Eagles host Wildcats for two-game set
With the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League’s regular season winding down, the Cape Breton Screaming Eagles are looking to get some momentum heading into the playoffs.
“The most important and the only thing on our agenda is our game,” said Screaming Eagles head coach Marc-André Dumont. “It’s important for us to keep growing. The only way for us to feel good about ourselves and feel good about our team is to come to the rink every day and grow.”
Five games are left on the schedule, including backto-back contests against the Moncton Wildcats tonight and Saturday at Centre 200, a 7 p.m. start for each.
As the team heads down the stretch, a member of the Eagles is on the heels of history. Overage forward Giovanni Fiore has a league-leading 47 goals, and is six back of tying Cam Fergus’ single-season franchise record of 53 goals set in 2006-07.
“Giovanni doesn’t think about the 50th goal, he doesn’t have that on his agenda,” said Dumont. “Giovanni has only one thing on his agenda: He wants to become a pro. There’s nothing more important than him on a daily basis working and improving to become a pro… and he’s displaying that on a daily basis.”
This weekend will also mark the last games at Centre 200 for Sydney native Duncan MacIntyre of the Wildcats. The 20-year-old blue-liner played five season in the QMJHL with Québec, Cape Breton and Moncton. He has 15 goals and 64 assists for 79 points in 279 career games. The club also features former Screaming Eagles defenceman Maxim Baillargeon. While Cape Breton is looking to improve its positioning for the playoffs, the young Moncton team is last in the league and is building toward the future.
After this weekend, Cape Breton hosts the Acadie-Bathurst Titan on March 15 for their final home game. It will also be the team’s annual Irish jersey raffle night in memory of past president Greg Lynch. The Irish-themed jerseys will be raffled off at the end of the game to support the Cape Breton Regional Hospital Foundation. Tickets are $5 each and will only be available at Centre 200.
Cape Breton will then conclude the regular season on the road with games March 17 in Halifax and March 18 in Moncton.