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 Cape Breton Eagles

Declan Smith Plays Hero as Eagles Win in Instant Classic

March 25, 2017 - Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League (QMJHL)
Cape Breton Eagles News Release


SYDNEY- Centre 200 is becoming the home of overtime magic in the 2017 playoffs. There were more extra time heroics for the Screaming Eagles as Declan Smith capped off a Cape Breton rally to give his team a 2-0 lead in the series with a 7-6 overtime decision over the Gatineau Olympiques.

After a 1-0 Cape Breton victory began the series, the goals were much quicker to come in game two- although it was still scoreless at the nine minute mark. However, when the goose egg was broken, goals would come in pairs. Gatineau would grab the early lead.

Kevin Mandolese started the game in nets for Cape Breton after Kyle Jessiman recorded a shutout win in the opening game. Mandolese had a strong start to the game but Zack MacEwen would find the back of the net by driving the goal and picking up a pass from behind the net to Vitali Abramov, who moved to his line for game two. The goal came at the 9:14 mark- and just sixteen seconds later Jake Barter would flip in a shot from the point and the Olympiques took a 2-0 lead.

Cape Breton thought they were on the board when Giovanni Fiore tipped a shot coming off the boards, but the goal would be waived off due to incidental goaltender interference. But before period's end, the Eagles would tie the game with a quick pair of goals of their own. First Leon Gawanke cashed in with a shot from the point on the power play at 16:46- then fifteen seconds later Olivier LeBlanc hit Drake Batherson with a breakway pass and it was a tie game heading into the intermission.

MacEwen would strike again early in the second stanza, an individual effort putting Gatineau back in the lead at 3-2. By the 4:44 mark Mitchell Balmas would scoop the puck up at the top of the crease and put it by Mandolese. Then just 1:20 later Alexandre Landreville would give the Olympiques the first three goal lead of the series for either squad with a high shot, and spell the night for Mandolese as Jessiman came in relief.

The Eagles would crawl back into the game by way of the power play as Marc-Olivier Crevier-Morin was in the box. Massimo Carozza would then win the draw back to Ross MacDougall who took just three seconds on the man advantage to bomb it by Mathieu Bellemarre. Then at even strength Phélix Martineau would pull the puck out of a scramble and cut the lead to 5-4.

A nifty passing play would restore the two goal cushion for the visitors as Yakov Trenin slid the puck up the boards to Balmas who would fire it across the crease to Shawn Boudrias who would beat Jessiman. It was 6-4 with six minutes to play in period two.

Power play goal number three for the home team would come when Drake Batherson received a diagonal feed from MacDougall and beat Bellemarre from a sharp angle. The goal came with 2:08 remaining in the third period, and the Eagles would find a tying goal in the final minute of the frame. Just moments after giving away a rebound to Ty Fournier, another rebound would land on the stick of Massimo Carozza who would place the puck in the open space to knot the game at six. Cape Breton fired 20 shots on the Gatineau goal in the second stanza.

After the insanity of the first forty minutes, the teams tightened up and played hockey that was quite reminiscent of what was seen at Centre 200 on Friday night. Tristan Berube came in in relief of Bellemarre, and turned aside all eleven Eagle shots while Jessiman stopped all nine attempts from Gatineau. For the second straight night the game would go to a fourth period.

This extra session would last longer than the series opener, and while Cape Breton outshot Gatineau 8-5 in the first ten minutes the high end opportunities were kept to a minimum. Past the eleven minute mark, it would be MacDougall and Batherson, each with two points to that point in the evening, that would set the stage for Smith's heroics.

MacDougall would take the puck from the right side of the Eagle end and fire a pass up and across the ice to Batherson next to the Cape Breton bench. Batherson quickly flipped the puck to Smith who came over the blueline and whipped the puck past Berube to sent Centre 200 into euphoria for the second straight night.

Jessiman picked up the win, stopping 17 of 18 in relief of Mandolese. (Mandolese surrendered five goals on 20 shots before being pulled.) Berube stopped 19 of 20 in taking the loss, after Bellemarre allowed six goals on 35 shots.

Game three will go Tuesday night as the series now shifts to the Robert Guertin Centre in Gatineau. It's an 8:30 PM Atlantic time special on 1270 AM CJCB or online at http://www.cjcbradio.com.

Three stars: 1. Declan Smith (Cape Breton) game winning goal, 5 shots 2. Drake Batherson (Cape Breton) 2 goals, 1 assist 3. Zack MacEwen (Gatineau) 2 goals, 5 shots

Scratches For Cape Breton: Sacha Roy, Logan O'Neil

Scratches For Gatineau: Alex Breton (lower body injury), Vincent Milot-Ouellet (Injury)

Final Shots On Goal: 55-38 in favour of Cape Breton

Cape Breton Power Play: 3/7

Gatineau Power Play: 0/2


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Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League Stories from March 25, 2017


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