STATS SUNDAY: December (on Tuesday)

Games played: 9
Record: 2-7-0-0, 4pts
Goals for/against: 23/43
Powerplay*: 19.9%
Penalty kill*: 84.0%
Shutouts: none

Top 5 leading scorers
Points: Maxim Trepanier 8, Benoit-Olivier Groulx 6, Zack Jones 4, Patrick Kyte 4, Raphael Lavoie 4
Goals: Maxim Trepanier 5, Benoit-Olivier Groulx 4, Zack Jones 3, Jeffrey Burridge 3, Patrick Kyte 1
Assists: Sonny Kabatay 4, Maxim Trepanier 3, Patrick Kyte 3, Raphael Lavoie 3, Kyle Petten 3
Penalty minutes: Maxim Trepanier 10, Jason Horvath 10, Lucas Robinson 10, Cameron Whynot 10, Walter Flower 8
Plus/minus: Maxim Trepanier 3, Sonny Kabatay 1, Jared McIsaac 1, Kyle Petten 1, Lucas Robinson -1
Rookie scoring: Sonny Kabatay 4, Zack Jones 4, Jeffrey Burridge 3, Lucas Robinson 1, Senna Peeters 1

Goaltending stats*
Cole McLaren: 7-7-1-0     3.06 GAA     0.912 SAV%
Alexis Gravel: 8-11-1-1     3.73 GAA     0.890 SAV%



*overall

2019 Ends On Bad Note

Photo - Myles Dennis

Twenty-nineteen has come to a close for the Halifax Mooseheads and it didn't end very well as the Saint John Sea Dogs won 6-4. The Mooseheads New Year's Eve game started good but then Halifax went to sleep in the second period and a third period comeback was too late. Rookie Jeffrey Burridge scored his 5th goal of the season at the 6:45 mark of the first period before recently acquired D'Artagnan Joly extended that lead to 2-0 with 26 seconds remaining in the frame. Saint John was still on the power play to begin the middle frame and it didn't take long for Jeffrey Durocher to pick up his 11th of the season, cutting the home team's lead to one 13 seconds in. The 20-year-old scored again twelve seconds later to tie the game up and the Sea Dogs didn't look back after that. After 40 minutes, the away team was up 4-2 and that would be the end of what we would see of Alex Gravel as backup Cole McLaren was in nets for the final frame of the decade. Senna Peeters and Zack Jones scored in the final 10 minutes to make it an interesting game but a turnover by Cam Whynot with the net empty late in the period took away the Mooseheads last hope of tying it as Durocher finished his hat trick.

FINAL: Sea Dogs 6 at Mooseheads 4
Stars: 3. D'Artagnan Joly HAL | 2. Denis Toner HAL | 1. Jeffrey Durocher SNB
Attendance: 8,070
MC's Top Herd: D'Artagnan Joly 

Powerplay: SNB - 1-for-3; HAL - 1-for-4
Shots: 33-25 in favour of Saint John

NOT DRESSED - Jared McIsaac (World Juniors), Justin Barron (injured), Raphael Lavoie (World Juniors) and Cole Foston (healthy)

SCORES
Rouyn-Noranda 1 at Blainville-Boisbriand 8
Charlottetown 0 at Cape Breton 4
Moncton 7 at Acadie-Bathurst 0
Quebec 6 at Baie-Comeau 4
Rimouski 0 at Victoriaville 3
Drummondville 5 at Chicoutimi 2
Val-d'Or 4 at Gatineau 8
Shawinigan 1 at Sherbrooke 3

UP NEXT - Benoit-Olivier Groulx and the Moncton Wildcats will come to town for a match against our Mooseheads on January 3. Puck drops at 7pm.

Fucale Leads Team Canada to Gold

Photo - TSN.ca

Former Halifax Mooseheads goaltender Zach Fucale led Team Canada to a Spengler Cup trophy on Tuesday.

The Spengler Cup is said to be the oldest invitational tournament in the world, having been played every year since 1923. Team Canada now has the most trophies in the history of the post-Christmas tournament. It is hosted in Davos, Switzerland every year from December 26-31.

Fucale, who currently plays for the Orlando Solar Bears of the ECHL, had another shut out in the championship game as Canada won 4-0 versus HC Ocelari Trinec. His first shut out happened yesterday during the semi-final match. The Rosemare, QC native had a great tournament going 3-0 with a 0.33 goals against average. Fucale is no stranger to the Spengler Cup, having won in 2016 and picking up a silver medal in 2018. The 24-year-old was also named to the tournament's all-star team earlier in the day.

Congrats to Zach Fucale and Team Canada on winning gold!

Dec 28: Eagles vs. Mooseheads preview

CAPE BRETON EAGLES VS HALIFAX MOOSEHEADS

Puck drops at 4pm

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

Centre 200 (5,000) ~ Sydney, NS

It's game two of the annual Hurley Cup home and home series between the two Nova Scotian teams. Our Halifax Mooseheads head to Sydney to take on the Cape Breton Eagles this evening and will be hoping to rebound from a dismal game last night. Cape Breton is currently holding the last playoff spot but have been dominant versus the Mooseheads this season. Xavier Bouchard led the Eagles with a goal and 3 assists on Saturday evening as they defeated Halifax 7-1. It will be interesting to see who the Herd start in goal tonight, as despite letting in seven goals, Alex Gravel did play quite well and made it so the score was not higher. Gravel made 34 saves last night before being pulled. Halifax will need to be much better defensively after allowing almost 50 shots against. The 4th Hurley Cup will be awarded after the match, the Moose have won the last two while Cape Breton claimed the inaugural trophy.

Overall records
Mooseheads: 15-16-2-1 = 33pts (5th in Maritimes division, 13th overall)
Eagles: 18-13-2-1 = 39pts (3rd in Maritimes division, 8th overall)

Leading scorers
CAP: Egor Sokolov 51pts (24G & 27A), Ryan Francis 47pts (15G & 32A), Shawn Boudrias 39pts (19G& 20A)
HAL: Raphael Lavoie 44pts (18G & 26A), Kevin Gursoy 26pts (10G & 16A), Justin Barron 17pts (4G & 13A)

Out of Town
Islanders vs. Titan     3:00pm
Sea Dogs vs. Wildcats     3:00pm
Remparts vs. Sagueneens     4:00pm
Oceanic vs. Armada     4:00pm
Voltigeurs vs. Olympiques     4:00pm
Phoenix vs. Drakkar     4:00pm
Foreurs vs. Huskies     4:00pm
Tigres vs. Cataractes     5:00pm

After the Buzzer
Halifax will be back home for a New Year's Eve contest against the Saint John Sea Dogs. Puck drops at 2pm.

TRADE: Captain Moved to Rivals

It's been speculated maybe all season but the Halifax Mooseheads made it official this afternoon that they have traded captain Benoit-Olivier Groulx to the Moncton Wildcats. The Herd acquired three draft picks in return; 2nd round in 2020, 1st round in 2021 and a 2nd round in 2022. 

Groulx was originally drafted by the Mooseheads in 2016 first overall after the team won the draft lottery that year. The 19-year-old finishes his tenure in Halifax with 207 points in 221 regular season games which is good enough for the 7th most points in franchise history currently. BO was recently cut from the world junior team by Hockey Canada which allowed Cam Russell to make this move now instead of in the new year. Over his three and a half years with the club, the Gatineau, QC native picked up 218 penalty minutes and was a plus-34. 

Good luck to Benoit in Moncton. Moose Country will miss you Captain! 

Hockey Canada Announce Holiday Tournament Teams

Hockey Canada made some announcements the last few days regarding who will represent their country during the holiday season tournaments; the World Juniors and Spengler Cup. A few players associated with the Halifax Mooseheads will be playing in Europe after Christmas.

The IIHF member made it's final cut for it's World Junior team and unfortunately it was Herd forward Benoit-Olivier Groulx who was let go on Saturday. However, that does mean that defenseman Jared McIsaac and forward Raphael Lavoie will represent Canada during the tournament. Some were surprised that Groulx was cut but the team is strong down the middle this year.

QMJHL is well represented this year with five current players and a former player making the team. Alexis Lafreniere (RIM), Dawson Mercer (DRU) and Olivier Rodrigue (MON) plus Joe Veleno who was released by the Detroit Red Wings join Lavoie and McIsaac a the Q league guys. Full roster here.

The Spengler Cup, which is hosted in Davos, Switzerland every year, also begins on Boxing Day. For the second straight year, former Mooseheads goaltender Zach Fucale will wear the red and white during the 6-team tournament. Fucale will try to lead Team Canada to a 16th championship after losing last year in an eight round shootout gold medal to KalPa.

Congratulations to all three players who will represent their country later this month and good luck.

I will try to keep you updated on how they are doing so check back on my blog next week.

TRADE: Trepanier Sent to Shawinigan, Gursoy Acquired

Photo - RDS

The Halifax Mooseheads announced on Monday that they have traded 20 year old Maxim Trepanier to the Shawinigan Cataractes. Halifax received a second round draft pick in 2020 in return.

Maxim was picked up by the Herd last Christmas trading period from Gatineau and has played 38 games in the red and green collecting 49 points. The St-Jean-sur-Richelieu, QC native also had 36 penalty minutes during his time in Halifax. Shawinigan will be his 4th QMJHL team.

Good luck to Maxim with the Cataractes.


With two defensemen gone, Halifax brought back Denis Toner who played for the club last season and they also promoted 16-year-old Keegan Hunt to fill the void.

Photo - Mooseheads website

Tuesday brought another overger into the fold with the announcement that Halifax has acquired forward Kevin Gursoy in exchange for a sixth round draft pick in 2021 from the Charlottetown Islanders. The 20-year-old has 26 points so far this season and was originally signed by Saint John in 2017 as a free agent.

Welcome to the Mooseheads, Kevin!

Mooseheads Move Two Defensemen

The Halifax Mooseheads made two moves on the opening day of the winter trade period.

Photo - Getty Images

On Sunday, the Herd announced that they have traded two of their defensemen, both of whom are 1999-born players. Halifax first moved Walter Flower to the Rimouski Oceanic for two draft picks before trading Patrick Kyte to the Chicoutimi Saguneens, for a 2020 first round draft pick.

Flower, a Lunenburg, NS native, was originally drafted by the Mooseheads back in 2015 and joined the team in his first year of eligibility. He finishes his time with his hometown team playing 235 regular season games, which is 16th most in franchise history, over 4 and a half seasons. The 20-year-old piked up 66 points during his time with the club as well as 200 penalty minutes.

Photo - Jackie Photog

Kyte, from Pembroke, ON, was signed by Halifax as a free agent in 2017 and leaves the team with 156 career games. He scored 69 regular season points and had 131 penalty minutes in 2-plus seasons with the Mooseheads.

The two trades have added some valuable early round draft picks this June after GM Cam Russell moved the teams' original selections in previous trades.

Good luck to Walter and Patty with their new clubs. Moose Country will miss both of you. 

Alumni Update: 1st Half Stats

There are plenty of former Halifax Mooseheads playing in different leagues across the world, mainly in North America. Since the university hockey season is on a break currently along with the QMJHL, I thought I would update you on how they are doing. Six Herd alum are participating in their first season of university hockey in 2019-20; Keith Getson (Saint Mary's), Brett Crossley (Dalhousie), Ryan Barbosa (Windsor), Morgan Nauss (Acadia), Jordan Maher (PEI) and Joel Bishop (Saint Mary's). Also included are stats from the Maritime Hockey League. (stats as of end of Dec 15)

GP-G-A-Pts

U-Sports
Matt Murphy (UNB)                17   4    10   14
Keith Getson (Saint Mary's)     18   6    7    13
Andrew Shewfelt (Dalhousie)  18   5    5    10
Ryan Barbosa (Windsor)          17   4    7    11
Kelly Bent (Dalhousie)            16   1    2     3
Joel Bishop (Saint Mary's)       18   1   3     4
Brett Crossley (Dalhousie)       17   5   1     6
Taylor Ford (McGill)               16   0    1    1
Keigan Goetz (Waterloo)         14   4    1    5
Austyn Hardie (Saint Mary's)  18   0    7    7
Samuel Hunter (Queen's)         13   0    0    0
Brad Kennedy (Mount Royal) 16   4    8    12
Jordan King (Lakehead)          14   5    6    11
Jesse Lussier (Dalhousie)         9    0    4    4
Jordan Maher (UPEI)              17   3    5    8
Zachary Taylor (Dalhousie)    18   0    3    3
Morgan Nauss (Acadia)           7    0    2    2
Anthony Sorrentino (Wilfred) 17   5    7   12

QMJHL
Mathieu Charlebois (Drummondville)  30   2    5    7
Xavier Parent (Sherbrooke)                   23   9   10   19
Jordan Lepage (Shawinigan)                 26   0   4     4

MJAHL 
Ben Higgins (Truro)                 26   18   18   36
Caleb Rich (Amherst                28   15   23   38
Brock McLeod (Edmundston)  28   17   26   43
Denis Toner (Grand Fall           17   1     11   12

Three of the 4 former Herd players playing in the Maritime Hockey League are leading their team in scoring while Denis Toner, a defenceman, was named captain of his Rapids team at the beginning of the season. 

Happy Holidays Moose Country

I haven't done one of these in a number of years 😃.  Our Halifax Mooseheads completed the first half of the season last night and the whole QMJHL is now on break for two weeks. The boys finished with a 4-2 defeat at the hands of the Saint John Sea Dogs on the road and won't play again until December 28 when they take on the Cape Breton Eagles in Halifax.

Thank you from the bottom of my heart for reading my posts, following me on social media and liking my Instagram pictures. From this Mooseheads fan to you and your family, I hope you have a great holiday season and it is filled with many joyous times.

HAPPY HOLIDAYS MOOSE COUNTRY!

Trade Period Starts Today

The QMJHL's holiday trading period begins today and many moves are expected to be made official when it opens.

Our Halifax Mooseheads are expected to be sellers this year after going pretty much all out last season. A number of rumours have gone around with BO Groulx and Raphael Lavoie, the Herd's top scorers, being among the names that are going to be traded. The two won't be moved until deadline day because players who participate in the World Juniors can't be traded until after the tournament ends. Defencemen Patrick Kyte and Walter Flower have been rumoured to be moved, possibly as early as today. No word on what the Mooseheads will get in return however.

Halifax made two trades during the pre-season but have not made any moves in the regular season. Xavier Parent went to Sherbrooke Phoenix for Cameron Whynot while Jason Horvath was welcomed to the team from the Shawinigan Cataractes.

The trading period ends on January 6. All official trades will be posted on the QMJHL website.

Dec 14: Sea Dogs vs. Mooseheads preview

SAINT JOHN SEA DOGS VS HALIFAX MOOSEHEADS

Puck drops at 7:00pm

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

TD Station (6,308) ~ Saint John, NB

The last game before the Christmas break for our Halifax Mooseheads goes tonight against the Saint John Sea Dogs on the road. Halifax will look to rebound after a disappointing loss last night while Saint John is coming off a victory over the last place Bathurst Titan. The two clubs are tied in points heading into this evening's match. Saint John has had the Mooseheads number this season winning three of four so far. The Herd will still be without six of their players and another one might've been added to that list as Maxim Trepanier did not come out for the third period last night. I believe the Sea Dogs were expected to do a little better than they currently are but they are tied with the best record in their last 10 games at 8-2-0-0. For the most part as well, the team from the Port City is not getting blown away in games like they were in the first quarter of the season. The defence and goaltending for the Moose will need to be strong if they want to win because the Dogs have more scoring power than we do.

This is the fifth time these two clubs have met this season. Halifax is 1-3-0-0 against the Sea Dogs while Saint John has a 3-1-0-0 versus the Mooseheads. The last matchup was back on November 2nd with the Dogs winning 4-3 in Halifax. Benoit-Olivier Groulx had 3 assists to lead the Herd in the loss. 

Overall records
HAL: 15-14-2-1 = 33pts (4th in Maritimes division, 12th overall)
SNB: 16-17-1-0 = 33pts (5th in Maritimes division, 13th overall)

Leading scorers
Sea Dogs: Nicholas Guay 39pts (14G & 25A), Brady Burns 36pts (20G & 16A), Jeremie Poirier 33pts (11G & 22A)
Mooseheads: Raphael Lavoie 44pts (18G & 26A), Maxim Trepanier 42pts (22G & 20A), Benoit-Olivier Groulx 41pts (15G & 26A)

Out of Town
Wildcats vs. Titan     4:00pm
Tigres vs. Armada     5:00pm
Oceanic vs. Remparts     5:00pm
Cataractes vs. Phoenix     5:00pm
Foreurs vs. Huskies     5:00pm
Drakkar vs. Sagueneens     5:00pm
Islanders vs. Eagles     7:00pm
Olympiques vs. Voltigeurs     8:00pm

After the Buzzer
Our Halifax Mooseheads will take a break now and will return on December 28 with the Battle of Nova Scotia game on home ice. Puck drops at 7pm.

Welsh Stone Walls Herd Again

Photo - Mooseheads website

Looks like Matthew Welsh was the difference again. The Halifax-native was in nets on Friday evening and helped the Charlottetown Islanders to a 5-0 victory in Moose Country. Welsh was not in nets on Wednesday when the Mooseheads won 4-1. Halifax was dominated early once again, being outshot 7-1 a few minutes into the game. Liam Payton scored at the 8:07 mark to give the bad guys a 1-0 lead and they didn't let up from there. Despite having three power plays in the first half of the match, Halifax couldn't get any offence going. In the second, Charlottetown extended their lead including a second goal from Peyton with under two minutes remaining in the middle frame. The 2nd period ended with most of the players on the ice pairing up and getting in scrums. Maxim Trepanier had multiple 'fights' and was unable to return to the game for the third. The Moose Country faithful were anxious all game to throw their teddy bears on the ice but were unable to until late in the game. For only the second time in the last 10 years, the bears were tossed onto the ice without a goal being scored beforehand. It was a 21 save shutout for Welsh in his 200th career start.

FINAL: Islanders 5 at Mooseheads 0

Stars: 3. Walter Flower HAL | 2. Liam Peyton CHA | 1. Matthew Welsh CHA

Attendance: 7,189

MC's Top Herd: Walter Flower

Powerplay: CHA - 0-for-2; HAL - 0-for-5

Shots: 32-21 in favour for Charlottetown

NOT DRESSED - Senna Peeters (WJC D1), Benoit-Olivier Groulx (WJC), Justin Barron (injured), Raphael Lavoie (WJC), Marcel Barinka (WJAC) and Jared McIsaac (WJC)

SCORES

Cape Breton 0 at Moncton 4

Saint John 6 at Acadie-Bathurst 3

Drummondville 4 at Sherbrooke 2

Gatineau 4 at Blainville-Boisbriand 7

Victoriaville 5 at Rimouski 2

Val-d'Or 4 at Rouyn-Noranda 5 OT

Baie-Comeau 3 at Chicoutimi 6

Quebec 3 at Shawinigan 4 OT

UP NEXT - Halifax will hit the road to take on the Saint John Sea Dogs on Saturday for both teams last game before Christmas. Puck drops at 7pm. 

Peeters Scores Twice for Austria

Photo - Herd website

Current Halifax Mooseheads rookie Senna Peeters is playing for his country right now at the 2020 World Junior Championships - Division 1 tournament this week and he's played pretty good.

The 17-year-old scored two goals today, helping Austria to a 4-2 victory over Denmark. Peeters also has an assist for three points and is third in team scoring (tied for 11th overall). Austria has a record of two wins and a loss. Senna and the Austrians will play two more games during the tournament, on Friday and Sunday.

The U20 Division I - Group A tournament is being hosted by Minsk, Belarus and showcases five teams going head to head during the week. Austria is joined by Belarus, Denmark, Lativa and Norway. The team with the best record will be promoted to the Top Division.

Dec 11: Islanders vs. Mooseheads preview

CHARLOTTETOWN ISLANDERS VS HALIFAX MOOSEHEADS

Puck drops at 7:00pm

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

Eastlink Centre (3,717) ~ Charlottetown, PEI

Our Halifax Mooseheads will participate in another home and home series this week but with the Charlottetown Islanders this time. The two clubs will meet in PEI tonight for a mid-week match with Halifax looking to get back on track after a loss on Saturday. Charlottetown meanwhile will be wanting to pick up their third straight win. With many players out of the lineup, it will be a great opportunity for the Mooseheads' other guys to shine since the top two scorers are out for Team Canada's selection camp. They'll have to get lots of traffic in front of most likely Matthew Welsh, who always has a stellar game against his hometown team. Charlottetown has a few players who will not be playing tonight as well because of training camps for the world juniors. Nikita Alexandrov and Gaetan Jobin are with their respective countries. Since their are so many players absent for Halifax, the team has called up Landon Miron, Kyle Petten and Bryan Laureigh for the remainder of the schedule before the break.

This is the fifth meeting between these two clubs this season. Halifax is 1-3-0-0 against the Islanders while Charlottetown has a 3-1-0-0 record versus the Mooseheads. The last game was at the beginning of the month, when the Herd travelled to the island and lost 5-2 in a game that Cole McLaren made 37 saves on 41 shots. 

Overall records
HAL: 14-13-2-1 = 31pts (4th in Maritims division, 11th overall)
CHA: 18-11-4-0 = 40pts (2nd in Maritimes division, 5th overall)

Leading scorers
Islanders: Thomas Casey 24pts (15G & 9A), Brett Budgell 24pts (11G & 13A), Kevin Gursoy 24pts (9G & 15A)
Mooseheads: Raphael Lavoie 44pts (18 & 26A), Benoit-Olivier Groulx 41pts (15G & 26A), Maxim Trepanier 40pts (20G & 20A)

Out of Town
Sea Dogs vs. Wildcats     7:00pm
Titan vs. Eagles     7:00pm
Tigres vs. Phoenix     8:00pm
Olympiques vs. Armada     8:30pm

After the Buzzer
Halifax will host their annual Teddy Bear Toss game on Friday night when they welcome the Charlottetown Islanders. Puck drops at 7pm.

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, Justin Barron was named the Scholastic Player of the Month for November 2019. Barron recorded 3 goals and 10 points in 11 games and was a minus-3 during the month.

Équipe	Joueur	Educational Institution	Program
BAT	Evan MacKinnon	Acadia University	Business
BAC	Mikisiw Awashish	Cégep de Baie-Comeau	Natural Sciences
BLB	Maximilien Ledoux	Cégep de Terrebonne	Human Sciences
CAP	Connor Trenholm	Sydney Academy	Grade 12
CHA	Matthew Welsh	UPEI	Business
CHI	Ethan Crossman	Acadia University	Independent Studies
DRU	Charles-Antoine Dumont	Collège Saint-Bernard	Secondary 5
GAT	Pierre-Olivier Roy	Cégep de l’Outaouais	Human Sciences
HAL	Justin Barron	Halifax West High School	Grade 12
MON	Christian Huntley	Crandall / Acadia University	Business Accounting
QUE	Félix Bibeau	Cégep Limoilou	Human Sciences
RIM	Anthony D’Amours	Cégep de Rimouski	Industrial Maintenance
ROU	Jérémy Dugay	Polyvalente W.-Arthur Losier	Grade 12
SNB	Alex Drover	Saint John High School	Grade 12
SHA	Olivier Nadeau	Séminaire Ste-Marie	Secondary 5
SHE	Julien Anctil	Cégep de Sherbrooke	Human Sciences
VDO	Jacob Gaucher	University of New Brunswick	Financial Accounting
VIC	Maxime Pellerin	Collège Clarétain	Secondary 5

Provincial Revenge

Photo - Myles Dennis

Well if this was the last game that Moose Country will see Benoit-Olivier Groulx in a Mooseheads uniform, the 19-year-old certainly put on a show as a send off. Groulx recorded a hat trick on Friday night to lead Halifax to a 6-5 victory over their provincial rivals, the Cape Breton Eagles. Forward Maxim Trepanier got the boys off to a good start, scoring the first two goals of the game. It wouldn't have been possible if not for Alex Gravel stopping the 8 shots he faced before the home team even got one. Halifax would be up 2-0 after one period and Trepanier would have a number of chances at the beginning of middle frame. Exactly 9 minutes in to the second period, the bad guys got on the board with a goal by Shawn Boudrias. BO and Jeffrey Burridge scored later in the period but Egor Sokolov picked up his 22nd of the year before the intermission and the two clubs went to the dressing rooms with a 4-2 lead by the Herd. The third was back and forth and was intense in the final minutes with Groulx scoring on the empty net and Sokolov making it a one goal game with 30 seconds left.

FINAL: Eagles 5 at Mooseheads 6
Stars: 3. Felix Lafrence CAP | 2. Maxim Trepanier HAL | 1. Benoit-Olivier Groulx HAL
Attendance: 6,852
MC's Top Herd: n/a

Powerplay: CAP - 1-for-3; HAL - 2-for-5
Shots: 40-39 in favour of Halifax

NOT DRESSED - Justin Barron (injured), Marcel Barinka (WJA Challenge), Samuel Dube (injured) and Senna Peeters (IIHF Div I)

SCORES
Moncton 3 at Sherbrooke 6
Rimouski 10 at Val-d'Or 8
Shawinigan 2 at Blainville-Boisbriand 4
Acadie-Bathurst 2 at Chicoutimi 4
Saint John 5 at Drummondville 2
Ottawa 4 at Gatineau 0
Charlottetown 1 at Baie-Comeau 4

UP NEXT - The two clubs will meet again tomorrow evening in Sydney. Puck drops at 7pm.

Dec 6: Mooseheads vs. Eagles preview

HALIFAX MOOSEHEADS VS CAPE BRETON EAGLES

Puck drops at 7:00pm

TV: Eastlink | Radio: News 95.7 | Live: @MC_MooseCountry

Scotiabank Centre (10,595) ~ Halifax, NS

A tough month continues for our Halifax Mooseheads as they welcome the 7th overall Cape Breton Eagles to the Scotiabank Centre tonight. There are currently on 5 points between these two teams and with the clubs having two home and home series in December, it could prove critical at the end of the season who finishes with home ice advantage in the playoffs or not depending on how they turn out. Cape Breton has been dominate over Halifax this year so far picking up two blow out wins. This evening's match might be the last for Benoit-Olivier Groulx, Jared McIsaac and Raphael Lavoie in a Mooseheads uniform as the three players are set to head off to Ontario for Team Canada selection camp and will most likely make the team for the world juniors and some believe that they will be traded while they are away. The Eagles have been struggling recently however so maybe this is the time for Halifax to get revenge as Cape Breton is 4-5-0-1 in their last 10 games.

This is the fourth game between these two clubs this season. Halifax is 0-3-0-0 against the Eagles while Cape Breton has a 3-0-0-0 record versus the Mooseheads. The last match was back on October 29 where the visiting Eagles recorded a 7-1 win with Raphael Lavoie scoring the lone goal for Halifax.  

Overall records
Eagles: 16-10-1-1 = 34pts (3rd in Maritimes division, 7th overall)
Mooseheads: 13-12-2-1 = 29pts (4th in Maritimes division, 11th overall)

Leading scorers
HAL: Raphael Lavoie 41pts (17G & 24A), Benoit-Olivier Groulx 37pts (12G & 25A), Maxim Trepanier 36pts (18G & 18A)
CAP: Egor Sokolov 47pts (21G & 26A), Ryan Francis 40pts (14G & 26A), Shawn Boudrias 32pts (16G & 16A)

Out of Town
Phoenix vs. Wildcats    7:00pm
Foreurs vs. Oceanic     8:00pm
Armada vs. Cataractes     8:30pm
Sagueneens vs. Titan    8:30pm
Voltigeurs vs. Sea Dogs     8:30pm
Olympiques vs. 67's     8:30pm
Drakkar vs. Islanders     8:30pm

After the Buzzer
The two clubs will finish this home and home series in Sydney on Saturday evening. Puck drops at 7pm.

Herd Word

WORLD JUNIORS
Hockey Canada announced today the 31 players who will participate in the team's selection camp, which begins in a week. Defenceman Jared McIsaac, who just returned from a long term injury on Saturday, was given an invite and will be joined by forward teammates Benoit-Olivier Groulx and Raphael Lavoie at the camp. Many believe McIsaac will be a lock to make the final team as he participated in the tournament last year.

The 31 hopefuls will join together in Oakville, Ontario from December 9-12 and will play two games against a U Sports all-star team on the final two days of the selection process. Other QMJHL players named to the camp roster were Dawson Mercer (Drummondville), Oliver Rodrigue (Moncton), Alexis Lafreniere (Rimouski) and Jakob Pelletier (Moncton).

The 2020 Under-20 World Junior Hockey Championships is being hosted by Ostrava, Czech Republic from December 26 to January 5. Canada will begin the tournament with a match against their cross border rivals, the United States on Boxing Day at 3 p.m. AT. The final roster will be announced a couple days before the competition starts.

For the full camp roster, click here.

MACKINNON
Former Halifax Mooseheads player Nathan MacKinnon has had another offensive month. Kid Mack was named the NHL first star of the week on Monday, with 3 goals and 9 points in three games. The Colorado Avalanche finished the week with a 3-0-0-0 record. MacKinnon leads the team in scoring and is among the league leaders.

Nathan was also named the second star for the month of November. The Halifax, NS native had 10 goals and 15 assists during the month.

Congrats to Nathan on being awarded for his hard work.

QMJHL STARS

Photo - Q website

Forward Maxim Trepanier was named the QMJHL player of the week for the week ending Dec. 1 after recording 7 points over three games. Trepanier had a big night on Thursday, helping the Mooseheads to a 6-3 win over the Acadie-Bathurst Titan with two goals and 2 assists. A goal on Saturday would give Maxim at least a point in every game in the month of November, who extended his point streak to 13 games on Sunday after picking up two more points in a loss to Charlottetown.

He'll be named to the Q team of the week tomorrow. We may even see another Herd player but I'll share that when it's announced.

Photo - Mooseheads website

BARINKA
Our Halifax Mooseheads will be without forward Marcel Barinka for the remainder of the team's schedule before their Christmas break. Barinka left today to join the Czech Republic team that will participate in the World Junior A Challenge. The Challenge is an under-20 tournament sponsored by Hockey Canada. It will be played December 7-15 in Dawson Creek, BC.

Congratulations and good luck to Marcel.

TOUGH DECEMBER
The Mooseheads will have a tough December as they battle two of the top 6 teams in the league during the month plus Saint John, who have not made it easy on Halifax this season despite being close to the bottom of the standings. Halifax will play the Charlottetown Islanders 3 times, the Cape Breton Eagles 4 times and the Sea Dogs twice. Charlottetown defeated the Herd yesterday evening and are currently in 4th place overall, the two will meet for a home and home series on December 11 and 13. Saint John has a 3-1-0-0 record versus Halifax and the two will end 2019 battling each other in a New Year's Eve matinee in Moose Country. The two Nova Scotia clubs will have two home and home series, on this weekend and the other after the break in the annual Hurley Cup set.

STATS SUNDAY: November

Games played: 12
Record: 6-4-1-1, 14pts
Goals for/against: 33/33
Powerplay*: 20.9%
Penalty kill*: 87.8%
Shutouts: one

Top 5 leading scorers
Points: Benoit-Olivier Groulx 19, Maxim Trepanier 18, Raphael Lavoie 16, Justin Barron 10, Jason Horvath 6
Goals: Benoit-Olivier Groulx 8, Maxim Trepanier 8, Raphael Lavoie 7, Senna Peeters 5, Justin Barron 3
Assists: Benoit-Olivier Groulx 13, Maxim Trepanier 10, Raphael Lavoie 9, Justin Barron 7, Jason Horvath 5
Penalty minutes: Benoit-Olivier Groulx 14, Raphael Lavoie 14, Jason Horvath 13, Patrick Kyte 13, Lucas Robinson 8
Plus/minus: Benoit-Olivier Groulx +2, Raphael Lavoie +2, Walter Flower +2, Cameron Whynot +1, Maxim Trepanier +1
Rookie scoring: Senna Peeters 6pts, Sonny Kabatay 2pts, Zack Jones 2pts, Brendan Tomilson 1pt, Gavin Hart 1pt

Goaltending stats*
Cole McLaren: 7-3-1-0     2.88 GAA     0.914 SAV%
Alexis Gravel: 6-8-1-1     3.26 GAA     0.896 SAV%



*overall
Note: includes October 29 game stats