Ducharme Named MooseHEAD Coach
Dominique Ducharme will find himself behind the bench of the Halifax Mosseheads for the 2011/12 season as Head Coach
Bobby Smith has found his new bench boss in the form of the well-respected assistant coach from the Montreal Juniors. Ducharme spent three years with the Juniors.
Previousl to his time in Montreal, Ducharme led l’Action de Joliette (now le Traffic, Joliette) to two Quebec Junior AAA Hockey League Championships, an Eastern Canadian Championship, and an appearance at the 2006 Royal Bank Cup. He was also named QJAAAHL Coach of the Year in 2008 prior to making the jump to the QMJHL.
Ducharme also has some noteworthy history in his playing career. He is tied for ninth on the University of Vermont’s All-Time Scorers list. He tallied 149 points in his 130 games played from 1991-1995, just 118 points off former teammate Martin St. Louis’s school record.
Ducharme is known for his keen understanding of the technical aspects of the game, and his ability to communicate well with his players.
Ducharme beat out other top canadidates Darren Rumble and Brad Lauer for the Moose top job.
The Moosehead will hold a press conference Friday, May 6th to introduce their new coach.
More Work Ahead
With the head coaching position filled, the Herd’s next big task will be preparing for the upcoming QMJHL draft in Victoriaville, QC. The team holds a number of picks in the early rounds, including the fourth overall pick. GM Cam Russell has made no secret that he will explore the option of trying to acquire the first overall pick from the Baie-Comeau Drakkar in order to draft local phenom Nathan MacKinnon.
Russell will do his best to use some the young talent and the aforementioned draft picks to jump into that spot, but has made it clear he won’t mortgage the teams future for one player.
Halifax Rainmen Open Season with a Win
It was a great atmosphere at the Metro Centre Sunday afternoon as the Halifax Rainmen hosted the Vermont Frost Heaves to open the PBL season. It was a close game with some good back and forth action, but in the end it was a couple of familiar faces that led the Rainmen to the win.
The Frost Heaves jumped out to an early lead thanks in large part to the strong guard play from Dwane Rice and Joe Jones. Rice’s quickness and ability to penetrate seemed to create some open looks for his teammates as the Rainmen got their defensive feet under themselves.
The momentum began to shift with a steal by Des “Moneyball” Ferguson on an in-bound pass that led to an old fashion three-point play.
New starting point guard Taliek Brown (14 pts, 11 asts) looked comfortable and settled the Rainmen into their offense before the first quarter was over. Eric “Air Canada” Crookshank, coming of the bench, allowed the team to push the ball up the floor and catch the Frost Heaves not getting back on defense. Despite coming off the bench, Crookshank led the team in scoring and rebounding going into the half with 15 points and seven boards staking the Rainmen to a 57-49 lead.
The second half saw another veteran Rainman take over and maintain that lead. Des Ferguson caught fire from behind the arc, scoring 19 scoring of his game high 28 in the final two quarters. Ferguson finished the game going 7 for 9 from land of three.
The Rainmen seemed to have found a couple of solutions down low in Kavon Jones (12 pts, 12 rebs) and Josh Dollard (12 pts, 8 rebs). Big-body presence in the middle has been a concern for the Rainmen, but Sunday’s game showed some promise. Both Dollard and Jones provided lots of energy and grit down low and kept several plays alive leading to second chance opportunities. the Rainmen managed to out-rebound the Frost Heaves 47-38.
The Rainmen next see action Thursday, as they travel to Quebec to take on the Kebs. They are back home next Sunday against Lawton-Fort Sill Cavalry.
The Saint John ???? of the PBL
Rogers Wireless and Saint John’s new Premier Basketball League (PBL) team are joining forces to create an exciting experience for sports fans in the Port City.
Among the first things that need to be decided is what to call the team. The team and Rogers announced a Got Name? contest for the community to vote on the team name.
A Facebook page was created by the team and fans have been offering their suggestions for team names over the past couple of weeks.
Tide Runners? Fog Devils? Fire? Barracudas? Phoenix? Fog Kings? Foghorn? Firebirds? Loyalists? Fog Rats? Slammers? Wharf Rats? Porters? Anchors? Lumberjack? Venom? Juggernaut? Crowes Place? Daggers? White Knights? Slaughter? Cobras? Coast? Breakers? Raiders? Tiderunners? Timber? Heritage? Brewers? These are some of the suggestions that have come from fans.
Now Rogers and the team have put forward some of their own suggestions and are giving everyone the opportunity to decide.
Highly Touted 