3 Moose on World U17 Roster

Hockey Canada announced on Wednesday afternoon the players that will represent the three Canadian teams at the World U17 Hockey Challenge at the end of October. Among the roster are three Halifax Mooseheads players. Rookies Raphael Lavoie, Jared McIsaac and Benoit-Olivier Groulx were listed among the 66 Canadian under 17 players listed. All three young men were in the summer camp back a few months ago and clearly impressed the Hockey Canada personnel.

In 7 games so far this season, Groulx has three goals and 5 points while defenseman McIsaac has 2 assists in 8 games. Forward Raphael Lavoie has an assist in 4 games played but has made contributions in other ways. The three players are 16 years old. The 3 will most likely leave around October 27 to get set up for the pre-tournament games and will be back after the tournament finishes on November 5. Hockey Canada will announce the individual team rosters in the next couple of weeks. In the World U17 Hockey Challenge, Canada has three teams named black, red and white and will go against teams from Czech Republic, Finland, Sweden, Russia and the United States.

Congratulations to Benoit-Olivier, Jared and Raphael on making the roster and representing your country. Check back in a couple weeks for which Canadian team each player is on for the tournament.

GAMEDAY #8: at Acadie-Bathurst

GAME PREVIEW
ACADIE-BATHURST TITAN VS HALIFAX MOOSEHEADS
Puck drops at 7:00pm
TV: Rogers TV | Radio: News 95.7 | Live: @HFXMooseheads
K.C. Irving Regional Centre (3,162) ~ Bathurst, NB

The Halifax Mooseheads begin a four game road trip tonight when they visit the Acadie-Bathurst Titan. Halifax has found ways to win despite being a very young group and questionable goaltending by veteran Kevin Resop. No word on who will start tonight. The Herd have won 3 straight, all at home, and will be looking to get their first victory away from the Scotiabank Centre. Bathurst on the other hand has yet to win on home ice, of course they've only played two games at the KC Irving Regional Centre. The Titan have lost 5 straight after getting a couple of victories over the Cape Breton Screaming Eagles in Sydney during their opening weekend. Which streak will continue? We'll have to wait until later this evening to find out.

This is the first meeting between the two teams this season. Last year, Halifax was 4-5-0-0 against the Titan while Acadie-Bathurst had a 5-4-0-0 record against the Mooseheads. The last matchup in the 2015-16 season was March 8. Maxime Fortier scored two goals to help the Herd to a 4-2 win over the Titan in the New Brunswick city while Kevin Resop made 39 saves to pick up the W.

OVERALL RECORDS
Mooseheads: 5-2-0-0 = 10 points (3rd in Maritimes division, 5th overall)
Titan: 2-3-1-1 = 6 points (6th in Maritimes division, 15th overall)

LEADING SCORERS
BAT: Christophe Boivin 10pts (5G & 5A), Antoine Morand 8pts (3G & 5A), Dawson Theede 5pts (2G & 3A)
HAL: Maxime Fortier 13pts (6G & 7A), Otto Somppi 7pts (3G & 4A), Connor Moynihan 6pts (5G & 1A)

PREVIOUS GAMES
Halifax is coming off a 6-5 overtime victory on home ice against the Rimouski Oceanic. Maxime Fortier led the Mooseheads with a goal and 3 assists while import player Nico Hischier scored the OT winner. Kevin Resop was pulled 6 minutes into the third after letting 5 goals in on 15 shots.

Acadie-Bathurst is coming off a 7-3 defeat at the hands of the Voltigeurs on Saturday night. Captain Jeffrey Truchon-Viel scored the first goal for the Titan while Danil Timchenko took the loss making 29 saves before being pulled after the 5th goal in Drummondville.

ALUM ON TITAN - none

HEAD-TO-HEAD
October 12  Mooseheads at Titan - 7pm
October 26  Titan at Mooseheads - 7pm
November 20  Titan at Mooseheads - 2pm
November 22  Mooseheads at Titan - 7pm
December 14  Titan at Mooseheads - 7pm
February 2  Titan at Mooseheads - 7pm
February 17  Mooseheads at Titan - 7pm
February 24  Titan at Mooseheads - 7pm
March 10  Mooseheads at Titan - 7pm

OUT OF TOWN
Armada vs. Sea Dogs   8:00pm
Drakkar vs. Remparts   8:30pm

AFTER THE BUZZER
Halifax will now head to Quebec for a 3 game in 3 nights trip starting with a visit to the Shawinigan Cataractes on Friday. Puck drops at 8:30pm.

Mooseheads Win Thanksgiving Matinee

Photo - Myles Dennis

And they've done it. For the first time since the 1998-99 season, your Halifax Mooseheads have started the season 5 and 0 on home ice after picking up an overtime victory on Monday afternoon against the Gatineau Olympiques. Connor Moynihan got his third goal of the weekend to get the good guys on the board exactly 6 minutes in to the game but shortly after the Mooseheads received a holding penalty and the Olympiques converted on their powerplay to tie the game. The first period ended with a 3-2 Halifax led score while shots were 18-7 in favour of the Herd. It was a pretty strong period by the home side and it continued in the middle frame. Gatineau couldn't keep up in the second period, giving up two more goals while being outshot 13-4 but the Piques were a different team in the third period as were the Moose. The Olympiques scored three times on their first 4 shots of the final 20 minutes to tie the game at 5 goals a piece, forcing head coach Andre Tourigny to pull starter Kevin Resop. Alexis Gravel came in and made 15 saves in relief to keep the game tied after regulation. In overtime, Halifax killed off a penalty and than at 3:35, Maxime Fortier passed cross ice to Nico Hischier who slammed the puck into the net to win the game.

FINAL: Olympiques 5 at Mooseheads 6OT
Stars: 3. Otto Somppi HAL | 2. Bradley Kennedy HAL | 1. Nico Hischier HAL
Attendance: 5,110
MC's Top Herd: Nico Hischier

GAME LOG
First period
6:00 HAL Connor Moynihan (5) | A: Dachyshyn & Charlebois
7:23 GAT Nicolas Meloche (1), PP | A: Abramov & Dostie
13:18 HAL Maxime Fortier (6) | A: Sorrentino
17:16 HAL Otto Somppi (3) | A: Ford & Fortier
17:44 GAT Nicolas Meloche (2) | A: MacEwen & Breton

Second period
5:17 HAL Benoit-Olivier Groulx (3) | A: Charlebois
12:55 HAL Bradley Kennedy (2), PP | A: Somppi & Fortier

Third period
0:48 GAT Alex Dostie (3), SH | A: none
4:40 GAT Zack MacEwen (4) | A: none
5:28 GAT Zack MacEwen (5), PP | A: Meloche

Overtime
3:35 HAL Nico Hischier (2) | A: Jones & Fortier

Powerplay: GAT - 2-for-7, HAL - 1-for-6
Shots: 41-33 in favour of Halifax

MISSING IN ACTION- Raphael Lavoie, Joel Bishop, Brett Crossley

SCORES
Moncton 1 at Charlottetown 10
Blainville-Boisbriand 2 at Victoriaville 1

UP NEXT: The Mooseheads go on the road now for 4 games starting with a trip to play the Acadie-Bathurst Titan. Puck drops at 7pm.

GAMEDAY #6: vs. Gatineau

GAME PREVIEW
HALIFAX MOOSEHEADS VS GATINEAU OLYMPIQUES
Puck drops at 3:00pm
TV: Q Webcast | Radio: News 95.7 | Live: @MC_MooseCountry
Scotiabank Centre (10,595) ~ Halifax, NS

Happy Thanksgiving Moose Country. Your Halifax Mooseheads host their first holiday matinee of the season today as the Gatineau Olympiques come to town. The game also happens to be the last in a 3 game home-stand for the Herd and the last home game until the team's pink in the rink match on October 21. Halifax will be looking to win their third straight and start the year 5-0 on home ice for the first time since the 1998-1999 season. The Mooseheads somehow keep finding ways to win despite being out shots in a couple of games and sometimes being out played as well. Gatineau on the other hand seems to be starting a rebuild as they have only one win in 7 games. The Olympiques were the 6th overall team last season and have scored 11 goals so far. On paper the outcome should be in the Herd's favour but it will depend on goaltending.

This is the first meeting between the two teams this season. Last year, Gatineau was 2-0-0-0 against the Mooseheads while Halifax had a 0-2-0-0 record versus Olympiques. The last matchup in the 2015-16 season was February 10. Alex Dostie and Chiwetin Blacksmith scored two goals each in Gatineau's 6-0 victory while Kevin Resop made 35 saves for Halifax.

OVERALL RECORDS
Olympiques: 1-5-1-0 = 3 points (6th in West division, 17th overall)
Mooseheads: 4-2-0-0 = 8 points (4th in Maritimes division, 9th overall)

LEADING SCORERS
HAL: Maxime Fortier 9pts (5G & 4A), Connor Moyniahn 5pts (4G & 1A), Arnaud Durandeau 5pts (3G & 2A)
GAT: Vitalii Abramov 5pts (2G & 3A), Alex Dostie 5pts (2G & 3A), Zack MacEwen 3pts (3G)

PREVIOUS GAMES
Gatineau is coming of a 2-1 loss to the Screaming Eagles. Vataloo Abramov scored the lone goal for the Olympiques while Mathieu Bellemore made 24 saves to take the defeat in Cape Breton on Sunday afternoon.

Halifax is coming off a 5-2 victory over the Islanders in a rematch game on Saturday evening. Connor Moynihan scored twice to lead the Mooseheads while rookie Alexis Gravel stopped 35 of Charlottetown's 37 shots to get his first career win.

NOT DRESSED - n/a

ALUM ON OLYMPIQUES - Jean-Sebastien Taillefer and Dominik Blain-Dupuis

HEAD-TO-HEAD
October 10  Olympiques at Mooseheads - 3pm
November 2  Mooseheads at Olympiques - 8:30pm

OUT OF TOWN
Islanders vs. Wildcats   3:00pm
Tigres vs. Armada   3:00pm

AFTER THE BUZZER
Halifax will go on the road now for four games starting on Wednesday in Acadie-Bathurst against the Titan. Puck drops at 7pm.

Gravel Gets First Win

Your Halifax Mooseheads are still without a loss at the Scotiabank Centre after a 5-2 win over the Charlottetown Islanders on Saturday night. The Moose were out to get a vengeance after losing 9-2 to the Islanders last Sunday. Rookie goaltender Alexis Gravel made his first career start in the QMJHL and was solid in goal for the Herd to pick up the victory. The Mooseheads got out to a lead just five minutes into the game when Nico Hischier scored his first QMJHL goal, but a hooking call and a quick power play goal saw the one goal lead disappear. It was back and fourth in the second period which saw both teams going to the dressing room tied at two goals apiece. Gravel kept the game close through the first 40 minutes as Charlottetown outshot Halifax 25-18 in that time. Overager Anthony Sorrentino scored with less than 8 minutes to go to put the Mooseheads in front but the goal was reviewed before being called a good goal.  The home team wouldn't look back as Connor Moynihan gave the good guys a two goal cushion. To seal the deal Barrett Dachyshyn iced the puck into the empty net to send Moose Country home happy.

FINAL: Islanders 2 at Mooseheads 5
Stars: 3. Barrett Dachyshyn HAL | 2. Connor Moynihan HAL | 1. Alex Gravel HAL
Attendance: 5,402MC’s Top Herd: Alex Gravel

GAME LOG
First period
5:32 HAL Nico Hischier (1) | A: Kennedy & Jones
10:11 CHA Jake Cougler (8), PP | A: Chlapik & Donaghey

Second period
2:11 HAL Connor Moynihan (3), PP | A: Hischier & Durandau
6:28 CHA Shawn Boudrias (2), PP | A: Gervais & Barter

Third period
12:12 HAL Anthony Sorrentino (1) | A: Goetz
16:35 HAL Connor Moynihan (4) | A: McIssac & Somppi
18:19 HAL Barret Dachyshyn (1) | A: Fortier

Powerplay: CHA – 2-for-4, HAL – 1-for-4
Shots: 37-26 in favour of Charlottetown

MISSING IN ACTION– Joel Bishop, Brett Crossley, Jocktan Chainey

SCORES
Acadie-Bathurst 3 at Drummondville 7
Victoriaville 3 at Baie-Comeau 4
Rimouski 0 at Moncton 5
Val-d'Or 5 at Quebec 2
Chicoutimi 2 at Rouyn-Noranda 6

UP NEXT: Halifax will have a Thanksgiving matinée against the Gatineau Olympiques on Monday. Puck drops at 3pm.

GAMEDAY #5: vs. Charlottetown

GAME PREVIEW
HALIFAX MOOSEHEADS VS CHARLOTTETOWN ISLANDERS
Puck drops at 7:00pm
TV: Webcast | Radio: News 95.7 | Live: @MC_MooseCountry
Scotiabank Centre (10,595) ~ Halifax, NS

The Halifax Mooseheads will be playing their first rematch of the season. Less than a week ago, the Moose and the Charlottetown Islanders met in Charlottetown where the home team won quite handily. Halifax will be looking to even the season series when they play some Saturday night hockey this evening. The Herd have a good record on home ice and hope to keep it going against the 4-2 Islanders. Charlottetown has surprised a few people with their fast start and the team seems to be firing on all cylinders. The Isles have 5 of the top 10 leading scorers in the league, overager Kameron Kielly leads the team with 13 points in 6 games. it should be an interesting game after an emotional win last night by the Mooseheads and a disappointing loss for the Islanders on Friday night.

This is the second meeting between the two teams this season. Charlottetown is 1-0-0-0 against the Mooseheads this year while Halifax is 0-1-0-0 versus the Islanders. The two teams met on Sunday afternoon, where Filip Chlapik led Charlottetown with a hat trick and 4 points to a 9-2 victory. Otto Somppi led Halifax with a goal and an assist while Kevin Resop took the loss after letting in 7 goals on 40 shots before being pulled with less than 10 minutes to go.

OVERALL RECORDS
Islanders: 4-2-0-0 = 8 points (1st in Maritimes division, 3rd overall)
Mooseheads: 3-2-0-0 = 6 points (4th in Maritimes division, 10th overall)

LEADING SCORERS
HAL: Maxime Fortier 8pts (5G & 3A), Arnaud Durandeau 4pts (3G & 1A), Benoit-Olivier Groulx 4pts (2G & 2A)
CHA: Kameron Kielly 13pts (5G & 8A), Mitchell Balmas 11pts (3G & 8A), Jake Coughler 10pts (7G & 3A)

PREVIOUS GAMES
Charlottetown is coming off a 5-3 loss to the Screaming Eagles on Friday evening. The Islanders got scoring from three different players in Cape Breton while Matthew Welsh made 24 saves on 28 Charlottetown shots to pick up the defeat.

Halifax is coming off a 6-5 victory over the Oceanic last night. Bradley Kennedy and Maxime Fortier led the Mooseheads with a goal and an assist each while Kevin Resop made 21 saves to get the win against Rimouski on home ice.

ALUM ON ISLANDERS - Cody Donaghey

HEAD-TO-HEAD
October 2  Halifax 2 at Charlottetown 9
October 8  Charlottetown at Halifax - 7pm
November 12  Charlottetown at Halifax - 7pm
December 28  Halifax at Charlottetown - 7pm
January 11  Charlottetown at Halifax - 7pm
February 10  Halifax at Charlottetown - 7pm
February 18  Charlottetown at Halifax - 7pm
March 5  Halifax at Charlottetown - 3pm
March 15  Charlottetown at Halifax - 7pm

OUT OF TOWN
Voltigeurs vs. Titan   4:00pm
Drakkar vs. Tigres   5:00pm
Wildcats vs. Oceanic   7:00pm
Remparts vs. Foreurs   8:00pm
Huskies vs. Sagueneens   8:00pm

AFTER THE BUZZER
Halifax will continue a busy Thanksgiving weekend hosting the Charlottetown Islanders on Saturday night. Puck drops at 7pm.

Moose Stay Undefeated at Home

Photo - Myles Dennis

Your Halifax Mooseheads have started the 2016-17 season with victories in each of their first 3 home games but it hasn't been easy on the fans and Friday night's game was another example of that. The Mooseheads were able to get out to a quick 2-0 lead less than 6 minutes into the game with goals by Arnaud Durandeau and Bradley Kennedy which forced Rimouski to pull their starting goalie. The tally by Kennedy was his first in a Herd jersey. Speaking of firsts, rookies Raphael Lavoie and Jared McIsaac picked up their first QMJHL point, both assisting on separate goals. Halifax kept the pressure on during the rest of the first period and skated to the dressing room with a 4-2 lead. But some unfortunate penalties gave Rimouski an edge that made that 2 goal lead non existent. The Oceanic scored two powerplay goals to tie the match up at 5 goals a piece. There was some nice plays and pretty good saves by Kevin Resop who started his fifth straight game. Cooper Jones scored a nice goal to give Halifax the lead for good but the team couldn't convert on 3 chances at the empty net in the last minute and 30 seconds to extend the lead.

FINAL: Oceanic 5 at Mooseheads 6
Stars: 3. Jared McIsaac HAL | 2. Maxime Fortier HAL | 1. Otto Somppi HAL
Attendance: 5,552
MC's Top Herd: Maxime Fortier

GAME LOG
First period
0:18 HAL Arnaud Durandeau (3) | A: Dachyshyn & Flower
5:50 HAL Bradley Kennedy (1) | A: none
9:48 RIM Alex-Olivier Voyer (1) | A: Pare & D'Astous
10:01 HAL Otto Somppi (2) | A: Fortier & Charlebois
17:28 HAL Ben Higgins (1) | A: Lavoie
18:36 RIM Simon Bourque (1) | A: Montcalm & Boland

Second period
6:23 RIM Tyler Boland (6) | A: Mikhnin & Picco
9:39 HAL Maxime Fortier (5), PP | A: Kennedy & Somppi
11:49 RIM Daniel Hardie (2), PP | A: Leberge
16:09 RIM Tyler Boland (7), PP | A: Montcalm

Third period
11:09 HAL Cooper Jones (2) | A: McIsaac & Groulx

Powerplay: RIM - 3-for-7, HAL - 1-for-3
Shots: 26-22 in favour of Rimouski

MISSING IN ACTION - Joel Bishop, Brett Crossley, Jocktan Chainey

SCORES
Charlottetown 3 at Cape Breton 5
Gatineau 2 at Moncton 3
Saint John 4 at Quebec 2
Victoriaville 6 at Baie-Comeau 5 OT
Chicoutimi 1 at Rouyn-Noranda 3
Acadie-Bathurst 4 at Shawinigan 5 SO
Sherbrooke 0 at Blainville-Boisbriand 3

UP NEXT: Halifax will have a rematch against the Charlottetown Islanders on Saturday night. Puck drops at 7pm.

Featured image: Myles Dennis