Round 1: Halifax Vs Bathurst

[statsman18]

It seems like it’s been a long dragged out year. This season has been filled with adversity. Weeks before training team needs a new coach. New coach is hired, or should I say rehired. It was and maybe still is an unpopular hire but we’re here at 2nd seed in the conference. Started the year not sure where the league MVP would be playing. After around 4 weeks into the sea on he was returned to the Moose and hit the ground running up until the world Jr’s and then was never seen again. More to his story but that comes later. Next comes the trade window. Fans on this board had major expectation and to be blunt were left underwhelmed. If you look at it in a hindsight point of view, it could be argued that maybe they got exactly what was needed. 2 top 6 forward 20yo and a new more talented European forward. I think the biggest problem with the trade window was us fan had a champagne taste and Cam had a beer budget. Also throughout the trade window we lost our top goalie to the world Jr’s along with a top defencemen. I think furlongs absence wasn’t a big hole but Rousseau sure was. Milner did okay some game but only okay and was just a guy the other games. Then those 3 come back but oh wait the league MVP needs surgery. Then he is rehabbing on pace to be back for a handful of regular season games. Wait then there’s rumours of a DUI (that was its own little drama on this board) which turn out to be true. He has a 5 game suspension and here we are one game left on said suspension.

So that about raps up the regular season. Oh wait one bright spot Rousseau got a goal! Now first round. Bathurst has played Halifax exceptionally well. They might be one of the strongest 7th seed team ever. It won’t be a cake walk by any means but I do think Halifax will win this. I think it’s going to go 5 games. As I said before Dumais is back and everyone knows what he brings. Rousseau in net plus 2 solid lines and a strong 3rd will prove to just be to much.

[davo1997]

Bathurst in 6 lock it in

[Joe Burrow]

Moose 4

[guffmcshay]

Moose split the first two games and then run the table....4-1 series win for Hfx.

[Fryar]

Halifax in 4.

[JEagle]

Mar 27, 2024 11:52:02 GMT -4 purpleflash said:

Furlong done for the year?

[statsman18]

Mar 27, 2024 11:56:49 GMT -4 JEagle said:

Mar 27, 2024 11:52:02 GMT -4 purpleflash said:

Furlong done for the year?

Just another thing to add to the adversity. Honestly IMO they can fill that hole fine I think they basically ride 5 defenders and let both Mackenzie and Doyle in and out of the lineup with maybe 5 to 7 minutes a game. The top 4 become Moravec, Schultz, MacKinnon, and Phillips. When Shultz has a long PP just sub Martin in his next spot giving Schultz a little breather. I think they’ll be fine.

[hockeydad]

That's a huge loss for the Mooseheads there best d man gone now I am wondering if they can make it past Bathurst little lone Moncton or Cape Breton if they make it to the next round what SHL! This year is like make believe you couldn't possibly make up more drama on one team than whats happen with the Moose 30 anniversary horror story.

[hfxfan2002]

Got all excited when I heard Lamoureaux was out for Drummondville now I hear we lossed Furlong… lovely.

I’m really not that high on Dominic MacKenzie, it stresses me out when he gets paired up with Jack Martin.

We’ll see what happens.

[papadopoulos]

That's very shitty to hear. This is the kind of hole you can fix over a couple games, but should we get worn down this will be noticeable. Halifax can absolutely win this series, it just depends on a few factors, now a little more so than before.

1) is Dumais here to play hockey or is he checked out until next year in the pros.

2) does Rousseau stay locked in. Probably yes.

3) can Midgley do his job somewhat competently. Probably no, but we can compensate for that with some luck and skill.

This series will go six or seven for sure lol. We can win, but quite a few things must go right.

[hfxfan2002]

That means Furlong has likely played his last game ever as a Moosehead, unless things go south in the AHL, pretty unfortunate. Wish him well.

[Jack Bauer]

Mar 27, 2024 14:22:56 GMT -4 @18mwth said:

This season has been absolutely plagued by injuries. It has got to be taking a mental toll on the whole team to be constantly dealing with that frustration all year. Hopefully they are getting a bit of a reset this week and will be ready to come out strong on Friday.

Also, I am so sick of the 'checked out' Dumais narrative. He had 47 points in 21 games after getting sent back from Columbus. Whether he was happy or not, he did his job when he came back.

Its a narrative that has nothing to do with Dumais himself.

Its a narrative that we've seen with many high profile players on their way out of junior.

Putting up points in the Q in November is one thing. Having success in the playoffs is a completely different situation. You're right that there's no reason to think he'll do anything but what he's ever done - produce. But you can't deny he has rather high expectations to live up to and may not exactly be in the best situation to succeed with all the question marks.

[papadopoulos]

Mar 27, 2024 14:22:56 GMT -4 @18mwth said:

This season has been absolutely plagued by injuries. It has got to be taking a mental toll on the whole team to be constantly dealing with that frustration all year. Hopefully they are getting a bit of a reset this week and will be ready to come out strong on Friday.

Also, I am so sick of the 'checked out' Dumais narrative. He had 47 points in 21 games after getting sent back from Columbus. Whether he was happy or not, he did his job when he came back.

You can say you're sick of the narrative all you like, the fact of the matter is his effort was not there. Did he score? All the time, but that's also about all he did. If he wasn't in the offensive zone, he was gliding or positioning himself for someone to send him a pass up the way. He never hustled. When he went down via a big hit, he would turn to the referee and give them a look before standing. He scored anyway because he is just that ridiculously more talented than the rest of the league.

Talent or not, he also became entirely invisible last year in the playoffs irrespective of his efforts. There is no reason for me to believe he can contribute in the playoffs when he hasn't shown he can and isn't even trying as hard as before.

[fabi1309]

Wow the Furlong news is rough and sad. I wish him the best.

Unpopular opinion: I think he (Furlong) was overhyped at points. He cost us a couple of games with sloppy play and stupid mistakes - and, for the love of god, his play under pressure was awful. Tho, apart from those things he is solid.

Anyways, that opens up another question: who is going to take the C? I am hoping Cataford or Schultz. I never liked Furlong as a captain. He just didn't have the energy on the ice that I would wish from a captain. Biasca last year was probably one of the best people with a C on his chest - not in terms of hockey skill but in terms of character. I remember him scoring in playoffs and hyping up the crowd and the team. Gives me goosebumps. Don't think Furlong would have done that.

The Dumais question is a good question. I wonder what he'll do. Regardless of his motivation, he'll probs still outscore everyone on the team. And wouldn't it be nice to end his junior career with the GC trophy? Oh and he has even more to prove now,, given his recent run-in with the law. Columbus may be watching him even closer now.

I think the team has some big ambitions. A couple of the guys posted on instagram with the hashtag #unfinished. Makes me believe more and more that the last bit of the season was a 'cruise-control' situation. We know they can beat the top teams. They can beat the titan. Moose in 4.

[hfxfan09]

Won't be easy Bathurst scares me but we just have to play smart and Physical with them...Moose in 5 so they can win it at home!

Tough loss Furlong is wish him well but we have a solid D group, and we have more than one line that can score we need everyone to contribute and we need Rooster on his A game I'm hoping for another long playoff run!