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Cape Breton Eagles

Eagles Fall to Drakkar in Overtime as Season Comes to an End

May 2, 2024 - Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League (QMJHL)
Cape Breton Eagles News Release


The goaltenders were the stars of the show, denying several big opportunities at both sides. The first 9:06 of the game was played at five on five until Cape Breton's Antoine Roy & Baie-Comeau's Justin Gill were sent off for roughing. With Roy & Gill in the box, a Poirier minor set up an extended four on three, which the Eagles capitalized on- Romeo tipping a Cam Squires shot in front of the net by Gravel to open the scoring.

Baie-Comeau had two power plays in the later stage of the period but were unable to equalize, and despite outshooting the Eagles 16-13 in the first period, the visitors had the lead after 20 minutes.

The script flipped in the second stanza- the Eagles outshot the Drakkar, but Baie-Comeau cashed in on a power play as Poirier found the top corner above Ruccia. At period's end, Cape Breton had a big opportunity with a 1:11 long five on three but were unable to solve Gravel.

There were still opportunities although the defense tightened up in the third period, with each team being held to eight shots. 60 minutes was not enough to settle it, and the game was the first overtime encounter for the Eagles in the 2024 post-season.

Each club had additional opportunities on the man advantage. Roy was sent off for delay of game after putting the puck over the glass, but after 67 seconds of penalty kill time, a four on four situation was created when Félix Gagnon was sent off for interference. The Drakkar killed off the balance of the penalty after the four on four sequence, and a tense overtime period resumed.

Baie-Comeau was outshooting the Eagles 7-0 in the extra session halfway through the scheduled 20 minutes when Lavoie put a heavy shot on goal- going through a Raoul Boilard screen and going by Nicolas Ruccia to end the series, sending the sold out crowd at the Centre Henry-Leonard into jubilation.

With the loss, the 2023-24 Cape Breton Eagles season has come to an end, and the club would like to thank and congratulate outgoing players Zach Biggar, Conor Shortall, and Cam MacDonald for their outstanding careers.

The Eagles organization would like to thank the fans of Cape Breton for their support during what has been a very exciting season of QMJHL hockey at the Nest! With the ability to return up to 16 players from this year's team to next year's roster, in addition to an exciting pool of prospects, the future is certainly bright at Centre 200. The Eagles will now look forward to the QMJHL debut in Moncton June 7th & 8th, and the Eagles hold the #1 pick in the draft!

Fans are advised to stay tuned to all Eagles social media channels for new exciting content and all news about the team throughout the off-season.

THREE STARS OF THE GAME

1. Anthony Lavoie (Baie-Comeau) Overtime winner, +1

2. Charles-Édward Gravel (Baie-Comeau) 35 saves on 36 shots

3. Nicolas Ruccia (Cape Breton) 39 saves on 41 shots

Scratches For Cape Breton: Jude Campbell (injury), Noah Larochelle (injury), Jakob Milota (World Under 18s), Etienne Desjardins

Scratches For Baie-Comeau: Jabez Seymour, Kirill Evstigneev, Alexis Mathieu, Mattias Gilbert

Shots On Goal: 41-36 in favour of Baie-Comeau

Cape Breton Power Play: 1/6

Baie-Comeau Power Play: 1/6

NOTES FROM THE GAME

- Anthony Lavoie's shot through a screen at the 10:03 mark of the first overtime period gave the Baie-Comeau Drakkar a 2-1 victory on Thursday night in Baie-Comeau. With the victory the Drakkar win the league semi-final series 4-1.

- Lavoie's goal was the only goal scored on five on five during the entire game- Lucas Romeo opened the scoring in the first period for the Eagles while Justin Poirier countered for Baie-Comeau in the second, with both goals coming on the power play.

- Charles-Édward Gravel stopped 35 of 36 shots in the win, while Nicolas Ruccia turned aside 39 of 41 in the loss.

- The Drakkar will now wait for the winner of the other league semi-final between Drummondville & Victoriaville, which Drummondville leads 3-1.

- With the loss, the QMJHL careers of Eagles 20 year old players Conor Shortall, Zach Biggar, and Cam MacDonald have come to an end.

Check out the Cape Breton Eagles Statistics

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Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League Stories from May 2, 2024


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