Screaming Eagles fly high in pre-season
Cape Breton to start the season on the road
The dress rehearsal is over – now it’s show time for the latest edition of the Cape Breton Screaming Eagles.
The Sydney-based squad wrapped up a positive pre-season campaign with a 4-1 win over the Moncton Wildcats on Sunday in Bouctouche, N.B., for its fifth consecutive victory.
The victory followed Saturday’s 3-2 extra-time win over the host Charlottetown Islanders that featured goals from Yegor Sokolov and Matthias Laferriere in regulation time and the game-winning tally by Brooklyn Kalmikov in the shootout.
Laferriere scored again on Sunday, while the other Screaming Eagles making the score sheet were Phélix Martineau, Jordan Ty Fournier and Declan Smith.
Both Kyle Jessiman and Kevin Mandolese were solid between the pipes during their respective starts on the weekend. Jessiman, 18, stopped 29 of 31 shots against the Islanders on Saturday, while the 17-year-old Mandolese was close to recording a shutout but was denied when he allowed a power play goal with just one minute to play.
Cape Breton heads into Friday’s season-opening game against the Acadie-Bathurst Titan with a 15-year-old as its leading pre-season scorer. Ryan Francis, who doesn’t turn 16 until December, has racked up 11 points on five goals and six assists, while another rookie, 16-year-old Kalmikov, was second with three goals and six assists for nine points.
The 2017-18 Québec Major Junior Hockey League season officially kicks off on Thursday when the Halifax Mooseheads travel to Saint John to take on the defending league champion Sea Dogs.
The Screaming Eagles open the campaign in New Brunswick with games on Friday in Bathurst and Saturday in Saint John against the Sea Dogs.
Cape Breton’s home opener is slated for Sept. 29 against the Titan at Centre 200 in Sydney. The puck drops at 7 p.m.