Eagles Grab Two Points Ahead of Crucial Quebec Road Trip - Eagles Recap 02/06/2024
Published on February 6, 2024 under Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League (QMJHL)
Cape Breton Eagles News Release
Three straight wins
Before a historic winter storm brought a record amount of snow to Cape Breton Island this past weekend, the Cape Breton Eagles squeezed in another two points to their season total on Friday night at Centre 200 against an eager Charlottetown team.
Two third period goals broke a deadlock for the Eagles, leading them to a 4-2 victory over division foe Charlottetown Islanders.
Friday's game saw the first time forward Lucas Romeo and former Eagle Will Shields competed against their former clubs. Both players were traded for one another during the mid-season trade period in January.
(Eagles forward Lucas Romeo and Islanders forward Will Shields line up during Friday's opening face-off after being traded for one another during the December trade period)
Romeo didn't hold back against his former club, scoring a goal and an assist to add to his season total of ten points in his first 11 games with his new club.
Cam MacDonald scored twice in Friday's win, while defenceman Xavier Daigle scored in his second straight game and forward Olivier Houde added two assists.
Nicolas Ruccia picked up the win in goal, stopping 33 of 35 shots.
Friday's game was scheduled to open a two game set between the two teams, but due to inclement weather, the game originally scheduled for Saturday night has been postponed and moved to Feb. 22, 2024 in Sydney.
Friday's win was the Eagles third straight, adding to their impressive record since the holiday break in December. Over the past 15 games dating back to Dec. 16 the Eagles have a 9-2-1-3 record, capturing 23 points in the process. Statistically, they are the top team in the eastern conference during that stretch and second across the entire Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League.
Crucial Quebec Road Trip
For the final time this regular season, the Cape Breton Eagles will hit the road to Quebec to do battle with some out-of-province Eastern conference foes in a three game stretch starting this Friday.
The Eagles were scheduled to face off with the Rimouski Oceanic on Wednesday, Feb. 7th but due to travel restrictions brought on by the recent Nova Scotia snow storm, the league has since rescheduled the matchup to Sunday, Feb. 11th in Rimouski.
The results of this matchup could prove to be crucial in the final weeks of the regular season, as Rimouski sits just one point behind the Eagles in the Eastern conference standings. As of Feb. 6th, the Eagles sit in fourth place in the conference with 56 points in 48 games, while the Oceanic sit with 55 points in 50 games played. If the seedings were to stay the same for the post season, the Eagles and Oceanic would face off in the first round as the 4th vs 5th matchup in the Eastern conference. If the Eagles finish in the fourth seed or higher, they will clinch home ice advantage in the first round of playoffs for the first time since the 2016-2017 season.
Before the Eagles do battle with the Oceanic on Sunday, the will meet with the league leading Baie Comeau Drakkar, as well as the Chicoutimi Saguenéens who are another team on the Eagles tale, sitting 7th in the Eastern conference with 49 points in 50 games.
With the recent struggles of the Moncton Wildcats, and the string of wins for the Eagles, the gap between second and third place in the conference is continuing to diminish as the Eagles sit just six points back of the Wildcats with one more game played.
The Wildcats and Eagles face off four more times this regular season, including a battle coming up at Centre 200 on Feb. 14.
Eagles players help community during blizzard cleanup
On Monday afternoon, Eagles players Cam Squires, Tomas Lavoie, Emile Ricard and Tomas Cibulka helped team special education instructor Elie Blondin and wife Diane clean out their driveway after the record-setting snowfall seen in Cape Breton over the weekend.
Elie, who is 85-years-old, didn't hesitate to put his shovel in the snow and go to work all morning. He said "I have never seen snow like this all my life...these guys did something very good today for us."
Desjardins named Academic Player of the Month
Every month the Cape Breton Eagles Education staff select a member of the team as the George Baille Student of the Month, prior to Friday's game at Centre 200, Cape Breton Eagles Education Coordinator, Ryan MacPherson, and French language facilitator Mr. Elie Blondin named 17-year-old defenceman Étienne Desjardins as December's student of the month.
Early in the academic year, Etienne has continued to take positive strides towards success on his academic path. Currently enrolled as a student with CEGEP distance, Étienne has completed two courses on time with great grades! Congrats Étienne!
Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League Stories from February 6, 2024
- CAP vs CHA Rescheduled to February 22 - Cape Breton Eagles
- Eagles Grab Two Points Ahead of Crucial Quebec Road Trip - Eagles Recap 02/06/2024 - Cape Breton Eagles
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