Herd Cruise Past Huskies

For the 9th time this season, Moose Country heard 'All I do is win' blaring on the PA system at the Scotiabank Centre as your Halifax Mooseheads cruised past the Rouyn-Noranda Huskies Friday evening.

Halifax started off really strong, something they seem to have been lacking the last few games, picking up a 2-0 lead after the first period. Captain Maxime Fortier scored a power play goal 5 and a half minutes into the frame and than recorded a helper on Benoit-Olivier Groulx's goal that made it 2-0. Starting goaltender Blade Mann-Dixon didn't have much to do in the first period (Halifax outshot Rouyn 11-6) but when he did face shots, the 20 year old came up big including a couple of times with Huskies players on top of him. In the second, Filip Zadina and Raphael Lavoie scored to give the home team a 4-0 lead before Rouyn-Noranda could really even get going. Defenceman Chris McQuaid picked up his first two goals of the season tonight, including one I am sure Mann-Dixon would like to have back that took away the shutout for Blade. The Huskies put on the pressure quite a few times in the final period, which saw the away team bring in rookie goalie William Lagrange for the rest of the game, but Rouyn could only get past the Blade Mann once during the frame.

FINAL: Huskies 2 at Mooseheads 6Stars: 3. Chris McQuaid ROU | 2. Filip Zadina HAL | 1. Raphael Lavoie HALAttendance: 6,242MC's Top Herd: Raphael Lavoie

GAME LOG
First period
5:27 HAL Maxime Fortier (17), PP | A: None
13:35 HAL Benoit-Olivier Groulx (15) | A: Moynihan & Fortier

Second period
2:03 HAL Filip Zadina (20) | A: Somppi & Chainey
7:33 HAL Raphael Lavoie (8) | A: Zadina & Somppi
13:05 ROU Chris McQuaid (1) | A: Boucher & Marleau
16:17 HAL Raphael Lavoie (9), PP | A: Mann-Dixon

Third period
4:57 ROU Chris McQuaid (2) | A: Cyr & Despres
14:29 HAL Filip Zadina (21) | A: Lavoie

Shots: 33-29 in favour of Halifax
Powerplay: ROU - 0-for-4; HAL - 2-for-6

NOT DRESSED - Kyle Petten, Ryan Barbosa and Cooper Jones were all healthy scratches

SCORES
Val-d'Or 1 at Acadie-Bathurst 5
Cape Breton 4 at Moncton 3
Charlottetown 1 at Blainville-Boisbraind 6
Baie-Comeau 0 at Chicoutimi 4
Rimouski 5 at Drummondville 2
Saint John 1 at Gatineau 2

UP NEXT: The Mooseheads will welcome the Val-d'Or Foreurs to the Scotiabank Centre tomorrow night. Puck drops at 7pm.

Former Herd Named a Star for November

Some congratulations are in order for a former Halifax Mooseheads forward today after the NHL announced it's three stars for the month of November. Herd alumni Nathan MacKinnon was named the first star of the month! In November, MacKinnon had 20 points, which broke down to 5 goals and 15 assists in 12 games played. Nathan's month was highlighted by a 5 point game on November 16, which if I remember correctly is the most points recorded in one match by a Colorado Avalanche player. Kid Mack was also a +11 during the month.






The 22 year old's 28 points this season leads the Avalanche. Since he was drafted 1st overall in 2013, he has played 323 regular season games scoring 83 goals and 151 assists for a total of 234 points.


Congrats Nathan! Keep up the good work.

STATS SUNDAY: November

Games played: 11
Record: 5-4-2-0, 12pts
Goals for/against: 42/41
Powerplay*: 18.5%
Penalty kill*: 82.6%
Shutouts: none

Top 5 leading scorers
Points: Filip Zadina 14, Otto Somppi 14, Maxime Fortier 13, Benoit-Olivier Groulx 9, Jocktan Chainey 9
Goals: Filip Zadina 7, Maxime Fortier 5, Benoit-Olivier Groulx 6, Otto Somppi 6, Arnaud Durandeau 4
Assists:  Maxime Fortier 8,  Otto Somppi 8,  Jocktan Chainey 8, Jared McIsaac 8, Filip Zadina 7
Penalty minutes: Connor Moynihan 24, Jordan Lepage 17, Maxime Fortier 15, Benoit-Olivier Groulx 14, Jocktan Chainey 14
Plus/minus: Jocktan Chainey +5, Jordan Lepage +5, Otto Somppi +4, Connor Moynihan +4, Xavier Parent +4
Rookie scoring: Filip Zadina 14pts, Xavier Parent 4pts, Justin Barron 1pt, Ryan Barbossa 1pt, Patrick Kyte 1pt

Goaltending stats*
Blade Mann-Dixon: 11-2-2-0    2.69 GAA     0.910 SAV%
Alexis Gravel: 4-6-2-0    3.48 GAA     0.888 SAV%



*overall

GAMEDAY #25: at Charlottetown

GAMEDAY
CHARLOTTETOWN ISLANDERS VS HALIFAX MOOSEHEADS
Puck drops at 7pm
TV: Eastlink | Radio: News 95.7 | Live: @HFXMooseheads
Eastlink Centre (3,717) ~ Charlottetown, PE

Your Halifax Mooseheads open up a big 3 in 3 weekend against the Maritimes division. After going 3-2 in the five-game homestand, the Moose will look to continue their strong play as of late. This weekend will be a big task for the Moose as they look to stay in first place in the division. With each team heating up in their own ways the Moose need to look to stay out of the box and play in their structure. This should be a good matchup between the two teams with Charlottetown starting near the bottom of the standings but have heated up as of late to be in the middle of the pack. After the last two matchups that we have seen at the Scotiabank Centre this will be a good matchup between these two teams. Charlottetown will be without one of their top defencemen Hunter Drew as he got an automatic one-game suspension after an altercation in their game against the Sea Dogs. Your Mooseheads will look to their top forwards and the solid goaltending they have gotten all season as they take on the Islanders tonight.

This is the fourth meeting between the two teams this season. Halifax is 3-0-0-0 against the Islanders while Charlottetown has a 0-3-0-0 record versus the Mooseheads. The last matchup was on October 29 where the home team picked up a 6-2 victory in Halifax. Justin Barron had a goal and an assist to lead the Herd and Blade Mann-Dixon made 27 saves to claim the victory.

OVERALL RECORDS
Islanders: 13-8-1-0 = 27 points (4th in Maritimes division, 9th overall)
Mooseheads: 14-7-3-0 = 31 points (1st in Maritimes division, 3rd overall)

LEADING SCORERS
HAL: Filip Zadina 35pts (18G & 17A), Maxime Fortier 31pts (14G & 17A), Otto Somppi 21pts (7G & 14A)
CHA: Saku Vesterinen 19pts (3G & 16A), Keith Getson 18pts (9G & 9A), Pierre-Olivier Joseph 18pts (2G & 16A)

PREVIOUS GAMES
Charlottetown is coming off a 6-2 victory over the Saint John Sea Dogs on Sunday afternoon. Keith Getson led the way with a goal and two assists, Matt Welsh made 33 saves in the win.

Halifax is coming off a huge 6-5 victory against the Moncton Wildcats on Tuesday night. Arnaud Durandeau lead the way for the Herd with a goal and two assists, Blade Mann-Dixon made 33 saves in the win.

ALUM ON ISLANDERS
None

MISSING IN ACTION – Barrett Dachsyshn, Ryan Barbossa, Cooper Jones

HEAD-TO-HEAD
September 23  Halifax 3 at Charlottetown 2
October 1  Charlottetown 0 at Halifax 3
October 29  Charlottetown 2 at Halifax 6
November 24  Halifax at Charlottetown – 7pm
December 28  Charlottetown at Halifax – 7pm
January 11  Charlottetown at Halifax – 7pm
January 12  Halifax at Charlottetown – 7pm
February 6  Halifax at Charlottetown – 7pm
February 21  Halifax at Charlottetown – 7pm

OUT OF TOWN
Screaming Eagles at Titan   7:00pm
Voltigeurs at Tigres    8:00pm
Drakkar at Armada    8:30pm
Sagueneens at Oceanic    8:30pm
Foreur at Cataracts    8:30pm

AFTER THE BUZZER
Halifax will travel to Saint John to continue their three in three as they take on the Sea Dogs on Saturday evening. Puck Drops at 7pm.

Around the CHL ~ volume #2 season edition #8

We're at the third way point of the season and their are some players who are leading more than one category. Your Halifax Mooseheads are on top of their division, tied for the lead with 31 points. GO Moose GO!

League leaders
Goals – Tyler Steenbergen 31 goals (WHL Swift Current Broncos), Aaron Luchuk 21 goals (OHL Windsor Spitfires), Filip Zadina 18 goals (QMJHL Halifax Mooseheads)
Assists – Aleksi Heponiemi 41 assists (WHL Swift Current Broncos), Jordan Kyrou 30 assists (OHL Sarnia Sting), Nicholas Welsh 22 assists (QMJHL Moncton Wildcats)
Points – Aleksi Heponiemi 57 points (WHL Swift Current Broncos), Jordan Kyrou 48 points (OHL Sarnia Sting), Drake Batherson 37 points (QMJHL Cape Breton Screaming Eagles)
Defenceman points – Kale Clague 33 points (WHL Brandon Wheat Kings), Sean Durzi 32 points (OHL Owen Sound Attack), Olivier Galipeau 25 points (QMJHL Chicoutimi Sagueneens)
Rookie points – Filip Zadina 35 points (QMJHL Halifax Mooseheads ), Milos Roman 22 points (WHL Vancouver Giants), Cam Hillis 18 points (OHL Guelph Storm)
Goalie wins – Justin Fazio 15 wins (OHL Sarnia Sting), Cole Kehler 15 wins (WHL Portland Winterhawks), Samuel Harvey 13 wins (QMJHL Rouyn-Noranda Huskies)
Save percentage – Carter Hart 0.952 SAV% (WHL Everett Silvertips), Justin Fazio 0.928 SAV% (OHL Sarnia Sting), Samuel Harvey 0.927 SAV% (QMJHL Rouyn-Noranda Huskies)
Goals against average – Carter Hart 1.65 GAA (WHL Everett Silvertips), Tristan Berube 2.17 GAA (QMJHL Gatineau Olympiques), Matthew Villalta 2.41 GAA (OHL Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds)

Division leaders
WHL – Moose Jaw Warriors 38 points/19 wins (East division), Portland Winterhawks 34 points/17 wins (U.S. division), Victoria Royals 33 points/16 wins (B.C. division), Medicine Hat Tigers 30 points/15 wins (Central division)
OHL – Sarnia Sting 39 points/19 wins (West division), Kitchener Rangers 32 points/15 wins (Midwest division), Hamilton Bulldogs 29 points/12 wins (East division), Barrie Colts 28 points/13wins (Central division)
QMJHL – Blainville-Boisbriand Armada 34 points/16 wins (TELUS West division), Quebec Remparts 33 points/16 wins (TELUS East division), Halifax Mooseheads 31 points/14 wins (Maritimes division)

BMO CHL top ten ~ week 10
1. Sarnia Sting {18-4-1-0} week 9: #1
2. Moose Jaw Warriors {19-5-0-0} week 9: #2
3. Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds {17-3-2-0} week 9: #4
4. Portland Winterhawk {16-4-0-0} week 9: #5
5. Blainville-Boisbriand Armada {15-4-2-0} week 9: #3
6. Swift Current Broncos {15-5-1-0} week 9: #6
7. Kitchener Rangers (15-6-2-0} week 9: n/a
8. Quebec Remparts {16-7-1-0} week 9: #8
9. Rouyn-Noranda Huskies {14-5-3-2} week 9: n/a
10. Brandon Wheat Kings {14-6-0-1} week 9: n/a
Honourable mentions: Barrie Colts {13-6-1-1}, Medicine Hat Tigers {14-7-0-0}, Drummondville Voltigeurs

First Place in Division

Photo - Myles Dennis

At least for a couple of days. In a game that would determine who would sit atop the Maritimes division until Thursday evening, Halifax came out on top with a gritty 6-5 victory over the Moncton Wildcats. Both teams went into tonight's match with 29 points, which also is how many the Acadie-Bathurst Titan have too. With the win, the Mooseheads now have 31 points and sit alone as first in the division, while the Wildcats and Titan will play against each other on Thursday. Now on to the game. These two teams don't like each other and you could tell it was going to be a rough one when Jordan Lepage and Brady Pataki dropped the gloves just 20 seconds into the 1st period. Moncton received a penalty shortly after giving Halifax a man advantage which Otto Somppi capitalized on, sending the Moose Country faithful cheering. After 20 minutes the game was tied as Jeremy McKenna scored his 14th of the year. The Wildcats had their first power play of the game in the middle frame and scored to tie the game at 2 goals a piece. Through the first 21 games of the season, Halifax had one of the best penalty kill percentage in the league however in the last three matches the team has gone 8-for-16. Before the second period ended, the Mooseheads put two more in to lead 4-2 after 40 minutes. During the third period goaltender Blade Mann-Dixon held his team in the game as Moncton poured it on trying to get the victory, stopping 18 of 21 shots.

FINAL: Wildcats 5 at Mooseheads 6
Stars: 3. Maxime Fortier HAL | 2. Jeremy McKenna MON | 1. Arnaud Durandeau HAL
Attendance: 5,060
MC's Top Herd: Arnaud Durandeau

GAME LOG
First period
2:48 HAL Otto Somppi (7), PP | A: Chainey & Parent
18:32 MON Jeremy McKenna (14) | A: Pelletier & Arsenault

Second period
6:12 HAL Arnaud Durandeau (6) | A: Bishop & Mann-DIxon
9:57 MON Mike Cyr (15), PP | A: Pelletier & Welsh
11:06 HAL Filip Zadina (18), PP | A: Fortier & McIsaac
15:39 HAL Benoit-Olivier Groulx (13) | A: Fortier & Moynihan

Third period
0:55 MON Jacob Hudson (4), SH | A: None
2:46 HAL Xavier Parent (5) | A: Durandeau & Chainey
4:45 MON Jonathan Aspirot (5), PP | A: McKenna
4:51 HAL Joel Bishop (4) | A: Durandeau
13:58 MON Julien Tessier (6), PP | A: None

Powerplay: MON - 3-for-5, HAL - 2-for-5
Shots: 38-24 in favour of Moncton

NOT DRESSED - Cooper Jones, Ryan Barbosa & Barrett Dachyshyn were healthy scratches

SCORES
Victoriaville 2 at Rouyn-Noranda 3 SO

UP NEXT - Halifax will now go on the road for a Maritime division 3 games in 3 nights trip starting with a match against the Charlottetown Islanders on Friday. Puck drops at 7pm.

GAMEDAY #22: vs. Saint John

GAMEDAY
HALIFAX MOOSEHEADS VS SAINT JOHN SEA DOGS

Puck drops at 7pm

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

Scotiabank Centre (10,595) ~ Halifax, NS

On Saturday we remembered those who have fought for our country's freedom, tonight we say thank you to those who are currently defending it. The Halifax Mooseheads host their annual DND Appreciation Night game this evening with the Saint John Sea Dogs visiting. It's a battle of two teams going basically in different directions. Halifax is near the top of the standings and are looking to start a winning streak once again but are 6-3-1 in their last 10 games. Saint John meanwhile are in last place in the league and have found themselves on the losing end of quite a few one goal games, however they do have points in 5 of their last 10 games. The two groups are led by import rookies in Filip Zadina (Mooseheads) and Ostap Safin (Sea Dogs) who have 30 and 23 points respectively, Should be a good game between these division rivals and I am sure their will be plenty of NHL scouts in attendance with 6 draft eligible young men playing in tonight's matchup. The Herd will have a few healthy scratches for this evening since Justin Barron, Xavier Parent, Jared McIsaac, Arnaud Durandeau, Benoit-Olivier Groulx and Jocktan Chainey have returned from the U17 Challenge and Canada-Russia Series. Come out and support the province's military and Camp Hill Veterans Hospital as your Mooseheads take on the Sea Dogs at Scotiabank Centre. Go Moose Go!

This is the second game between these two teams this season. Halifax is 1-0-0-0 against the Sea Dogs while Saint John has a 0-1-0-0 record versus the Mooseheads. The last matchup was in the season opener where Saint John raised it's championship banner however Halifax took a 4-1 victory with Maxime Fortier recording two goals and an assist to lead the Herd.

OVERALL RECORDS
Sea Dogs: 4-12-4-2 = 14 points (6th in Maritimes division, 18th overall)
Mooseheads: 12-6-3-0 = 27 points (2nd in Maritimes division, 6th overall)

LEADING SCORERS
HAL: Filip Zadina 30pts (16G & 14A), Maxime Fortier 28pts (13G & 15A), Otto Somppi 18pts (6G & 12A)
SNB: Ostap Safin 23pts (7G & 16A), Joe Veleno 21pts (4G & 17A), Daniel Hardie 19pts (7G & 12A)

PREVIOUS GAMES
Saint John is coming off a 4-3 defeat at the hands of the Drakkar a week ago on home ice. Daniel Hardie led the Sea Dogs with a goal and an assist while Alex D'Orio made 29 saves to take the overtime loss against Baie-Comeau.

Halifax is coming off a big 3-2 overtime victory on Remembrance Day at home against Sherbrooke. Raphael Lavoie scored the game winner while Jared McIsaac led the team with 2 assists to help the Mooseheads get the win for Blade Mann-Dixon who saved 21 shots.

ALUM ON SEA DOGS
None

HEAD-TO-HEAD
September 21  Halifax 4 at Saint John 1
November 17  Saint John at Halifax – 7pm
November 25  Halifax at Saint John – 7pm
January 6  Halifax at Saint John – 7pm
January 27  Saint John at Halifax – 7pm
January 28  Saint John at Halifax – 3pm
February 9  Halifax at Saint John – 7pm
March 14  Saint John at Halifax – 7pm

OUT OF TOWN
Remparts vs. Cataractes   8:00pm
Phoenix vs. Olympiques   8:00pm
Drakkar vs. Tigres   8:30pm
Voltigeurs vs. Armada   8:30pm
Huskies vs. Sagueneens   8:30pm

AFTER THE BUZZER
Halifax will welcome the Cape Breton Screaming Eagles tomorrow night for another round of the Battle of Nova Scotia. Puck drops at 2pm.