QMJHL Cape Breton Eagles

Eagles Top Tigres to Pick up Win on Bearcat Night

Published on October 8, 2023 under Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League (QMJHL)
Cape Breton Eagles News Release


The Eagles built up a 3-0 lead and held on for a 4-3 victory over the Victoriaville Tigres at Centre 200 on Sunday. Antoine Roy & Olivier Houde each notched a goal & an assist while Zach Biggar & Thomas Bégin also scored in the win.

- Pier-Olivier Roy, Tommy Cormier, and Maxime Pellerin scored for Victoriaville.

- Nicolas Ruccia picked up the win, stopping 25 of 28 shots, while Nathan Darveau took the loss, stopping 31 of 35 shots.

- Eagles forward Lubos Stahon took a puck to the face in the first period and did not return to action.

- Sunday was "Bearcat night" at the Nest as the Eagles honoured former assistant coach Blair Joseph, who passed away earlier this year to cancer. Mario Durocher, John Hanna, and Rodger Cuzner spoke prior to the game while Joseph was honoured with a number of videos throughout the night, including from former Eagles coach Pascal Vincent.

The Eagles took a 2-0 lead to the dressing room after the opening period- Begin opened the scoring after Emile Ricard stripped Pierre-Marc Minville of the puck and sent a pass to Begin, who swept around goaltender Darveau. Biggar finished a pretty passing play later in the period as Cam Squires sent a pass back to the blueline, and the Eagle captain snuck into the play to zap the puck by Darveau.

Antoine Roy's goal came just 57 seconds into the third period to add to the lead, and not long after the Eagles had a chance to expand the edge with a power play. But in addition to killing the penalty, the Tigres closed the gap as Pier-Olivier Roy beat Ruccia low on a penalty shot to get his team on the board.

The teams traded goals again before period's end- Houde's eventual game winner coming before the halfway point, and then in the final minute of the period, Cormier tapped in a Roy pass at the side of the net to give Victoriaville a power play marker.

Pellerin blasted a shot by Ruccia from the left faceoff circle prior to the seven minute mark, and it was deemed a good goal after a lengthy review. The Tigres pushed, outshooting the Eagles in the third period for the first time in the game, but Ruccia and his teammates stood tall to pick up the win.

The Eagles will now head on the road for their first Quebec road trip of the season. It begins on Thursday against Louis Robitaille's former team, the Gatineau Olympiques! Puck drop is 8 PM Atlantic time, and the game can be purchased on CHLTV at https://shorturl.at/nqyE0. You can also hear all the action beginning with the pre-game show with Patrick McNeil at 7:30 PM on 1270 AM CJCB or online at www.cjcbradio.com

THREE STARS OF THE GAME

1. Antoine Roy (Cape Breton) 1 goal, 1 assist, +2

2. Zach Biggar (Cape Breton) 1 goal, +1, 2 hits

3. Maxime Pellerin (Victoriaville) 1 goal, 1 assist, 7 shots

Scratches For Cape Breton: Jacob Newcombe (Illness), Lincoln Waugh, Jude Campbell, Luke McPhee

Scratches For Victoriaville: Lucas Fortin, Nathaniel Harvey, Igor Mburanumwe, Raphaël Blouin

Final Shots On Goal: 35-28 in favour of Cape Breton

Cape Breton Power Play: 0/5

Victoriaville Power Play:1/2

Check out the Cape Breton Eagles Statistics

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Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League Stories from October 8, 2023


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