The Q Files by Matthew Wuest

Fri, 30 May 2008 17:05:57 -0400

Click here to go to the new Q Files blog!

Bourdon killed in motorcycle crash: Report

Thu, 29 May 2008 15:23:40 -0400

TSN.ca is reporting that former Cape Breton Screaming Eagles defenceman Luc Bourdon has been killed.

Here's some of the report.

Vancouver Canucks defenceman Luc Bourdon has been killed in a motorcycle accident in northern New Brunswick. He was 21.

Bourdon, a promising young defenceman who played his junior hockey with the Moncton Wildcats, Cape Breton Screaming Eagles and Val d'Or Foreurs of the QMJHL, split his first pro season in 2007-08 between Vancouver and the American Hockey League's Manitoba Moose.

Defenceman Bourdon killed in motorcycle crash »

Mooseheads' schedule announced

Wed, 28 May 2008 17:56:12 -0400

The Halifax Mooseheads open the 2008-09 season on Sept. 12 on the road against the Cape Breton Screaming Eagles. Their home opener will be Sept. 19 against the Val-d'Or Foreurs.

The full 68-game schedule was announced yesterday, and features eight games against each of Halifax's Atlantic Division opponents: Cape Breton, P.E.I., Moncton, Bathurst and Saint John.

Full schedule »

Mooseheads invite Lodge for tryout

Mon, 26 May 2008 15:00:16 -0400

Here's a story out of a Newfoundland paper.

Zack came to the attention of Allie MacDonald, the chief scout for the Mooseheads, it is understood, as a result of Zack's play with 'AAA' Major Junior Ice Pak for four games this past winter. One of the coaches who was attached to the Mooseheads had passed Zack's name along for consideration. Zack was also one of seven members from the Twillingate Combines who were invited to play with the Central Selects at the Atlantic AAA Midget Championships in Moncton in late March that may well have been witnessed by various scouting representatives.

The telephone call, reported his dad Roy Lodge, came while Zack was involved in another activity away from the home.

"I could hardly believe my ears," said Mr. Lodge, "and Zack was more than surprised."

Full story »

Swan closes in on contract

Wed, 21 May 2008 20:19:25 -0400

Halifax Mooseheads forward Bryce Swan said Wednesday contract talks with the Anaheim Ducks "are progressing quite nicely."

Swan, a second-round pick (37th overall) of the Ducks in 2006, would re-enter this year's NHL draft if he isn't signed by June 1.

The Alder Point native had 25 goals among 49 points in 67 games, but saved his best effort for the playoffs, where he recorded a team-best 11 goals among 16 points in just 13 games.

Vincent leaves Nest: Report

Tue, 20 May 2008 17:23:19 -0400

Pascal Vincent is stepping down as head coach and general manager of the Cape Breton Screaming Eagles and will take over the same responsibilities with the new Verdun Junior, RDS.ca is reporting.

The report states that Vincent, who had been with the Screaming Eagles since 1999, has signed a three-year contract. An official announcement is expected on Wednesday morning at a press conference.

Vincent was named Quebec Major Junior Hockey League coach of the year this season and is a former general-manager-of-the-year award winner.

MacMillan heads to AHL

The Q Files by Matthew Wuest — Fri, 16 May 2008 13:21:16 -0400

Halifax Mooseheads forward Logan MacMillan has joined the American Hockey League's Portland Pirates on an amateur tryout contract. He will be available to the Anaheim Ducks' top minor-league affiliate for the AHL semifinals against the Wilkes-Barre Scranton Penguins.

MacMillan, a forward who had 41 points in 46 games last season, is expected to play in Halifax next season.

Patenaude's season-ending Mooseheads comments

Matthew Wuest/Metro Halifax — Thu, 01 May 2008 02:32:38 -0400

The following is a look at the highlights of Marcel Patenaude’s press conference on Wednesday, when the Halifax Mooseheads general manager took some time to discuss the 2007-08 season that ended in disappointment last week.

The Mooseheads were eliminated in four straight by the Gatineau Olympiques in the QMJHL semifinals.

Owner Bobby Smith did not attend because he had returned to his home in Phoenix and had laryngitis. Head coach Cam Russell was not present due to a family emergency.

Patenaude's comments are in italics.

**** “We’re all disappointed and very frustrated at the end of the season. Sometimes we forget the good things we’ve done during the season and we focus only on the bad things. Bobby and I and Cam were definitely very disappointed and frustrated at the end of the season. There are things that we have to address and topics we’ll have to make sure for the future of the franchise that we take care.”

**** “I’ll start with the Gatineau series. Obviously it was very disappointing. I think a lot of people take only that for granted, that that’s our season, that series. There were a lot of good things that happened. Obviously, that was a bad thing. We were very disappointed. The Gatineau series started with great things, with some hype about us winning against Cape Breton (in the quarter-finals). The Cape Breton staff and hockey people from Cape Breton were surprised in our commitment, our grit and everything with our hockey club. That’s something people say we’re lacking, but against Cape Breton we showed part of our colours. A lot of people were proud of the way we played. We talked, I talked to the coaching staff, Bobby, me, everyone thought we were on the right track.

“But after that, our preparation, a few things became obvious in that series against Gatineau. The hype, I think of playing that well, caused some players to be a bit comfortable, and people were misled for the second time in three years by Gatineau. They were using the card of being the underdog and they used it pretty well. They put pressure on Mark Yetman to perform, and following the comments I had from players, that’s why we waited so long (to hold a press conference like this), because a lot of them, the message they sent was, they were very comfortable. They felt Gatineau, there’s only one line, only (Paul) Byron and (Claude) Giroux, and they lost their two top D. I’m not saying it would be a piece of cake, but I feel a lot of players underestimated Gatineau. And I feel in part it’s our fault to address those things. But sometimes, we tell things to kids and they forget about it. The players are kids, and they are able and capable of finding their own answers, finding out their own things. That was part of it. Their feeling was that it would probably be very easy.

“After that, we lost two games here in Halifax. Maybe one of them, we would say, we should have won (Game 2), and (Game 1) it was either-or. After that, I think the players totally lost the urgency and the focus on winning the two next games in Gatineau. Some of them, their comments were toward that. Some of them could have been anxious to go back home or different things, and that’s what the players are saying could be the reason why (we lost the series).

“After that, the thing I want to clarify is, a lot of people are misled with my relationship with Cam. I brought Cam in as a coach two years ago. My relationship with Cam is very, very good. I don’t have any problem with Cam, Cam doesn’t have any problem with me, and we talked about it. Bobby was part of our discussion. There’s no problem. There are things that have to be adjusted in the relationship. Like Bob Gainey and Guy Carbonneau (in the NHL with the Montreal Canadiens), sometimes you have to discuss things, but for me and Cam, it was a bit surprising that (people think there is) an issue there. I don’t know where or why people would talk about that type of thing but there is no problem in the relationship between me and Cam.

**** “The other thing is the decision-making: How does it work in Moose Land? The thing that me and Cam always do is have meetings, and discuss lineup, players about the hockey club, trades, curfew or this or that. That’s something that I find in junior hockey we seem to forget that people have to discuss. Once a decision has been made, it has to be followed. Sometimes, Cam would decide something, and I would put my two cents in, but he’s right, or sometimes, I could make a decision, and I talk to Cam about it, and he says, yeah, that’s a good idea, and we work together. That’s the strength of our organization, where some people think it’s a disadvantage. For example, with Bobby in the decision making, we’re three very knowledgeable hockey people. Sometimes Bobby would have a great idea that he would transmit or tell Cam. I think the three of us work very well and we discussed about different topics that can make our hockey club better. That’s the way we always function. I would say today, Bob Gainey will be talking with Guy Carbonneau about what should happen, should (Carey) Price play, or whatever. That’s the way (it works). But once the game has started, the coach is behind the bench and they make decisions. We’ve discussed about different topics with the hockey club but I don’t think our decision-making troubles the players in my conversations with the players. There’s a decision-making, but the boss is Cam and Cam is the coach and that we go towards that. There’s no confusion for our players or bad things about our players who feel that in the decision-making there’s a problem.”

**** “The Marchand situation, that he was benched, that was Cam’s decision. Cam felt at that time it would be appropriate to scratch Brad. He felt at that time he felt it would be a boost for the team, he felt it was something we needed that if we win (Game 4), Game 5 with Brad back in the lineup would be something that would bring the team to another level. We talked about it and Cam decided that and obviously we have to back our coach in those situations and we feel that Cam in his decision that was the thing he wanted to do and we had to back him on that.”

**** “Our philosophy is one thing we’ve touched on the last few days. Sometimes, there are two elements. Sometimes, we don’t give enough credit to our players for working hard. Be it in practice, off-ice and the way they were committed, sometimes, OK, they’re talented players, some talented players aren’t intense, but the work ethic of our players, a lot of times, and I had to talk about that, is to be careful. To say we didn’t work well in the second period, maybe we didn’t work well, but the work ethic is something that has to be taught. I really feel to say talented players like Jakub Voracek or Brad Marchand or Andrew Bodnarchuk or Ryan Hillier aren’t hard-working guys, I find it’s an insult to those players. They commit themselves and they work hard. Maybe they don’t work well all the time, but I think we had a hard-working team and a team that players are giving it all out and sometimes the pressure or whatsoever was a factor in our process.”

**** “The topic of drafting versus recruiting. This organization, to a fault, maybe, we don’t draft a whole lot. When I say draft, we draft players that will be on our list, sometimes we recruit players, we get players who definitely want to play in Halifax and they focus on playing in Halifax. Some of them we encourage to come play with us and others had NCAA avenues and we were able to convince them. That’s one thing we’re not ready to settle on. It’s something we’re thinking hard about. There’s a big different between recruiting and scouting. Sometimes we hit a home run and sometimes after a draft we’re saying, ‘Ugh.’ If we haven’t got a commitment from that player to come to Halifax … There was somebody before we liked maybe better but we had a commitment and we didn’t expect that player to be there. Sometimes that happens. Internally we have to work on that and the factor of recruiting versus scouting. That’s something we have to address.

**** “The team-first mentality that a lot of people talk about. I know Cape Breton waves the flag on that. I’m not sure … They had all this success with teams, it’s when you recruit or scout players when they come to camp it’s up to the coaching staff to identify. Sometimes at 16, 17, the player’s got a team-first mentality. Maybe when he’s 18, 19, 20, maybe a few little things change in his way. It’s not only his coaching staff that creates that problem. Sometimes, the kids change.”

**** “Daniel Smith won’t be back. Daniel has decided to pursue his career in business. Daniel will be attending university in San Diego, pursuing a business degree. I’d like to mention that Daniel has been for this hockey club a very, very classy and very genuine young man. Daniel never used the card (of his dad, Bobby, being the owner) for himself. He’s never been a (problem) for this organization. I think he’s got all the respect of his teammates and his coaches. He’s been a real gentleman. He could have been a much bigger distraction for this hockey club. This young man is very classy and I wish him the best of luck in his pursuit for a business degree and he is somebody that will be. Look closely in the future because I think he will be somebody very prominent in the business world.”

**** “The recap of our season … I think there was a turning point in our season and since that point, me as a GM, I felt our team was an on-and-off hockey club. Some games we were great, some games we were awful, awful. I would say, the precise time was the Baie-Comeau game here in Halifax on Nov. 25. I don’t want to go into precise detail, but we had a lot of different issues on our hockey club. We had a lot of things that had to be addressed, and it was not always easy, because of different situations, but Nov. 25, at that time, we were 20-4-0-4. In 28 games, we had 44 points, we were first overall, we were third in the Canadian Hockey League, and after that, the last 42 games, we had 45 points. At that precise time, it’s not to pinpoint anybody, but we lost Logan MacMillan for health issues, Jakub Voracek went back home earlier than expected for him to see family … At that point, even Colby Pridham wasn’t 100 per cent healthy, Stephen Lund wasn’t 100 per cent healthy, we called back for different games some junior A players and we patched and we played a lot of guys and I feel at that turning point, our hockey club after that was never the same and I think it dragged throughout the season.

“We still finished first in our conference, we were in the top four in the league. Obviously the frustrating point was to lose in four games against Gatineau but if it wasn’t for that we could have lost … I wouldn’t have been surprised if we lost against Victo, and I wouldn’t have been surprised if we lost against Cape Breton. We were, seriously, on and off. It was a challenging season for different reasons and it was very difficult to obtain at the same time for some games the 20 players in the same direction. It was hard.”

*** In response to a question of, “Why was it a difficult challenge to have 20 players going in the same direction?”

“Different individuals, I would say. Different individuals, different things that could have happened that we didn’t react to because of different problems that we hadn’t (addressed) for some of the players, different things that at that time … I remember in February people saying we should change coach, and we stuck with Cam, and we’re very happy we stuck with Cam, because he’s a gentleman and he’s a coach. In his heart, he wants to be a coach and it’s not always easy after two years of experience to manage all those players. We compare a little bit to Pascal Vincent, he wasn’t ready to have that team in Cape Breton with, we say stars, but that was a great hockey club. They almost beat everybody, they had (Marc-Andre) Fleury, they had a very strong hockey club. It’s not always easy. People think it’s only about X’s and O’s and the coach and the GM. It’s not always easy to manage 24 teenagers.”

**** In response to the question, “What was it that was particular with this team? You’re obviously happy with the staff, you were very happy with the calibre of player you started the season with, so there’s got to be more than that to make this team go from where it was to where it ended up.”

“From that time on, we were never the same hockey club. We had that struggle in December that we couldn’t win.”

Follow-up question: “You mean chemistry-wise?”

“Not necessarily. The guys when I talked to them they all got along very well and they didn’t have any problems. But chemistry-wise, hockey-wise. On the hockey side of it, in the practices, in the games … There was a lack of … We never felt the same. I always remember being in Drummondville. All the teams seeing us at that time, and saying, ‘You know what? We can’t touch you guys. It’s impossible. We won’t be able to.’ Friends of mine called Rouyn and told them, ‘Guys, forget your season, you won’t be able to play against them. It’s impossible.’ I felt after (Nov. 25) that powerhouse never came back.

“We acquired players, Jakub was back, Brad was back, we never felt we were that powerhouse again. There was a lack of confidence, a bit of selfishness for some players, some discipline, and all that mixed up, I never felt after, not once, coming back after December, saying, ‘Oh, we’re on the track, we’re going, we’ll be OK.’ The only time I felt it, was against Cape Breton. I said, ‘Oh boy, the guys now are going towards a mission.’ They understood the mission.

“We had a week off, that maybe, some guys became, ‘Oh, it’s sunny outside.’ Some of them said that comment. It was sunny outside and they thought, ‘It’s going to be easy.’ Some of them said it.”

**** In response to the question, “How come, if players weren’t giving it like they should have been, why didn’t they sit on the bench more?”

“You’ve got to be careful. Some talented players would be like that because they know they have the skill. Some games, I would think some players were doing it on purpose not to work hard. Some I know personally Cam would bring into his office and give it to them and try to find solutions. People say that’s the only way, send him out, put him on the bench. For some others, it’s maybe another way or another solution. For some, it wasn’t that easy. It wasn’t that easy to pinpoint and say, ‘OK, we have to sit them out.’ Some of them have sat out for periods, some for shifts and some were called upon in the dressing room and sometimes it was corrected.”

**** In response to the question, “When this was all through, what did you learn as a general manager?”

“Me personally I learned that the accountability is very important. The coaches, the GM, the players, there’s a lot of accountability and people have to be accountable for what they’re accountable for. Sometimes, even for me, as my relationship with Cam, we’re good friends. Sometimes for me it can be more of a business and I have to be careful on those particular situations, not to be a friend and be on the business side. And behalf of Cam, it will important for Cam to be accountable and responsible if actions have to be taken, actions have to be taken.”

**** In response to the question, “In hindsight, would you guys have been better off sitting Marchand down earlier in the regular season to get that message across.”

“Probably. I know he had discussions with Cam at different times. It isn’t easy to pinpoint. When he came back, he was saying fatigue, I’m not totally there, and do we sit him out, do we still play him, and work with him and try to promote him?”

**** In response to the question, “The staff is back, so you’re happy with the staff, and you haven’t necessarily pinpointed anything specifically with the players that went wrong, so what is your message to the fans about what went wrong?”

“I pinpointed … The thing is, we’re focusing right now only on the Gatineau series. Overall there are some good things. Expectations, everybody expected us to have a good hockey club. We thought we had a great hockey club. I think starting Nov. 25 we never were the same. We were on and off, on and off. Hopefully, we would have been able to make a run for it, but it was seriously difficult to bring back this hockey club since Nov. 25. It was very hard.”

**** In response to the question, “To me, whatever the project is, you have a goal, and you fall short of a goal, when you analyze it, you say OK, so-and-so didn’t do this right, or so-and-so didn’t do that right. There’s accountability. I hear that everybody did their job well. If you have such good people, and good players, and everybody did their job well … ”

“I didn’t say everybody did their job well. I said starting Nov. 25 there is something that our team never played to the same level. Some of it, the players are accountable for it. Some, the coaching staff is accountable for it, some of it, I’m accountable for it. If you want specific details of what went wrong, on my side, I could answer for it. On Cam’s side, he could answer for it, and on the player’s side, I think the players could answer for it.”

**** In response to the question, “What did you do wrong?”

“What did I do wrong? I would say … I would say … There are things, I wanted so much for this team to win and worked so hard to bring … There were some things I couldn’t do, like find a defenceman. It couldn’t happen.”

**** In response to the question, “If you could go back in December and acquire Brad Marchand, would you do it over again?”

“If I go back in December, and the way Brad Marchand played the last two years and the two medals he won and the player we focused on was Brad Marchand. At that time, if you asked 15 of 18 general managers, they would have told you, Brad Marchand was the player to go after.”

**** In response to the question, “Was Marchand a disappointment for you?”

“He was, obviously, but for what reason? It’s hard to pinpoint. I think the kid had a lot of pressure playing in his hometown. He didn’t play the same way he played the past few years. He tried his best some nights here in Halifax and it didn’t work. Sometimes it’s just mentally, it’s hard to play in Halifax. Some games he was hyped and ready to go and he made a fast play or he kept the puck too long and he kept it and kept it and kept it and lost it. That was one of his faults. But he knew it. He wanted to correct it. He tried all the time to put on a show and it cost him. And he knows it.

**** In response to the statement that “most people would say, on paper, this wasn’t a team that would exit in the semifinals.”

“When you talk with the players, they tell you what they feel what happened. You’ve got to believe what they’re saying to you in true honesty. We felt that Gatineau was a weaker team, we didn’t play as well against Gatineau, and at 2-0, some of the guys packed it in. That’s what happened.”

**** In response to the statement that Jakub Voracek wasn’t up to his usual standard from March 1 on.

“That’s what I’m telling you. Some of the guys, sometimes on a different agenda or there were things that were bothering them. It’s kids.”

**** In response to the question, “How do you address that going forward?”

“Going forward, it’s to know them better and to know exactly what they’re thinking. It’s mostly the coaches and me too to feel what’s going on. If Jakub Voracek is homesick, what do you want me to do?”

**** In response to the question, “Would you be better served in junior hockey to have a psychologist on your staff?”

“It’s not something we’re announcing, but that’s my recommendation to Bobby. As an example, Bryce Swan saw a psychologist for the playoffs and he had success. He played well. I remember Brad Marchand started a game, and played very well, dipsy-doodled, and then he lost the puck and he heard the crowd boo. It’s hard. You’re not expecting that from … You’re going hard at the start and the motto for the players was Our city, Our team, and they wanted it for the city. That was the thing we talked and talked about it was for the city. We wanted to have a title for the city and for some of the players, it was hard. Ben MacAskill, it was hard for him. Some of the players found it hard. And that’s something we’re looking at, to have a sports psychologist with our hockey club. There’s a lot of pressure in Halifax.”

**** In response to the question, “Do you guys consider the other extreme, just giving them a boot (in the butt) or kicking guys off the team?”

“Yes. We did it. We did it. We did it. We’ve done it. We forget that we kicked guys out this year for disciplinary reasons. We do it. But it’s not always to kick them out, it’s not always the only solution.”

**** In response to the question, “Was Nicholas Goyens (who was kicked off the team in February) an isolated incident or did you guys have other problems like that that may have contributed to (the playoff setback)?”

“There were other guys who didn’t play because of disciplinary reasons. There are different situations that happened and it’s not different than any junior hockey club. And we’ve dealt with it and the players were accountable for it. There were other situations. But (Goyens) was the one. The morning of I told him to be very careful and then again it happened. So you have no choice. For other players, they got caught and there were repercussions. We had 10 19-year-olds and four guys signed in the NHL and they’ve got access to money, there’s a lot of money, and it’s different. It’s a different hockey club.”

**** In response to the question, “Is it harder for the local guys to play here?”

“I’m not able to tell you if it’s really really harder, but some of the players mentioned it’s harder for local players. It is harder.”

**** In response to the question, “You talked about Cam and your relationship and that he’s the boss. Are you saying he made the final call on lineup decisions?”

“No, not all. No. There’s a way we discuss and a way we operate. When the fourth line’s going to play, it’s going to play six to eight shifts per game, sometimes, it was time for (Travis) Randell to go in the lineup, and the first three lines, and sometimes the fourth line it’s … I don’t want to live another Marc-Andre Bernier who didn’t play all year and we tried to get better on that so that the players during the regular season have a chance to play a little bit, if that was our discussion with that player in September.”

**** On the decision to start Pier-Olivier Pelletier in goal in Game 4, before reversing the decision and going back to Mark Yetman.

“That decision was made by Bobby.”

Follow-up: Can you explain that?

“We felt that maybe a goalie change would be the appropriate move and Bobby felt the night before Mike Keenan took off (Miikka) Kiprusoff (in the NHL and in Calgary) and he felt no we’re not going with that. Mark Yetman brought us to the end of the season and he should be the goalie who finishes the season and he should be the goalie that finishes the season.”

Follow-up: “So you and Cam told Pelletier he was in the next day?”

“Yes.”

Follow-up: “And then Bobby stepped in?”

“Yes. When I mentioned it to Bobby, I’ll take part of the blame (for) not informing Bobby of the situation. Pelletier was very upset but we made him understand that maybe we were wrong and that Yetman deserved to play because he brought us there.”

Follow-up: So you and Cam were 100 per cent that Pelletier was going in?

“One hundred per cent. For us, it was more a situation of respect for Pelletier, to give him a chance to finish his career, and it happened, unfortunately, Bobby felt, and I think, he felt that Yetman should finish the season. He started (the playoffs), he was the key guy, and he felt it wasn’t appropriate to take him off and put the blame on him that we lost Game 3.”

Follow-up: How did Pelletier react?

“Pelletier was upset and we talked with him and we discussed it with him.”

**** In response to the question, “Do you think that are you too active a general manager in terms of the day-to-day operations of the club?”

“I really don’t think so. I think a lot of people put a lot of emphasis on that. I tell Cam sometimes I go downstairs sometimes so you’re less stressed. The only thing I want to make sure is that Cam succeeds as a coach. I want him to succeed. If things have to be adjusted in the future, he’ll be in his third year, he’s learned a lot this year, and we’ve learned a lot this year and Cam has a great future in front of him.”

**** In response to the question, “Do you envision the roles changing as Cam becomes a more experienced coach?”

“I don’t have any problem with that. I don’t have any problem helping Cam to be a more successful coach and I think he’s going to be better and better and better. There are things that I’ve lived, in my experience, and I tell him, and if he doesn’t want to do it, he doesn’t do it. I never got mad and screaming, and I never did that. We talk, we discuss, and some points he’s comfortable with that and some he’s not.”

**** In response to the question, “Does Cam feel fortunate to be brought back?”

“That’s what he feels. Expectations are lower, and he’ll be able to give a better stamp of what he is, being more experienced. Don’t forget the year before we had problems. (Justin) Saulnier and (Kirk) Forrest … It’s not always easy and this year it was a challenging club to coach. It wasn’t easy.”

**** In response to the question, “Do you think you are better staffed now than you were at the start of this year?”

“Definitely, and the addition of a sports psychologist, and we’ll be looking into that, I think we’ll be much stronger. Much stronger.”

**** In response to the question, “Do you feel like the culture in the franchise is one that you’re comfortable with and one you’re moving forward with?”

“I think we’ve learned a few things and we’ll get better. But to change the culture, people being unhappy with different things, if it goes to season tickets, it goes towards me, there’s nothing we can change, but the things, we’re very committed to this organization and we want to succeed.”

**** In response to the question, “If I understand your message, there were some on-ice problems with players, and your solution going forward is to, from a coaching perspective, to get to know the players better to properly motivate them?”

“Not necessarily motivate them, to know exactly what they think. In that particular situation against Gatineau, after the fact, they played very well until after Cape Breton and after that, we hear about a few things when it’s over, some of them were on a different path.”

**** In response to the question, “What was the biggest surprise?”

“Nothing. It was stuff I suspected. They have nothing against Cam, me or anybody. It happened. We win against Gatineau, we probably don’t have the same brouhaha over our future and what we did and what went wrong.”

**** In response to the question, “Am I right that that’s your main message going forward, that there were issues with on-ice performance, and the biggest thing that you intend to do going forward to correct it is to better know the players, to better communicate with them?”

“I think they have good communication. The players sometimes keep things to themselves. For us, it’s to be accountable, and have urgency on playing and it’s something we didn’t have this year. Some of the players, of the total plan, weren’t there, they didn’t execute. After Nov. 25, they didn’t execute.”

**** In response to the statement, “It’s not clear what it is exactly going forward to address the problems that ‘plagued’ the team this year.”

“My explanation for the fans, if you want an explanation for the fans, I would think, we’ve underestimated the urgency, for some of the players, the urgency of playing, executing. We’ve let some things go on instead of reacting, and in the future, we have to be more careful with that, to know players. To know exactly, and adjusting every time in different times and it wasn’t an easy task.”

Follow-up: And as an example of that, where you scratched Marchand the last game, maybe that’s something that’s addressed earlier in the future, as opposed to in the last game.

“Exactly.”

Bodnarchuk heads to Providence

Wed, 30 Apr 2008 20:37:59 -0400

Andrew Bodnarchuk has signed an amateur tryout contract with the Providence Bruins and will be on the American Hockey League team's roster for the Calder Cup playoffs.

Bodnarchuk, who captained the Halifax Mooseheads this season, is already signed to a three-year contract with the Boston Bruins, but the deal doesn't kick in until the fall. The ATO allows him to get a taste of the minors in advance.

Providence has 28 players on its roster, including 16 forweards, nine defencemen and three goaltenders.

"I got in this morning and practiced with the team today," Bodnarchuk said. "I've been here all day. I had a lot of fun last year here (on a similar tryout contract) and got some games in. They have a big roster right now, so I'm not expecting to play, but if I do get a chance, it will be unreal."

It's worth noting that fellow Mooseheads forward Brad Marchand, who is also under contract with Boston, did not ink a tryout contract with Providence, at least not yet.

Marchand may join the team later in the playoffs if it needs depth, but may not have endeared himself to the organization after his poor play resulted in him being a healthy scratch in the final game of the Mooseheads' season.

Russell, Patenaude back; Smith leaves Herd

MATTHEW WUEST/Metro Halifax — Wed, 30 Apr 2008 13:40:42 -0400

The Halifax Mooseheads have extended the contract of head coach Cam Russell by two years and announced that general manager Marcel Patenaude will be with the team for two more seasons as well.

Patenaude made the announcements at his office on Wednesday.

Russell's original two-year contract was set to expire in the off-season, while Patenaude signed a three year extension prior to this season that carries him through to the end of the 2009-10 campaign.

Patenaude also announced that assistant coaches Chris Donnelly and Jeff McLeod would be offered one-year extensions, as would goaltending coach Patrick Dallaire.

The announcements mean the staff from this year's team -- which fell short of its goal of a championship after being swept by the Gatineau Olympiques in the QMJHL semifinals -- remains intact.

In player news, Patenaude said that forward Daniel Smith, the son of majority owner Bobby Smith, is leaving the Mooseheads to pursue a business degree in San Diego starting this fall.

Moose to hold meetings this week

Sun, 27 Apr 2008 17:01:37 -0400

If you're expecting sweeping staffing changes in the Halifax Mooseheads' coaching department in the coming weeks, you might be waiting longer than you think.

While the organization has been relatively quiet in the aftermath of an early playoff exit, sources say the team’s ownership is comfortable, at least for now, with the staff currently in place, particularly head coach Cam Russell.

Internal meetings starting Monday -- including exit meetings with the players -- will ultimately determine which direction the organization takes as it heads into its 15th season in the fall still in search of its first President's Cup.

The team is still trying to determine exactly what it was that led to the team's collapse in the QMJHL semifinals, swept in four straight by the Gatineau Olympiques last Thursday.

Ownership and staff are expected to address the media later in the week.

Injuries didn't stop the Moose

Sat, 26 Apr 2008 20:36:28 -0400

Whatever it was that led to the Halifax Mooseheads' downfall, it wasn't injuries.

While many years it is revealed after a long playoff run that key players have been battling through nagging injuries --- such as Andrew Bodnarchuk and Graham Bona last season with gruesome shoulder problems --- this year's edition of the Herd was perfectly healthy, by all accounts.

"We were pretty healthy," Mooseheads general manager Marcel Patenaude said. "There were no major injuries whatsoever."

It had been speculated that all-star forward Jakub Voracek was playing hurt down the stretch.

He had just a goal and three assists in his final six games and 30 points in his final 25 games overall --- good numbers for pretty much anybody in the league, but not at the dominating level the Kladno, Czech Republic, native usually maintains.

"No," Patenaude said, when asked specifically of Voracek's playoff health. "No injuries."

matthew.wuest@metronews.ca

Mooseheads shocker: Marchand scratched

Fri, 25 Apr 2008 17:48:41 -0400

The Halifax Mooseheads made prized trade-deadline acquisition Brad Marchand a healthy scratch for Thursday's Game 4 of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League semifinals against Gatineau Olympiques.

The 19-year-old forward, acquired because of his big-game resume and ability to elevate his play in clutch situations, will sit out the Mooseheads’ most important game of the season, down 3-0 to Gatineau in the best-of-seven series.

Marchand, a Hammonds Plains native and two-time world-junior gold-medallist, has just one assist and is a minus-2 in three games this series. He didn't record a shot in a 6-1 loss in Game 3.

Mooseheads vs. Olympiques: Game 4 Lines

Fri, 25 Apr 2008 17:46:41 -0400

Halifax Mooseheads lines, defence pairings and goaltenders for Wednesday's QMJHL semifinal Game 4 against the Gatineau Olympiques at Robert Guertin Arena.

Logan MacMillan/Colby Pridham/Jakub Voracek
Ryan Hillier/Peter-James Corsi/Bryce Swan
Tomas Knotek/Yuri Cheremetiev/Andrew White
Daniel Smith/Travis Randell/David Bouchard

Andrew Bodnarchuk/Guillaume Monast
Justin Pender/Gabriel O'Connor
Graham Bona/Ben MacAskill

Mark Yetman
Pier-Olivier Pelletier

Scratches: Brad Marchand (healthy), Stephen Lund (post-concussion syndrome), Richard Greer (healthy), Eric Louis-Seize (healthy), R.D. Chisholm (healthy).

Mooseheads vs. Olympiques: Game 3 Lines

Thu, 24 Apr 2008 17:46:41 -0400

Halifax Mooseheads lines, defence pairings and goaltenders for Wednesday's QMJHL semifinal Game 3 against the Gatineau Olympiques at Robert Guertin Arena:

Logan MacMillan/Colby Pridham/Jakub Voracek
Ryan Hillier/Peter-James Corsi/Brad Marchand
Tomas Knotek/Bryce Swan/Andrew White
Daniel Smith/Yuri Cheremetiev/Travis Randell

Andrew Bodnarchuk/Guillaume Monast
Justin Pender/Gabriel O'Connor
Graham Bona/Ben MacAskill

Mark Yetman
Pier-Olivier Pelletier

Scratches: David Bouchard (knee), Stephen Lund (post-concussion syndrome), Richard Greer (healthy), Eric Louis-Seize (healthy).

Mooseheads prepare for Game 3

Wed, 23 Apr 2008 17:46:41 -0400

The Halifax Mooseheads are trailing the Gatineau Olympiques 2-0 in the QMJHL best-of-seven semifinal, and the next three games --- if they're all needed --- will be held in Robert Guertin Arena in Gatineau, Que.

Metro Halifax talked to head coach Cam Russell, forwards Peter-James Corsi and Bryce Swan, and defenceman Guillaume Monast about the team's outlook on the series.

Russell, on matching lines: "Typically, your matches are, you want to have your top defencemen out against the other team's top lines, but forwards against forwards, we don't get caught up in that much. You could have a coach where every offensive faceoff, he would put a line on that would make us take our top line off. We trust all our forwards to play against any line out there."

Russell, on the mentality of the players in a 0-2 series hole: "That's experience. Some players are used to it, some players have been through these situations. I remember playing against Rimouski (in 2001) and being up 2-0. They came back and beat us in four straight. There's no such thing as a safe lead in hockey games or in a playoff series. We were up 2-0 on Cape Breton and we were still very worried."

Corsi, on Gatineau now having the last line change: "I don't think it means that much. Everybody on this team is capable of playing against their top lines, and defensively our lines are pretty good. I don't think it will be a big difference."

Corsi, on Robert Guertin Arena: "The crowd's a bit loud, on top of you, but we've got to ignore that and just play our game."

Corsi, on three overtime losses in the last five games: "It's unfortunate we've been getting those losses in overtime, but overall, we did pretty well. We've got to be opportunists next game and bury our chances."

Swan, on the series: "It takes four games to win this, so being down 2-0 is nothing this organization hasn't run into before. During the regular season, we were the best road team in the league. We have that on our side and we got a victory up there when they were red-hot in their barn earlier in the year. We know that, we're confident and ready and we'll give it our best effort."

Monast, on the series format and on playing in Robert Guertin Arena, speaking before the series started: "Maybe it's not the best format for us, but it doesn't really matter. It's good because we won't have to be going back and forth a lot. It's a tough building to play in there and they're a good team at home. The fans are pretty crazy and it's dark, small, you feel like the crowd's on you, but ... we've been good on the road. We went there and played a real solid game and the key is to come out strong and no matter what happens, be ready for the next game. You just have to be the first to win four."

Hillier in, Bouchard questionable

Mon, 21 Apr 2008 17:46:41 -0400

The Halifax Mooseheads will get top regular-season goal-scorer Ryan Hillier back in the lineup for Game 3 of the QMJHL semifinal against the Gatineau Olympiques.

The 20-year-old winger missed one game with a lower-body injury, a 4-3 double-overtime setback to the Olympiques on Sunday at the Metro Centre. He also missed the overtime period in Saturday's 2-1 loss.

Seldom-used enforcer David Bouchard will likely sit out Game 3 after taking a brutal knee-on-knee hit in Game 2. Mooseheads head coach Cam Russell said Bouchard is "definitely a question mark right now" as far as Game 3 availability.

Mooseheads vs. Olympiques: Game 2 Live Blog

Sun, 20 Apr 2008 21:57:32 -0400

The following is the transcript of tonight’s live blog of Game 2 of the QMJHL semifinals between the Halifax Mooseheads and Gatineau Olympiques.

FIRST PERIOD
* The game isn’t an entertaining one in the early going, as it’s extremely tight-checking and neither offensively-gifted team is getting many chances.

* The Mooseheads continue to get into trouble against the Claude Giroux-Paul Byron-Matthew Pistilli line, although the Olympiques aren’t converting.

* Mooseheads defenceman Guillaume Monast was almost burned on a bad turnover that eventually ended up on the stick of Claude Giroux, but Mark Yetman made an outstanding save to keep the game scoreless.

* The power plays of both teams are doing very little. Each team had three chances each, and the score at the end of a period is 0-0. Halifax has an 11-7 edge in shots.

SECOND PERIOD

* Brad Marchand is guilty of over-handling the puck at the offensive blue line and it almost costs the Mooseheads about a minute in. Mark Yetman bails Marchand out with a great save after a passing play on a Gatineau 2-on-1.

* The Giroux-Byron combination continues to be dangerous and does a great job pressuring the Mooseheads’ defenceman into penalties and turnovers.

* David Bouchard takes a high-sticking penalty at 12:16. This isn’t a good penalty for Bouchard, and he might not see another shift because of it.

* GOAL GAT (1-0 Gat) The Olympiques draw first blood on the power play. Matthew Stinziani fires a pass from behind the net to an open Alexandre Quesnel in front, and Quesnel beats Yetman point blank with a quick shot at 9:41.

* Yetman did a good job to fight off a tricky shot from Claude Giroux with his glove. Giroux stickhandled around a couple of players to generate the chance.

* With eight minutes to go, Jakub Voracek and Logan MacMillan make great plays to give Colby Pridham an open net on a 2-on-1, but he fans on the chance.

* Daniel Smith takes a boarding penalty at 13:08. The Mooseheads’ fourth line barely sees the ice and has taken back-to-back minors.

* GOAL GAT (2-0 Gat) Paul Byron converts on the power play with his third of the series and 11th of the playoffs. The Buffalo Sabres pick skates over the blue line and tees up a slap shot from between the tops of the faceoff circles and beats Yetman through a screen. Halifax’s penalties are proving to be costly.

* With 5:50 to go, the Mooseheads have had just two shots all period.

* Steven Delisle gives Halifax its xxxth power play of the night with five minutes to go, but the Mooseheads still can’t put one past Ryan Mior, who hasn’t been tested with many glorious scoring chances this game --- or this series.

* GOAL HFX (2-1 Gat) Bryce Swan gives the Mooseheads life at 16:11. A Guillaume Monast point shot hits a body in the slot and ends up on Swan’s stick, and he turns, fires and pops Mior’s water bottle with a bullet shot top shelf. It’s Swan’s 11th of the playoffs, and he’s moved to within one of the franchise’s playoff record.

* Justin Pender has seen time on the power play this period and looks good. He’s making good decisions, moving the puck quickly and has a bullet shot --- and he’s showing he’s not afraid to use it and getting it off more quickly than he has in the past.

* The Mooseheads are coming on strong and will start the third period with a power play for 1:44. This will be pivotal stretch and is a great chance for the Mooseheads to even this game up and set the stage for an exciting finish.

THIRD PERIOD

* GOAL HFX (2-2) The Mooseheads tie it up on the power play just 1:27 into the period. It’s a beautiful four-way passing play, starting with Colby Pridham to Jakub Voracek at the point to Andrew Bodnarchuk down low to Peter-James Corsi in front. Corsi one-taps it past Mior for his eighth tally of the playoffs.

* David Bouchard took a huge knee-on-knee hit from Nicolas Boyer with 15:27 remaining, drawing a five-minute major and a game misconduct. This could be a massive turning point for the Mooseheads, although Bouchard looks seriously hurt and isn’t putting any weight on his right knee as he leaves the ice.

* Olympiques defenceman Joey Ryan just blocked a heavy shot in a gutsy play, but he barely gets off the ice and heads to the dressing room immediately.

* Peter-James Corsi has parked himself in front of Ryan Mior for a couple of good chances tonight, and also has one of Halifax’s goals.

* Joey Ryan has returned for Gatineau.

*Ryan Mior has been sharp on the power play, and was saved by one of his posts on a bullet shot from Brad Marchand on one of Halifax’s best chances.

* GOAL GAT (3-2 Gat) Claude Giroux puts Gatineau ahead at 8:20 with an unassisted shorthanded tally. He wins a couple of foot-races and loose-puck battles, skates over the blue line and beats Yetman cleanly from the same spot as Byron did earlier --- between the tops of the faceoff circles. This is a tough pill for Halifax to swallow.

* Yetman responds moments later with a sharp glove save on Alexandre Touchette.

* GOAL HFX (3-3) Tomas Knotek revives his team and the crowd just 1:35 after Giroux’s goal. He steps over the blue line and unleashes a cannon, and it sizzles past a stunned Mior. It’s Halifax’s first even-strength goal of the series.

* Knotek has been playing hard all period and had another good shift after his goal.

* Claude Giroux wired a bullet off the cross-bar with 2:44 to go.

* Gatineau’s Alexandre Touchette skated off with an injury with 2:30 to go.

* Brad Marchand saved a potential rebound goal with a great backcheck with 1:02 to go.

* Gatineau star Claude Giroux hobbled off the ice in the final minute after getting tied up with Mooseheads forward Colby Pridham. It’s not clear what happened, but after a brief trip to the bench, managed to return to the ice shortly thereafter.

* The Mooseheads are going to overtime for the fourth time in five games, and none of them have they needed more than this one. They really can’t afford to go in a 2-0 hole given that the next three games are on the road in Gatineau. They’re outshooting the Olympiques 32-23 and it’s been an evenly-played contest.

FIRST OVERTIME

* Claude Giroux has the best chance in overtime through seven minutes, getting a shot off in the slot that Mark Yetman had to make a big pad save on.

* Marchand had a great chance about nine minutes in, whirling and twirling his way into the slot and whacking a hard shot that Mior stopped with a pad.

* It’s a nervous crowd at the Metro Centre, and with good reason. It will be a worst-case scenario for the Moose if they go to Gatineau down 2-0.

* Logan MacMillan had back-to-back opportunities to win it, but Ryan Mior is starting to heat up in overtime. He later made a great diving paddle save on a Bryce Swan rebound that had Swan looking to the rafters in frustration with eight minutes left.

* The Mooseheads are getting some of their best offensive chances of the series in overtime, but on the flip side, Mior is rising to the occasion.

* The shots are 43-29 for Halifax.

* Mior is really shining for Gatineau, and he just made another brilliant paddle save on Yuri Cheremetiev with about 5:45 left in the first overtime.

* Halifax’s Justin Pender goes to the box for hooking with 5:07 to go. It’s a tough break for Pender, who was partially responsible for the Game 1 winner.

* The Mooseheads earn a big penalty kill on Pender’s minor.

* Mior gloved down a bullet from Pender after the big defenceman got out of the penalty box and rushed down the right wing for a scoring chance.

* This game’s going to a second overtime. Mior made 16 saves for Gatineau, many of them brilliant in nature. Yetman was tested nine times at the other end.

SECOND OVERTIME

* Justin Pender has had a strong game on the Mooseheads’ blue line, which is nice to see after the tough break he had in Game 1.

* The Olympiques are looking tired, and the Mooseheads are coming in waves.

* Hubert Labrie nearly took Logan MacMillan’s head off on one hit, but wasn’t penalized. The 16-year-old Labrie is only listed at 5-foot-10 and 168 pounds, but he’s been a real thorn in the side of the Mooseheads with his physical edge.

* GOAL GAT (4-3 Gat) Andrew Bodnarchuk turned over the puck breaking out of his own zone and it ended up on the stick of the wrong guy, Claude Giroux, the league’s leading scorer. Giroux danced into the offensive zone as the Mooseheads scrambled to recover and went top shelf to beat Yetman.

* The Mooseheads are in big trouble heading to Gatineau, but they played a good game and were robbed of victory by Mior in the first overtime. Mior was the first star with 47 saves, while Claude Giroux was No. 2 and Bryce Swan No. 3. Game 3 is in Gatineau on Wednesday, with Games 4 and 5, if necessary, on Thursday and Saturday.

Mooseheads vs. Olympiques: Game 2 Lines

Sun, 20 Apr 2008 19:57:54 -0400

Lines, defence pairings and goaltenders for Sunday's QMJHL semifinal Game 2 between the Halifax Mooseheads and the Gatineau Olympiques at the Metro Centre:

HALIFAX

Logan MacMillan/Colby Pridham/Jakub Voracek
Bryce Swan/Peter-James Corsi/Brad Marchand
Tomas Knotek/Yuri Cheremetiev/Andrew White
Daniel Smith/Travis Randell/David Bouchard

Andrew Bodnarchuk/Guillaume Monast
Graham Bona/Ben MacAskill
Justin Pender/Gabriel O'Connor

Mark Yetman
Pier-Olivier Pelletier

Scratches: Ryan Hillier (lower body), Stephen Lund (post-concussion syndrome), Richard Greer (healthy), Eric Louis-Seize.

GATINEAU

Matthew Pistilli/Paul Byron/Claude Giroux
Michael Stinziani/Jean-Philip Chabot/Darryl Smith
Alexandre Quesnel/Alexandre Touchette/Gerrit Fauser
Nicolas Boyer/Francis Desrosiers/Nicholas Mayer Valliere

Hubert Labrie/Patrik Prokop
Joey Ryan/Steven Deslisle
Julien Machabee/Hugo Laporte

Ryan Mior
Maxime Clermont

Hillier injured in loss

Sat, 19 Apr 2008 21:51:16 -0400

The Halifax Mooseheads were without left-winger Ryan Hillier in overtime of their 2-1 overtime loss to the Gatineau Olympiques on Saturday.

The 19-year-old sniper sat out with what team officials are calling a “lower-body injury.” Hillier left the ice in the third period favouring his left leg. He returned for a couple of shifts but didn’t return for the overtime frame.

He is listed as “day-to-day” and “could” play on Sunday in Game 2, Mooseheads head coach Cam Russell said.

Mooseheads vs. Olympiques: Game 1 Live Blog

Sat, 19 Apr 2008 21:49:48 -0400

FIRST PERIOD

* The game has great pace from the opening faceoff, which comes as a bit of a surprise given the lengthy weeklong layoff for both teams.

* Gatineau’s top two lines have great speed, and Halifax is having trouble with it at times. Gabriel O’Connor and Graham Bona get in trouble on one shift, and Bona ends up going to the box as the Mooseheads scramble defensively. This could become a problem in Gatineau, when the Olympiques have the last change.

* Both penalty-killing units are doing good work, with neither power play generating much in the way of scoring chances on two opportunities apiece.

* Mooseheads goaltender Mark Yetman was called out by Olympiques head coach Benoit Groulx before the series as being Halifax’s “weakness,” but he was the reason the game was tied after 20 minutes. He made a handful of outstanding saves, including one diving stop on a wraparound chance to keep things scoreless.

SECOND PERIOD

* Logan MacMillan had two great chances in the opening seven minutes and Brad Marchand had another, but the Herd couldn’t cocnvert.

* GOAL GAT (1-0 Gat) Claude Giroux capitalizes on a neutral-zone turnover at 8:28. He skates into the offensive zone on the right wing and makes a great feed to a driving Paul Byron, who holds on and beats Yetman in tight for his ninth of the playoffs. Byron has been Gatineau’s most dangerous offensive player so far.

* Jean-Philip Chabot hit a post for the Olympiques with five minute to go.

* Halifax’s Ryan Hillier appeared to get injured with about four minutes remaining.

* Jakub Voracek draws a penalty on Hubert Labrie on a great rush with 3:38 to go. He has looked much better in Game 1 than he did in the quarter-finals, during which he struggled with a viral infection. He is skating well and generating chances with his speed and power off the rush, which he wasn’t doing before.

* GOAL HFX (1-1) Voracek scores on the power play he earned, firing a point shot through traffic and past Ryan Mior with two minutes left to tie things up. Bryce Swan was the key to the play, getting the puck behind the net and relaying it to the point, then working hard to get in front of Mior for a screen.

THIRD PERIOD

* Ryan Hillier clearly has some kind of leg injury, but he’s playing through it.

* Andrew White almost had an open net when Ryan Mior left the Gatineau cage to play the puck, but the angle was too sharp for him to put it home.

* Hubert Labrie put a nice hit on Jakub Voracek about three minutes in.

* The Claude Giroux-Paul Byron combo is giving Halifax fits, and it’s going to be interesting to watch how the Mooseheads defend them in Gatineau.

* The Mooseheads killed a huge penalty with about 12 minutes left in the third, and earned a huge cheer from the crowd for their efforts. Logan MacMillan was particularly effective, and he’s been one of the best players on the ice.

* Yetman stopped Patrik Prokop between the hashmarks in the final five minutes, a real game-saver for the Mooseheads. He’s been solid all night.

* Shots after regulation are 27-23 for the Olympiques. Claude Giroux and Paul Byron are putting on a clinic, generating scoring chances on every shift. Credit the defence pairing of Andrew Bodnarchuk and Guillaume Monast for holding the duo to just a goal, as well as Mark Yetman for backing them up with timely stops. Jakub Voracek and Logan MacMillan have been the Mooseheads’ top forwards.

OVERTIME

* The Mooseheads have shortened their bench, as Daniel Smith and David Bouchard saw few shifts --- if any --- in the third period. Head coach Cam Russell is rotating the lines and double-shifting Voracek and Marchand, including an effective combination of Yuri Cheremetiev with Voracek and Tomas Knotek. Ryan Hillier may not get a shift in overtime as he has what appears to be a leg injury.

* The Mooseheads have assembled something of a checking line of Colby Pridham, Logan MacMillan and Andrew White --- basically, their three best defensive forwards --- to run against Gatineau’s Claude Giroux-Paul Byron-Matthew Pistilli line.

* Yetman made another game-save on Paul Byron, who had a point-blank chance between the hashmarks off a Halifax turnover 2:30 in.

* A metal stanchion continues to get knocked loose in Gatineau’s zone, and it’s delayed play five times tonight. The Metro Centre staff isn’t doing much to fix it --- they didn’t even come out to examine it between periods --- and you can’t help but wonder if it’s going to cost somebody a scoring chance tonight.

* Darryl Smith burned Ben MacAskill wide and got in alone on Yetman about five and a half minutes in, but put it wide of the net. Gatineau is coming on strong.

* The Mooseheads get a few chances about eight minutes in, but Mior stops them.

* GOAL GAT (2-1 Gat) Paul Byron’s second goal of the game is the winner at 14:15 of the first overtime. Byron was skating into the offensive zone on a rush and took advantage when Justin Pender stumbled at his own blue line. Byron got in all alone and deked to his backhand, then roofed it over Yetman’s glove.

* Byron and Giroux take the first and second stars, while Yetman takes No. 3. Final shots were 36-33 for Gatineau. Game 2 is Sunday at 7 p.m. at the Metro Centre.

Mooseheads vs. Olympiques: Game 1 Lines

Sat, 19 Apr 2008 18:10:41 -0400

Lines, defence pairings and goaltenders for Saturday's QMJHL semifinal Game 1 between the Halifax Mooseheads and the Gatineau Olympiques at the Metro Centre:

HALIFAX

Logan MacMillan/Colby Pridham/Jakub Voracek
Ryan Hillier/Peter-James Corsi/Brad Marchand
Tomas Knotek/Bryce Swan/Andrew White
Daniel Smith/Yuri Cheremetiev/David Bouchard

Andrew Bodnarchuk/Guillaume Monast
Graham Bona/Ben MacAskill
Justin Pender/Gabriel O'Connor

Mark Yetman
Pier-Olivier Pelletier

GATINEAU

Hubert Labrie/Patrik Prokop
Joey Ryan/Steven Deslisle
Julien Machabee/Hugo Laporte

Ryan Mior
Maxime Clermont

Groulx chimes in with more on Herd

Fri, 18 Apr 2008 21:07:18 -0400

Gatineau Olympiques head coach Benoit Groulx has caused somewhat of a stir with his comments about Halifax Mooseheads goaltender Mark Yetman, but he had other things to say about the upcoming QMJHL semifinal. Here’s a snapshot.

* On missing defencemen Jonathan Carrier (knee) and Maxime Mallette (shoulder): We’re missing two defencemen, so we have some young guys playing. They’re doing well. They have much more confidence than they had at first. It’s their first playoff, and they were nervous, but now their confidence is much better and they’re ready to go. Mallette might be back but we don’t know when. We don’t expect him back this series, but maybe next.”

* On Olympiques goaltender Ryan Mior: “Mior has been very good for us. But against their offensive weapons, we have to be five guys together on the ice to defend. It’s not only Mior. It’s the five guys together that they have to take their time and space away. But we feel if Ryan sees the puck, he’s going to get the job done.”

* On Gatineau’s famed “system”: “We try to be very competitive on the ice, so we ask our guys to compete hard. We ask them to be very intense. Obviously, it seems to work pretty well for us through the years so we’ll keep going the same way we always have.”

* On Halifax’s overall depth: “We feel they have more than two star players (Brad Marchand and Jakub Voracek). You can add (Andrew) Bodnarchuk to that list. He’s one of the top defencemen in the league. Guys like (Ryan) Hillier, (Bryce) Swan and (Peter-James) Corsi are pretty solid hockey players, too. We have to contain them, but it’s not going to be an easy job to do.”

* On his top lines: “It’s not decided yet, but (Claude) Giroux will probably play with (Paul) Byron and (Darryl) Smith. (The other line is Jean-Philip) Chabot, (Alexandre) Quesnel and (Gerrit) Fauser.”

Comments from the Mooseheads on Olympiques series

Fri, 18 Apr 2008 21:04:44 -0400

Metro Halifax has had plenty of coverage this week of the upcoming QMJHL semifinal between the Halifax Mooseheads and Gatineau Olympiques, but here are some more comments from the Mooseheads on the best-of-seven series.

* Brad Marchand, on playing the Olympiques: “They work very hard. Their coach has them playing in a very tight system. I talked to (Claude) Giroux about it early in the year. He was telling me just how much they respect the coach and how much the coach makes them respect the system. They have a lot of guys who can put the puck in the net, especially (Paul) Byron and (Claude) Giroux, two guys we’ll be keying on. But they just have a solid, all-around team. Everyone battles hard, plays to win, and will do whatever it takes to win. It’s going to be tough. It’s going to be a battle.”

* Marchand, on how tough it is to score against Gatineau’s system: “It makes it very tough to score. Those are the teams you hate to play against. When you have an offensive team, there’s no weak spot, and you’re going to have to battle for your goals. That’s what it’s going to be this series. They’re not going to be highlight-reel goals. They’re going to be shots from the point, from angles, and going to the net for rebounds. Dirty goals, garbage goals.”

* Guillaume Monast, on defending against Gatineau’s high-powered offence: “We’ve seen what’s going on in the NHL, watching the games and watching what they do against key players. The key is, the five guys have to be aware what’s going on, you have to be aware who you’re playing against. If it’s (Claude) Giroux, (Paul) Byron or (Michael) Stinziani, you have to put the puck deep and put it in their zone, outwork them and force them to kill penalties, because if they’re on the PK, they’re not dangerous.”

* Monast, on how the team is playing: “We’re a confident group. We’re really aware of what we can do and on the power play, we have really good puck movement. I don’t even think our best players have been at their best and I think they will be able to peak and play even better. Our power play is going to be a key for us.”

* Monast, on the importance of physical play: “As a defenceman, it’s key against quick and good forwards like that who like to play a quick game. You have to stop them by being physical, throwing the body. They’re pretty small forwards so you never know, maybe at the end of the series, they’ll be tired. That’s the key for us, not let them skates. It’s an investment.”

Swan expected back for Game 1

MATTHEW WUEST/Metro Halifax — Sun, 13 Apr 2008 15:39:28 -0400

Bryce Swan will "definitely" be back in the Halifax Mooseheads' lineup on Saturday for Game 1 of the QMJHL semifinals against the Gatineau Olympiques, general manager Marcel Patenaude said Sunday.

The 20-year-old forward has missed two straight games with a concussion but still leads the Mooseheads with 10 goals in nine games.

Mooseheads vs. Screaming Eagles: Game 5 blog transcript

Fri, 11 Apr 2008 22:14:07 -0400

The Halifax Mooseheads are hosting the Cape Breton Screaming Eagles tonight at the Metro Centre for Game 5 of the QMJHL best-of-seven quarter-finals.

FIRST PERIOD

* The Mooseheads get in a world of trouble early, when Ryan Hillier and Brad Marchand give the Screaming Eagles more than three minutes of power-play time, including a 41-second two-man advantage. Mark Yetman makes some outstanding stops in the Mooseheads goal and Joey Haddad rang one off the goalpost.

* GOAL HFX (1-0 Hfx) The Mooseheads score 5:59 in, and it’s going to be a real tough one for the Screaming Eagles to swallow. Logan MacMillan puts one past Olivier Roy on a broken play after a number of golden scoring chances at the other end.

* GOAL CB (1-1) The Screaming Eagles don’t seem fazed at all, and come right back the other way after breaking up an errant breakout pass by Guillaume Monast. Chris Culligan gets in on a 2-on-0 and holds on to beat a helpless Yetman at 8:14.

* The Mooseheads’ defence corps has been a little bit sluggish in the opening period, and the Screaming Eagles have had the edge in the work department thus far.

* The Mooseheads used Jakub Voracek on a line with Ryan Hillier and Peter-James Corsi at one point during the period. It’s not clear yet if this is a permanent move.

* Vincent Lavigueur, who has been skating on Cape Breton’s top line, took a Ben MacAskill shot off the foot and hobbled off.

* The Mooseheads get a great chance with about 90 seconds to go when Colby Pridham picks up a mishandled puck in the Cape Breton zone and feeds Jakub Voracek all alone with a cross-crease pass. Olivier Roy makes a great stop.

* The first period went how must of the series went, back and forth. Halifax was the better team in the final eight minutes, and had a 14-11 edge in shots.

SECOND PERIOD

* Mooseheads star Jakub Voracek continues to look less than his usually dominating self, and just left the ice three minutes in kneeled over in a great deal of pain. He managed to return a couple of minutes later for his regular shift.

* GOAL HFX (2-1 Hfx) With Dean Ouellet in the box, Ryan Hillier makes good on the power play, skating from behind the goal line and ripping a bullet shot past Olivier Roy’s blocker side. It’s Hillier’s seventh goal of the playoffs.

* The Mooseheads run over Olivier Roy at the 7:34 mark. He’s down on the ice and receives medical attention for several minutes. The 16-year-old stays in the net, but looks quite woozy. It will be interesting to see how he responds.

* Brad Marchand makes a great play to get around a defender and in alone on a breakaway, but Roy stretches out for a great glove grab. Roy looks to be favouring his groin after the play, and looks far less than 100 per cent.

* Nicolas Chouinard absolutely hammers Tomas Knotek with a high hit, sending the rookie off in pain. Moments later, Andrew White is called for tripping, giving the Screaming Eagles a chance to even things up.

* Logan MacMillan takes another penalty with 8:04 left, giving the Screaming Eagles an even better chance to score --- a two-man advantage for 1:17.

* The Eagles can’t capitalize and end up in the box themselves just more than a minute later, when Robert Slaney hooks Ryan Hillier on a partial breakaway.

* GOAL HFX (3-1 Hfx) Olivier Roy does everything he can to keep the Mooseheads at bay, but he can only do so much. He makes a marvellous save on a partial breakaway by Brad Marchand, but Ryan Hillier is there to pounce on the rebound. Hillier’s got eight goals now, this one with just 32.7 seconds remaining in the period.

* Mark Yetman closes out the period with a brilliant glove save with 5.6 seconds to go.

* The Mooseheads have a 29-20 edge in shots, and are in a comfortable position to close out the series. All it will take is a calm, composed effort in the third. There hasn’t been a two-goal lead after 40 minutes once in this hard-fought series.

THIRD PERIOD

* The Mooseheads withstood a couple of minutes of early pressure by the Screaming Eagles, who are playing like a team with its season on the line.

* The Screaming Eagles are giving it everything they’ve got, but the Mooseheads are dealing with the pressure well. They’ve worked hard in their own zone and Mark Yetman continues to sparkle with key saves every time there is a letdown.

* Cape Breton’s Jan Piskacek takes a minor penalty with about nine minutes to go, which should take a bite out of any comeback bid. It also gives the Mooseheads a great opportunity to bury the game and the series.

* The Mooseheads are 5:25 away from winning the series 4-1.

* GOAL CB (3-2 Hfx) Dean Ouellet pulls the Eagles to within one with 3:07 to go, firing a shot from the bottom of the faceoff circle that deflects off of Chris Culligan and in. Cape Breton has life, and time, to extend this series one more game. A six-minute video review gives the Eagles’ top guns --- used extensively all series --- a chance to rest up for one last burst to the finish.

* Olivier Roy makes a terrific glove grab on Peter-James Corsi from the slot with about two minutes to go to keep his team within a goal.

* A key faceoff win by Peter-James Corsi kills more than 40 of the final 80 seconds and prevents the Screaming Eagles from setting up in the offensive zone.

* GOAL HFX (4-2 Hfx) Colby Pridham scores an empty-netter with 27.7 seconds to go.

* GOAL HFX (5-2 Hfx) Brad Marchand adds another empty-netter at the buzzer.

* It’s a 5-2 final for the Mooseheads and a 4-1 series victory. Mark Yetman is the first star --- he had a quietly brilliant series --- Ryan Hillier the second with a pair of goals, and Screaming Eagles rookie Olivier Roy the third. The Herd advances to the semifinals against the winner of the Gatineau-Quebec series.

Mooseheads vs. Screaming Eagles: Game 5 Lines

Fri, 11 Apr 2008 19:45:42 -0400

Lines for Game 5 of the QMJHL quarterfinal between the Halifax Mooseheads and Cape Breton Screaming Eagles on Friday at the Metro Centre.

HALIFAX

Logan MacMillan/Colby Pridham/Jakub Voracek
Ryan Hillier/Peter-James Corsi/Brad Marchand
Tomas Knotek/Travis Randell/Andrew White
Daniel Smith/Yuri Cheremetiev/David Bouchard

Andrew Bodnarchuk/Guillaume Monast
Graham Bona/Gabriel O'Connor
Justin Pender/Ben MacAskill

Mark Yetman
Pier-Olivier Pelletier

CAPE BRETON

Nicolas Chouinard/Dean Ouellet/Chris Culligan
Nick MacNeil/Jordan Clendenning/Joey Haddad
Robert Slaney/Vincent Lavigueur/Murdock MacLellan
Pierre-Olivier Payment/Jeremy Gouchie/Philippe Fontaine

Beau Prokopetz/Mathieu Brodeur
Jan Piskacek/Alex Lamontagne
Spencer Corcoran/Francis Meilleur

Olivier Roy
Marek Benda

Swan could sit out again

Thu, 10 Apr 2008 18:12:45 -0400

Halifax Mooseheads forward Bryce Swan is listed as day-to-day with a concussion and there is a chance he will miss his second straight game on Friday.

The Quebec Major Junior Hockey League's goal-scoring leader was hit in the head twice in a triple-overtime win over the Cape Breton Screaming Eagles in Game 3 of the best-of-seven quarter-finals on Tuesday.

He missed Wednesday's Game 4 loss and will be evaluated again on Friday, when the Mooseheads play the Screaming Eagles in Game 5 at the Metro Centre at 7 p.m.

Swan, 20, has 10 goals in nine playoff games.

The Mooseheads returned from Sydney on Thursday morning at 3 a.m. and, other than Game 4 scratches, didn't skate at the Forum later in the day. Tomas Knotek, who missed the past two games with a nasty flu, was one of the few to hit the ice and is expected back on Friday.

Mooseheads vs. Screaming Eagles: Game 4 Lines

Wed, 09 Apr 2008 19:37:31 -0400

Halifax Mooseheads lines for Game 4 of the QMJHL quarterfinal against Cape Breton Screaming Eagles on Wednesday at Centre 200 in Sydney.

Logan MacMillan/Colby Pridham/Jakub Voracek
Ryan Hillier/Peter-James Corsi/Brad Marchand
Eric Louis-Seize/Travis Randell/Andrew White
Daniel Smith/Yuri Cheremetiev/David Bouchard

Andrew Bodnarchuk/Guillaume Monast
Justin Pender/Gabriel O'Connor
Graham Bona/Ben MacAskill

Mark Yetman
Pier-Olivier Pelletier

SCRATCHES: Bryce Swan (concussion), Tomas Knotek (flu), R.D. Chisholm (healthy), Richard Greer (healthy).

Swan injured in win over Eagles

Wed, 09 Apr 2008 06:25:43 -0400

Halifax Mooseheads forward Bryce Swan may have a slight concussion after taking a couple of bumps in Tuesday's win over the Cape Breton Screaming Eagles, a 4-3 triple-overtime thriller in Sydney.

Swan, who leads the QMJHL in goals with 10, took a shoulder and a stick to the head on separate plays and sat out the final period and a half.

The 20-year-old will be evaluated on Wednesday morning to determine his availability for Game 4, which is later in the day at 7 p.m.