Riding the winds of emotion
Screaming Eagles learning life’s lessons both on and off the ice
After years of working the mean streets of Montréal as a police officer, Jacques (Jack) Carriere knows a thing or two about the ups and downs of life.
As such, the co-architect of the current edition of the Cape Breton Screaming Eagles has been watching the team’s young players with interest over the past two weeks as they have dealt with a rollercoaster of emotions.
On the positive side, the Screaming Eagles remain one of the hottest teams in the league despite losing their latest game to the visiting Québec Remparts by a score of 3-1 on Saturday at Centre 200. Prior to that game, Cape Breton had gone 8-0-1 in its last nine games.
The players also got a taste of real life as they rallied to help their teammate and captain Declan Smith deal with the death of his mother who passed away after a difficult battle with cancer. On Wednesday, the team attended the funeral of Smith’s mother Rachel in Antigonish and later that same day defeated the redhot Moncton Wildcats for a big road win.
Two days later,
Smith returned to the lineup against the Acadie-Bathurst Titan and scored the game-winning goal late in the third period. After scoring he removed his glove and pointed to the sky in salute to his mother, a move that prompted emotions to run rampant through the crowd at Centre 200.
Carriere, a long-time associate of head coach and general manager Marc-André Dumont, said the players are affected and learn from what happens both on and off the ice.
“It’s all about growth – we can’t forget that many of these guys come to us as young teenagers and when they leave they’ve grown to adulthood, so it’s not just about how they grow as a hockey player, it’s also about how they grow as a person,” said Carriere, who serves as the Eagles’ assistant GM and head scout.
“We’ve done some growing this past week – both with the winning streak, but also as people because of what happened with Declan’s mother.”
Carriere said that when selecting players in the Québec Major Junior Hockey League’s entry draft or acquiring them by trade, both he and Dumont look for character traits that complement the players’ on-ice abilities.
“We definitely believe it takes a certain kind of player to be a Screaming Eagle,” he noted.
“The players have been through a lot and with the winning streak they also had to learn how to win – and it’s not just winning by the score, it’s about how you win and about doing things better today than you did yesterday.” The Screaming Eagles (18-121-1) will be looking to get back to their winning ways when they embark on a three-game road trip this week that includes a Wednesday game in Halifax against the Mooseheads. Cape Breton then journeys to New Brunswick for a Friday game against the Titan in Bathurst and a Saturday tilt in Saint John against the Sea Dogs.
The next home game is Dec. 28 against the Sea Dogs.