2022 QMJHL Playoffs | Mooseheads vs. Titan Preview

 

The last time the Halifax Mooseheads were involved in a postseason contest, they were battling for a Memorial Cup title. The team they’ll be facing in round one, the Acadie-Bathurst Titan, clearly has its sights set on that championship once again.

The Titan posted its highest point total since its 2018 Memorial Cup campaign. Led by 100-point producer Riley Kidney, the club bolstered its roster, which already included Bennett MacArthur and Jacob Melanson, with a pair of former Chicoutimi Sagueneens stars in Felix Lafrance and Thomas Belgarde at the deadline.

Another former Chicoutimi star, Hendrix Lapierre, made his way to Bathurst after starting the season with the Washington Capitals. Also coming in midway through the campaign from the Blainville-Boisbriand Armada was defenseman Miguel Tourigny.

Between the pipes, Jan Bednar finished tied for second in the league with 28 wins in his second Q campaign.

The Titan reached the second round of the 2021 playoffs before falling to the Charlottetown Islanders.

 

The Mooseheads enter the postseason for the first time in three years with an exciting young group that includes 2022 NHL Draft eligible forwards Jordan Dumais and Marcus Vidicek. Adding a veteran presence to the lineup is Philadelphia Flyers prospect, Elliot Desnoyers, and Nashville Predators 2021 first-rounder, Zachary L’Heureux. Evan Boucher arrived midway through the season and promptly averaged over a point per game.

On the backend, Jake Furlong carried much of the load offensively while Brady Schultz offered up a smooth game in all three zones. In net, Brady James and Mathis Rousseau split duties over the course of the year, the latter coming on strong down the stretch.

The Mooseheads, who fell to the Rouyn-Noranda Huskies in the 2019 President and Memorial Cup Finals, have made the postseason 22 times in franchise history.

 

The Titan narrowly took the season series between the clubs, five games to four. Though there were a couple of blowouts along the way, five of those contests were decided by two goals or less.

Amazingly, these long-time Maritime rivals have only faced each other twice in the postseason, and not at all for nearly two decades. The Titan was victorious in 1999 while the Mooseheads took a seven-game thriller in 2003.

With a combined eight league finals, three President Cups and two Memorial Cups over the past quarter-century, these two franchises know a thing or two about the postseason. Now, it’s time for them to write a new chapter against one another.

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Team Comparison:

	Acadie-Bathurst	Halifax
Record	40-22-3-3 — 86 Pts	27-35-1-5 — 60 Pts
Division Ranking	3rd Maritimes	4th Maritimes
League Ranking	6th	8th
GF	280	272
GA	211	272
PP (Overall)	(73/270) 27.0%	(65/279) 23.3%
PK (Overall)	(50/290) 82.8%	(70/232) 69.8%
Leading Rookie	Henneberry (14-15-29)	Cataford (17-29-46)
Leading Scorers	Kidney (30-70-100)	Dumais (39-70-109)
	Tourigny (31-49-80)	Desnoyers (42-46-88)
	Lafrance (34-45-79)	Vidicek (18-47-65)
	MacArthur (42-35-77)	L’Heureux (22-34-56)
	Belgarde (21-38-59)	Cataford (17-29-46)