as the last normal shooter. 

FINAL: Huskies 1 at Mooseheads 2 SO
Stars: 3. Liam Kilfoil HAL | 2. Amelio Santini HAL | 1. Mathis Rousseau HAL
Attendance: 8,002
MC's Top Herd: Mathis Rousseau

GAME LOG
First period
No score

Second period
10:09 HAL Daniel Walters (2) | A: Santini & Moser

Third period
6:38 ROU Bill Zonnon (7) | A: Steiner

Overtime
No score

Shootout 

    Huskies                         Mooseheads

Steiner       MISS         Sprynar        MISS
Zonnon      MISS         Phillips        MISS

Verreault    MISS         Kilfoil         GOAL

Powerplay: ROU - 0-for-3; HAL - 0-for-3
Shots: 49-18 in favour of Rouyn-Noranda

Next game

Halifax will continue their home stand welcoming the CHL best Moncton Wildcats on Sunday afternoon. Puck drops at 3 p.m.

Stats Sunday: October

Games played: 10
Record: 2-6-2-0, 6pts
Goals for/against: 23/41
Powerplay*: 19.2%
Penalty kill*: 84.4%
Shutouts: None

Top 5 leading scorers
Points: Liam Kilfoil 11, Shawn Carrier 7, Braeden MacPhee 7, Logan Crosby 6, Antoine Fontaine 6
Goals: Liam Kilfoil 5, Shawn Carrier 3, Braeden MacPhee 3, Jack Martin 3, Logan Crosby 2
Assists: Liam Kilfoil 6, Carlos Handel 5, Shawn Carrier 4, Braeden MacPhee 4, Logan Crosby 4 
Penalty minutes: Braeden MacPhee 12, Daniel Walters 12, Jack Martin 11, Jake Todd 11, Patrick McNab 7
Plus/minus: Shawn Carrier +2, Cade Moser +1, Liam Kilfoil E, Eddy Doyle -1, Brady Schultz -1
Rookie scoring: Carlos Handel 6pts, Eddy Doyle 1pt, Amelio Santini 1pt, Patrick McNab 1pt, Daniel Walters 1pt

Goaltender stats*
Mathis Rousseau     6-4-2-0     2.71 GAA     0.910 SAV%
Jack Milner     1-1-0-0     3.59 GAA     0.887 SAV%

*overall

Game Day 14: at Victoriaville

For the first time this season, our Halifax Mooseheads are playing three games in three days on the road and it continues tonight with the team visiting the Victoriaville Tigres. The Mooseheads will look to bounce back from an unfortunate loss on Friday night against Shawinigan that ended 8-1. Rookie defenceman Carlos Handel scored his first career goal during the opening period in the defeat. Halifax still has a good record for a rebuilding team but have been struggling with injuries lately to some of their top guys so you could use that excuse for last night. Victoriaville has a 3-7-1-1 record coming into this evening and had lost 8 straight contests before picking up a 3-0 victory on Thursday night. The Tigres are led by 19-year-old centre Mael Lavigne who has seven goals and 18 points so far this season. Not sure who will get the start in goal for Halifax tonight as both net-minders played yesterday and the club has a busy weekend but hopefully the whole team will use the loss as motivation and come out strong. 

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

Overall records
Mooseheads: 7-4-2-0 = 16 points (3rd in Maritimes division, 8th overall)
Tigres: 3-7-1-1 = 8 points (4th in Central division, 15th overall)

Leading scorers
VIC: Mael Lavigne 18pts (7G & 11A), Eliott Simard 11pts (6G & 5A), Justin Larose 10pts (4G & 6A)
HAL: Liam Kilfoil 14pts (6G & 8A), Shawn Carrier 13pts (6G & 7A), Antoine Fontaine 10pts (5G & 5A)

Head-to-head
This is the first game of the season between these two clubs. Halifax had a 2-0-0-0 record versus the Tigres during the 2023-24 season while Victoriaville went 0-2-0-0 against the Mooseheads. Their last matchup was February 1 where Markus Vidicek's two goals propelled Halifax to a 4-2 win in Victoriaville. 

Out of town
Cataractes vs. Wildcats - 5:00 p.m.
Foreurs vs. Oceanic - 5:00 p.m.
Sagueneens vs. Islanders - 5:00 p.m.
Voltigeurs vs. Sea Dogs - 5:00 p.m.

Next game
The Mooseheads will wrap up this road trip on Sunday afternoon by taking on the Sherbrooke Phoenix. Puck drops at 4:00 pm AT. 

Three Herd on Players to Watch

The National Hockey League along with the Central Scouting Services announced their preliminary Players to Watch list for the 2025 NHL draft on Wednesday. The players are ranked in three different categories; 'A' players are projected to go in the first round while 'B' players are 2nd and 3rd round candidates. 'C' ranked players most likely will go in the 4th to 7th rounds. Of course, rankings can change through out the season depending on how the player does. 

There are three current Halifax Mooseheads among the list of prospects and they were all given a 'C' rating. Sophomore forwards Shawn Carrier and Liam Kilfoil along with rookie defenceman Carlos Handel will be among the players that scouts will keep an eye on this season. At the time that the list was published, Carrier and Kilfoil were tied for the team lead in points at 13 each (6G & 7A), however in Halifax's game last night Liam picked up an assist to add to his total. Handel had played well as an import and recorded his first QMJHL career goal on Friday night plus he has 8 helpers. 

It's possible that we will see these guys rise in the rankings during the season if they keep up this way. 

24 draft eligible players were given an A ranking to start the year, with Moncton Wildcat's Caleb Desnoyers and Justin Carbonneau of the Blainville-Boisbriand Armada being the only two from the QMJHL. 

Photo - The Hockey News