GAMEDAY #1: at Acadie-Bathurst

GAMEDAY

ACADIE-BATHURST TITAN vs. HALIFAX MOOSEHEADS

September 12, 2014 at 7:30pm

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

K.C. Irving Regional Centre (3,162) ~ Bathurst, NB

 

A year ago today we opened the season at home raising two championship banners. This season, many analysts have your Halifax Mooseheads finishing in the middle of the QMJHL standings. With nine new faces on the team this season, it should make for a very interesting year.

Halifax will need to get off to a good start as to not put themselves in a hole but they will have to do it without some key players and even more inexperienced players in the lineup this weekend. Earlier this week, the Mooseheads called up goaltender Christopher Langlais, defenseman Brandon Worthen and forward Makail Parker. How will the new faces pan out? Well we will have to wait and see but their first test will be against the Acadie-Bathurst Titan tongiht. Former Herd player Andrew Ryan made the Titan roster this season after being traded in the summer but will not be in the lineup tonight as he is at Minnesota Wild camp.

Overall Records

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

Titan: 0-0-0-0 = 0 points (T-1st in Maritimes division, T-1st overall)

Leading Scorers

BAT: n/a

HFX: n/a

Last Games

Halifax is coming off a 5-3 loss to provincial rivals Cape Breton in their last preseason game. Josh Fitzgerald, Vincent Watt and Maxime Fortier had the goals for the Mooseheads in Screaming Eagles territory.

Bathurst was in Moncton this past Sunday to finish up their preseason schedule and lost 3-2 in a shootout against the Wildcats. Christophe Boivin and Aaron Kerr had the goals for the Titan.

Season Series

Friday Sept 12  Halifax at Bathurst - 7:30pm

Sunday Oct 12  Halifax at Bathurst - 3pm

Wednesday Nov 12  Bathurst at Halifax - 7pm

Wednesday Dec 10  Bathurst at Halifax - 7pm

Saturday Dec 13  Halifax at Bathurst - 7pm

Sunday Jan 4  Bathurst at Halifax - 2pm

Saturday Feb 7  Bathurst at Halifax - 7pm

Wednesday Mar 4  Bathurst at Halifax - 7pm

Friday Mar 13  Halifax at Bathurst - 7:30pm

Out of Town

Islanders vs Sea Dogs 7:00pm

Wildcats vs Screaming Eagles 7:00pm

Phoenix vs Remparts 8:00pm

Sagueneens vs Cataractes 8:00pm

Drakkar vs Armada 8:30pm

Voltigeurs vs Huskies 8:30pm

Olympiques vs Foreurs 8:30pm

Oceanic vs Tigres 8:30pm

After the Buzzer

Halifax will now travel across the bridge to Charlottetown to play the Islanders tomorrow night. Game time is 7pm.

Moose Attend Rookie Camps

Five current players will take part in National Hockey League camps which start this weekend. These players include Zach Fucale and Philippe Gadoury with the Montreal Canadiens as well as forwards Nikolaj Ehlers (Winnipeg Jets) and Daniel Moynihan (San Jose Sharks), with Matt Murphy attending Ottawa Senators camp.

The five players will be unavailable for this weekend's games in Bathurst and Charlottetown on Friday and Saturday. Fucale and Ehlers could possibly miss a couple of more weeks.

A couple of former Mooseheads will also be attending camps. Stefan Fournier will get another crack at showing the Canadiens he has what it takes to be at the next level, while Andrew Ryan as you know will be at Minnesota Wild camp. MacKenzie Weegar and Stephen MacAulay will be in the sunshine state attending Florida Panthers camp. Of course Jonathan Drouin is also in the sunshine state at the Tampa Bay Lightning rookie camp.

Good luck to all the players at camp.

PRESEASON: Stats Sunday (on Tuesday)

Games played: 5

Record: 2-2-0-1, 5pts

Scores*: 3-2, 3-4 0-1, 4-3, 3-5
Goals for/against: 13 / 15

Powerplay %: 16.0

Penalty kill %: 96.0

Shutouts: none

Top 3 leading scorers

Points: Vincent Watt (5pts), Josh Fitzgerald (3pts), Matt Murphy (2pts)

Goals: Matt Murphy (2G), Vincent Watt (2G), Jacob Jacques (1G)

Assists: Joshua Fitzgerald (2A), Samuel Leblanc (2A), Andrew Shewfelt (2A)

Penalty minutes: Kelly Bent (23 mins), Brandon Vuic (9 mins), Timo Meier (8 mins)

Plus/minus: Joshua Fitzgerald (+1), Jacob Jacques (+1), Dominik Blain-Dupuis (+1)

Rookie scoring: Joshua Fitzgerald (3pts), Brett Crossley (2pts), Dominik Blain-Dupuis (1pts)

Goaltending stats

Zach Fucale: 0-0-0-0   0.00 GAA%    1.000 SAV%

Kevin Resop: 2-1-0-0   3.33 GAA%   0.901 SAV%

*Mooseheads score is first

Top 7 Games You Gotta Be At

We're less than a week away from the beginning of the regular season, lets take a look at the top 7, in my opinion, games that you should be at the Scotiabank Centre for.

#7   March 21, 2015
vs. Saint John Sea Dogs - 4pm
The last game of the season will be played against the Dogs. This could be any kind of game; one where Halifax is fighting for a playoff spot, or just a game to clean up some problems before the big test begins in the playoffs. It'll also be fan appreciation day!!

#6   October 5, 2014
vs. Val-d'Or Foreurs - 4pm
A Sunday afternoon rematch against the team that kicked the Mooseheads out of the 2014 playodd back in April. It could also be the first contest between these two teams that we don't see a Mantha/Drouin battle.

#6   January 9, 2015
vs. Gatineau Olympiqus - 7pm
The annual Teddy Bear Toss game is a great way to donate stuffed animals to kids who are not as fortuante and to see your Mooseheads take on another Quebec team that only comes to Moose Country once a year.

#5   December 31, 2014
vs. Charlottetown Islanders - 2pm
Before you go out and party to celebrate the end of the year, come watch the last Mooseheads game of 2014 as Halifax takes on the Islanders in a New Years Eve matinee.

#4   November 7, 2014
vs. Saint John Sea Dogs - 7pm
Last year it was the Moncton Wildcats that we saw a lot of during the annal events, this season it's Saint John. This one will be a night where we celebrate our Canadian Forces veterans as the boys will wear special Navy themed jerseys that will be auctioned off.

#3   October 10, 2014
vs. Charlottetown Islanders - 7pm
The 7th annual Pink in the Rink will be played on this date. The Scotiabank Centre will be a sea of pink during the third home game of October and it's all to support the Canadian Breast Cancer Society and research to find a cure for breast cancer. Make sure you wear pink.

#2   September 20, 2014
vs. Saint John Sea Dogs - 7pm
After the preseason competitions between these two teams and the Kelly Bent signing, this should be a very physical and exciting game. Saint John will most likely be our biggest rivals this season after Cape Breton.

#1 September 19, 2014
vs. Moncton Wildcats - 7pm
It's the home opener of course it would be on this list. This game will feature a few players who won't be here all year long but it should be fantastic and it's against the Wildcats which are always very interesting tough contests.

Note: times are subject to change without notice, check the blog for pregame previews for the offical times.

Preseason ends with loss

Halifax-Cape Breton Game at a Glance
FINAL: Halifax 3 at Cape Breton 5
Halifax scorers: Joshua Fitzgerald, Vincent Watt, Maxime Fortier
Cape Breton scorers: Charles-Eric Legare, Pierre-Luc Dubois, Julien Pelletier, Evgeny Svechnikov
Powerplay: HFX - 2/5, CAP - 0/7
Shots: Mooseheads - 7+7+5=19, Eagles- 10+14+15=39
Attendance: 981 (capacity: 1,000)

Recaps
The Chronicle Herald's recap: The pre-season is finally over for the Cape Breton Screaming Eagles and Halifax Mooseheads.

Metro Halifax's recap: Halifax traded goals twice with Cape Breton in the first period Saturday night in north Sydney, but the Screaming Eagles defeated the Mooseheads 5-3 in the final exhibition game for both teams before the puck drops on the 2014-15 season.

halifaxmooseheads.ca's recap: The Halifax Mooseheads wrapped up the QMJHL preseason with a 5-3 loss to the provincial rival Cape Breton Screaming Eagles Saturday night in North Sydney.

The Q News' recap: Evgeny Svechnikov had a pair goals as the Cape Breton Screaming Eagles wrapped up their preseason schedule with a 5-3 victory over the Halifax Mooseheads at the Emera Centre on Saturday. 

qmjhl.ca's recap: Game summary.

PRESEASON: at Cape Breton

GAMEDAY

Pre-season Game #6

Opponent: Cape Breton Screaming Eagles
When: September 6, 2014
Where: Emera Centre Northside
Time: 7:00pm
Tickets:

Halifax Mooseheads
Preseason record: 2-1-0-1, 5pts
Goals for: 10
Goals against: 10
Head coach: Dom Ducharme
Scoring leader: Vincent Watt (1G & 2A)
Leading goaltender: Zachary Fucale (0.00 GAA)

Cape Breton Screaming Eagles
Preseason record: 1-1-0-0, 2pts
Goals for: 6
Goals against: 10
Head coach: Marc-Andre Dumont
Scoring leader: Jacob Smith (2G & 0A)
Leading goaltender: Francois Brassard (3.00 GAA)

Notes...

• This is the last preseason game for both teams
• Cape Breton spent the last 8 days of August in Russia representing Canada at the Junior Club World Cup
• Ryan Falkenham will be wearing the C for the first time this season
• Season starts in 6 days guys!! 

OTHER GAMES

Saint John vs. Charlottetown

Gatineau vs. Ottawa

Falky named Captain

Well there you have it. Returning forward, Ryan Falkenham has been named the captain of your Halifax Mooseheads for the 2014-15 season. Falkenham is going into his fourth year with the team but missed most of last season with injuries in both his hips.

Sophomore Nikolaj Ehlers and veteran defenceman Austyn Hardie were named alternate captains this season by the team. Ehlers is coming of a sensational rookie year that led to him being drafted 9th overall by the Winnipeg Jets in the National Hockey League who signed the 18 year old to an entry level contract yesterday. Hardie is going in to his last season of junior hockey and the Herd will look to him quite a bit to lead the very young D core this season. 

Congratulations to all three players.