QMJHL action from Centre 200
Cape Breton Screaming Eagles fall 6-4 to visiting Acadie-Bathurst Titan
See how the Screaming Eagles did against the Titan last night.
The Cape Breton Screaming Eagles had their four-game winning streak snapped, losing 6-4 to the Acadie-Bathurst Titan in Quebec Major Junior Hockey League action at Centre 200 on Friday.
At one point, the Screaming Eagles trailed the Titan 5-2 in the second period, but battled back to make the score 5-4 before the Titan sealed the deal with an empty-net goal late in the third period.
Marc-André Dumont, Screaming Eagles’ head coach and general manager, said his team showed a no-quit attitude.
“We didn’t let the events of the game stop us from playing our style,” he said. “We tied the second period and won the third period.”
Cape Breton opened the scoring early in the game with Olivier LeBlanc scoring his ninth goal of the season to give the Screaming Eagles the lead, but the goal came at a price. LeBlanc was injured after a collision in front of the Titan net following the goal. He left the game and did not return.
The Titan tied the game just past the six-minute mark of the first period with Olivier Desjardins finding the back of the net. Just over a minute later, the visitors would take the lead with Vladimir Kuznetsov making the score 2-1.
Antoine Morand extended the lead for the Titan before Cape Breton forward Giovanni Fiore made the score 3-2 with his league-leading 40th goal of the season. Acadie-Bathurst took a 4-2 lead into the first intermission with Daniil Miromanov’s goal at 17:35.
Dawson Theede added to the Titan lead in the second period to give Acadie-Bathurst a 5-2 lead, but the Screaming Eagles answered before the middle stanza was over as rookie Mathias Laferrière pulled Cape Breton to within two on the power play.
The Screaming Eagles would come close to tying the contest with Phélix Martineau netting his 23rd goal of the season to make the score 5-4 just past the halfway mark of the third period, but the Titan would secure the win with Jeffrey TruchonViel adding an insurance goal into an empty net at the 18:54 mark of the final frame.
Anthony Dumont-Bouchard made 23 saves in the win for Acadie-Bathurst. Kyle Jessiman stopped 26 of 31 shots in Cape Breton’s loss.
The Screaming Eagles will now turn their attention to the division-leading Saint John Sea Dogs this afternoon.
Dumont said the Sea Dogs are a powerhouse team, built to win a Memorial Cup.
“When we play our game and we play our style and work hard, we feel good about ourselves, and that’s what we have to do against Saint John on Saturday.”
The last meeting between the Screaming Eagles and Sea Dogs was on Jan. 15 at Harbour Station in Saint John, a game Cape Breton won 7-6.
Puck drop for this afternoon’s game is set for 4 p.m. at Centre 200.
GAME NOTES: Cape Breton’s Olivier LeBlanc was injured less then two minutes into the game after a collision, following Cape Breton’s first goal. Dumont had no update on LeBlanc’s condition after the game.