Eagles Continue Chase for Top of Maritime Division with Added Wins - Eagles Recap
Published on January 31, 2024 under Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League (QMJHL)
Cape Breton Eagles News Release
Second Half Hot-Streak
Just over a month into the second half of the 2023-2024 QMJHL regular season, the Cape Breton Eagles are becoming a force to be reckoned with throughout the league's Maritime division and beyond.
As of Jan. 31, the Eagles sit just six points back of the second place Moncton Wildcats since starting to play their best hockey of the season following the holiday break. In fact, over the last 15 games stretching back to Dec. 15, the Eagles have statistically been the second best team in the entire Eastern conference, sprouting a record of 8-2-1-4 for a total of 21 additional points in the league standings. Only the league leading Baie-Comeau Drakkar had more points with 22.
Team leading scorer Cam Squires lead the offensive surge throughout that stretch, including back to back game winning goals on January 26th and 28th. Squires now sits with 23 goals and 24 assists on the year after 47 games played. Newly acquired trade period addition Lucas Romeo has been nothing short of terrific since joining the Eagles squad on Jan. 4. He has scored seven goals and one assist throughout his first 10 games with the team and has consistantly played a significant role on the team's third line alongside Charles-Antoine Lavallée and Antoine Roy. On the defensive side, goaltender Nicolas Ruccia has finished the month of January as the top goaltender in the entire QMJHL. Over the last four weeks, the 19-year-old sits with a 1.56 goals against average, a .943 save percentage as well as two shutouts. Since his incredible return to the Eagles squad earlier this month, 19-year-old forward Jacob Newcombe has put up an impressive three goals and three assists in his first nine games, while lifting the Eagles to a big overtime win against the division-leading Halifax Mooseheads on Jan. 28 with three points.
Featured on the newest Inside the Nest podcast episode coming Feb. 5th, Cam Squires said the team's success was bound to happen after improving each week as a squad.
"I think it has just been a domino effect into something going right. We have been picking at it and doing all of the good things. We have been pounding and picking away at the stone and eventually it was going to crack. We have been playing well and trying to be more consistent, which every team strives to do but I think the coaching and executing each night has been huge for us," he said.
Lavoie attends NHL Top Prospects Games
On Jan. 24, 17-year-old Eagles defensemen Tomas Lavoie was one of 40 players who participated in this year's Kubota CHL/NHL Top Prospects Game in Moncton, N.B.
Lavoie is a former first overall QMJHL draft pick to the Eagles in 2022 and has 34 points in 103 games with the club over the past two seasons.
Selected by the NHL's 32 clubs, the 40 chosen players from across the Western Hockey League (WHL), Ontario Hockey League (OHL), and Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League (QMJHL) competed before hundreds of NHL scouts and thousands of fans in Moncton in an effort to improve their draft stock ahead of the 2024 NHL Draft which is scheduled for next June.
Lavoie was one of four QMJHL players to compete in this year's game and was recently ranked #50 for all North American skaters by NHL Central Scouting for the 2024 NHL Entry Draft this summer.
After returning to Centre 200 in the following days, Lavoie said the experience of playing amongst some of Canada's best was unforgettable.
"It was a great experience meeting all those players...and the game was fun as well," he said. "The first period was stress all over everything, but I settled down in the second and then in the third I felt much stronger. It really increased (my excitement for the draft) and I can't wait."
The Eagles are back in action at Centre 200 for a doubleheader with the Charlottetown Islanders this Friday and Saturday at 7PM. Tickets for both games are available here
Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League Stories from January 31, 2024
- Wildcats and CMHANB Team up Saturday to Raise Awareness About Mental Health - Moncton Wildcats
- Eagles Continue Chase for Top of Maritime Division with Added Wins - Eagles Recap - Cape Breton Eagles
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