DND Night Results in Defeat

On a night when the Halifax Mooseheads appreciated the Department of National Defense, the team on the ice couldn't get a win for the over 7,600 fans in attendance. The Herd were going up against rival Baie-Comeau Drakkar on Friday evening and despite outshooting the Drakkar all game, it just wasn't a good night for the Halifax goaltenders. With veteran goalie Blade Mann-Dixon still not feeling 100% after being sick the last few days, rookie Alexis Gravel started his second game in a row. Unfortunately for the Moose, Gravel had an off night and allowed three goals on 4 shots as Baie-Comeau led 4-2 after 20 minutes. One of the stories coming into the game was the battle of the Fortier brothers and while Max had the upper hand in points, little bro Gabriel received the team victory. Max ended the evening with 2 goals, the second of which was an odd bounce. Swiss star Nico Hischier kept his strong play going with a goal and two assists but he was unable to help his team pick up a W. After the Drakkar made it 3-1 less than 7 minutes into the game, coach Andre Tourigny decided to pull the rookie and put in Mann-Dixon.

FINAL: Drakkar 7 at Mooseheads 4
Stars: 3. Nico Hischier HAL | 2. Xavier Bouchard BAC | 1. Jordan Martel BAC
Attendance: 7,680
MC's Top Herd: Nico Hischier

GAME LOG
First period
1:39 BAC Simon Chevrier (12) | A: Thibault & Deslauriers
3:38 HAL Maxime Fortier (25) | A: Hischier & Charlebois
5:04 BAC D'Artagnan Joly (13) | A: Corson & Chekhovich
6:48 BAC Jean-Simon Belanger (2) | A: Bouchard & St-Laurent
8:12 HAL Nico Hischier (33) | A: Lepage
10:37 BAC Jordan Martel (14), PP | A: Chekhovich & Bouchard

Second period
6:37 BAC Jordan Martel (15) | A: Bouchard & Deslauriers
6:56 HAL Jake Coughler (24) | A: Somppi & Mann-Dixon

Third period
6:01 BAC Christopher Benoit (4) | A: Girard
6:47 BAC Ivan Chekhovich (17) | A: Corson & Aucoin
17:46 HAL Maxime Fortier (26) | A: Hischier & Durandeau

Powerplay: BAC - 1-for-4, HAL - 0-for-7
Shots: 40-31 in favour of the Mooseheads

MISSING IN ACTION: Caleb Rich, Brett Crossley and Barrett Dachyshyn

SCORES
Chicoutimi 0 at Saint John 1
Rouyn-Noradna 5 at Shebrooke 4
Drummondville 1 at Victoriaville 7
Shawinigan 5 at Blainville-Boisbriand 4
Charlottetown 5 at Gatineau 4 OT
Val-d'Or 4 at Rimouski 3

UP NEXT: Halifax will go on a road trip through Quebec starting with a visit to Drummondville for a match against the Voltigeurs on Friday night. Puck drops at 8:30pm.

Hischier Leads Herd on CSS List

The Central Scouting Services revealed it's mid-term rankings for the upcoming NHL draft today.

Brandon Wheat Kings centre Nolan Patrick is still ranked number 1 among North American skaters despite missing the first half of the season with an injury. Patrick has played the last 2 seasons in the WHL though so the scouts have seen him quite a bit.

Photo - NHL.com

Halifax Mooseheads fans will have a vested interest in who was ranked number two on the CSS list. Rookie Nico Hischier has climbed to the 2nd spot with his strong performance so far this season, scoring 31 goals and 63 points in 37 games played. He also played really well in the World Junior Championships after Christmas recording 7 points (4 goals & 3 assists) helping Team Switzerland to a 7th place finish. Hischier and Patrick will be going head to head for the rest of the season for that top spot now that Nolan has returned from his injury. Their first meeting against each other will be January 30 in Quebec City for the Top Prospects game with both players acting as captains of their respective team. Nico is the highest ranked Mooseheads player since Nathan MacKinnon in 2013.

There is also a few other Mooseheads on the list. Sophomore defensemen Jocktan Chainey and Walter Flower are ranked at #95 and #126 respectively while team leading scorer Maxime Fortier is 136th on the rankings. Rounding out the Herd players on the list is rookie Mathieu Charlebois at #214.

Congratulations to all the players and hopefully we'll hear these guys go in the 2017 NHL draft. Especially Max who I believe is in his 3rd entry draft.

CHL Names Top Prospects Game Captains

Nico Hischier is having a good season and it just got a little greater.

Photo - CHL.ca

The Canadian Hockey League announced the captains and alternate captains for the 2017 Sherwin-Williams CHL/NHL Top Prospects game on Tuesday afternoon and the lone Halifax Moosehead player that will be participating in this year's match was among the players given the honour. Hischier was named the captain of Team Orr for the game. The 18 year old joins Nolan Patrick of the Brandon Wheat Kings who will captain Team Cherry. Assisting Nico on Team Orr are the Mississauga Steelheads Nicolas Hauge and Michael Rasmussen of the Tri-City Americans.

Congratulations to Nico on being named captain of on of the teams. Moose Country will be cheering you on during the game. The Naters, Switzerland native had this to say; "It feels really good (to be named captain) because it’s an honour for me and I’m really excited about it,” said Hischier. “It’s a good experience and a chance to meet new friends so it should be fun.”

You can watch the Top Prospects game on Sportsnet on January 30. The match pits the top 40 NHL draft eligible players that are playing in the CHL. This year's version will be hosted by the city of Quebec and the Quebec Remparts.

Herd Get 1st Shootout Win

Photo - Christian Laforce (Local Xpress)

Five out of six. That is an excellent way to start the new year! In a game that saw a couple of players going against their old team and the return of former coaches, the Halifax Mooseheads defeated the Drummondville Voltigeurs in a shootout. Dominique Ducharme, who coached the Moose for the last 5 seasons and won a Memorial Cup with the team, was back in Moose Country on Friday night but he couldn't coach his new team to a victory. On the bench was his assistant coach in Halifax for a few of those seasons; Steve Hartley. For the Herd it was their first shootout victory of the season and it has given the team 5 wins in their last six games to begin 2017. The new recruits have been very good so far but tonight it was a couple of rookies who helped get the win. After a uneventful first period, Drummondville got out to a 1-0 lead over 7 minutes into the middle frame. Halifax had a few powerplays in the second half of the period but despite some pressure could not get a puck past Olivier Rodrigue. Not until that is the 3:27 minute mark of the third period where Max Fotier scored in tight to tie the game. Rodrique and Alexis Gravel kept it a tight game especially in the final minutes. In overtime, the home team took a penalty but Gravel was their to stop all 10 shots he faced in the extra 5 minutes as Drummondville outshot Halifax 10-2. Rookie defenseman Jared McIsaac scored the lone goal in the shootout to propel the Mooseheads.

FINAL: Voltigeurs 1 at Mooseheads 2 SO
Stars: 3. Jared McIsaac HAL | 2. Olivier Rodrigue DRU | 1. Alexis Gravel HAL
Attendance: 6,777
MC's Top Herd: Alexis Gravel

GAME LOG
First period
None

Second period
7:33 DRU Nicolas Beaudin (2) | A: none

Third period
3:27 HAL Maxime Fortier (24) | A: Lepage & Somppi

Overtime
None

Shootout
Round 1 – HAL Maxime Fortier (Save)     DRU Pavel Koltygin (Save)
Round 2 – HAL Jared McIsaac (Save)     DRU Nicolas Guay (Save)
Round 3 – HAL Nico Hischier (Save)     DRU Nicolas Beaudin (Save)

Powerplay: DRU - 0-for-5, HAL - 0-for-4
Shots: 38-32 in favour of Drummondville

MISSING IN ACTION: Mathieu Charlebois, Caleb Rich, Barrett Dachyshyn

SCORES
Victoriaville 1 at Acadie-Bathurst 5
Saint John 4 at Cape Breton 1
Moncton 3 at Charlottetown 8
Blainville-Boisbriand 3 at Chicoutimi 1
Rimouski 3 at Gatineau 6
Sherbrooke 3 at Rouyn-Noranda 6

UP NEXT: Halifax will welcome the Victoriaville Tigres for some Sunday afternoon hockey. Puck drops at 3pm.

GAMEDAY #41: vs. Charlottetown

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

Halifax will welcome another division rival to the Scotiabank Centre tonight when they take on the Charlottetown Islanders for a mid-week matchup. The Mooseheads will be looking to start another win streak after losing to the Saint John Sea Dogs on Sunday afternoon which halted a 3 game win streak. They will be in tough again as Charlottetown comes in as the 5th place team in the QMJHL. Charlottetown is also going to look very different to Moose Country as the Islanders have revamped their roster with 9 newly acquired players through trades and the recently returned Daniel Sprong. Halifax meanwhile will get a big boost with the return of forward Connor Moynihan who has been out for the last month. The Islanders clearly want to make a run for the President's Cup with so many big name trades during the winter trade period and now have 7 NHL prospects on their team.

This is the fifth meeting between these two teams this season. Charlottetown is 2-2-0-0 against the Mooseheads while Halifax has a 2-2-0-0 record versus the Islanders. The last matchup was December 28 on the island where Maxime Fortier scored the lone goal in a 2-1 defeat and Blade Mann-Dixon made his debut for the Moose with a 40 save performance.

OVERALL RECORDS
Islanders: 24-13-2-0 = 50 points (2nd in Maritimes division, 5th overall)
Mooseheads: 18-19-1-2 = 39 points (5th in Maritimes division, 12th overall)

LEADING SCORERS
HAL: Maxime Fortier 63pts (22G & 41A), Nico Hischier 54pts (26G & 28A), Jake Coughler 32pts (20G & 12A)
CHA: Francois Beauchemin 57pts (28G & 29A), Carl Neill 46pts (10G & 36A), Filip Chlapik 45pts (20G & 25A)

PREVIOUS GAMES
Charlottetown is coming off a 4-3 overtime home defeat at the hands of the Screaming Eagles on Saturday. Adam Marsh led the Islanders with 2 goals while Matthew Welsh made 37 saves on 41 Cape Breton shots to take the loss.

As mentioned above, Halifax is coming off a 2-1 loss to the Sea Dogs on Sunday afternoon. Max Foriter scored the only goal for the Mooseheads while rookie Alexis Gravel made 32 saves to take the defeat in Saint John.

ALUM ON ISLANDERS - Jean-Sebastien Taillefer

HEAD-TO-HEAD
October 2  Halifax 2 at Charlottetown 9
October 8  Charlottetown 2 at Halifax 5
November 12  Charlottetown 4 at Halifax 7
December 28  Halifax 1 at Charlottetown 2
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 TOWNScreaming Eagles vs. Voltigeurs    7:00pm
Wildcats vs. Titan    7:00pm
Olympiques vs. Phoenix    8:30pm

AFTER THE BUZZER
The Mooseheads will stay in Halifax and welcome the Drummondville Voltigeurs on Friday evening with the return of former coach Dom Ducharme. Puck drops at 7pm.

Alumni Named to NHL All-Star Rosters

A couple of former Halifax Mooseheads have been named to NHL all star team rosters today. For full rosters click here.

Star centre Nathan MacKinnon will be apart of the Central Division team which is captained by PK Subban. MacKinnon, in his fourth season with the Colorado Avalanche, has 10 goals and 27 points in 39 games played this season. This is the first time that Kid MacK has been named to an all star game. Nathan leads a last place Colorado team in scoring. The 21 year old played for the Mooseheads between 2011 and 2013, winning a Memorial Cup in his second and last season with the team.

During the 2008-09 season, Brad Marchand was apart of the Herd. The 28 year old alum will also play in the 2017 all star game. Marchand is in his eighth year as a Boston Bruin, scoring 13 goals and recording 35 points in 43 games. As the scoring leader of his team it's no surprise that the Halifax, NS native was put on the Atlantic Division roster which is captained Carey Price.

Congratulations to both men on being named all stars for this year. Good luck during the game!! You can check out the 2017 NHL All Star game on January 27 and it will be held in Los Angeles, California.

Aube Named to 3 Stars

The QMJHL announced the 3 stars of the week today. Newly acquired Mooseheads defenseman Frederic Aube has been named the third star for the week ending January 8, 2017. The 20 year old had 2 assists in his last game with the Drummondville Voltigeurs on Tuesday. Aube showed the Herd faithful that the brass made the right decision in acquiring him, scoring 2 goals and recording 4 points on Friday night helping Halifax secure a 6-2 victory over the Moncton Wildcats. He added another assist on Saturday evening in another win by a score of 4-1 against Saint John.

First star honours went to goaltender Francis Leclerc of the Boisbraind Armada who had back to back shutouts while Voltigeurs' forward Mathieu Sevigny, who recorded 8 points in 3 games, was named second star.

Congratulations to Frederic on being named a star of the week. Keep up the strong play the rest of the season.