HEARTBREAKER
The Eagles finally face the Islanders in Game 3 but lose in overtime.
They fought hard to erase a 3-0 deficit in the game, but the Cape Breton Screaming Eagles now face a 3-0 deficit in the series after the Charlottetown Islanders skated to a 4-3 overtime win on Wednesday at Centre 200.
The Islanders can complete the sweep of the best-of-seven series tonight at Centre 200, while the Eagles will look to stave off elimination. Puck drop is at 7 p.m.
Kameron Kielly won it in overtime, redirecting a point shot for the visitors.
“Obviously, it’s big going up 3-0 in any series, but (the Screaming Eagles) don’t quit and we know that,” said former Eagles forward Dillon Boucher, who scored a second-period goal for the Islanders. “They played a really tough game. We had them in the second and they fought back and we knew they weren’t going to quit.
“I think it’s really big we went up 3-0 in the series and hopefully, try to close it off (tonight).”
After an even first period, the visitors would get on the board first. Daniel Sprong scored on a power play with a mere 14 seconds left on the clock for a 1-0 advantage.
Charlottetown broke things open in the second. William Bower tucked home a loose puck, while Boucher found the back of the net on a scramble for a 3-0 advantage.
“Any goal’s a goal,” Boucher said of his third goal of the playoffs. “They all look the same on paper.”
But the Screaming Eagles
began to chip away at the lead. Giovanni Fiore rifled home a shot at the top of the circle on the power play to put Cape Breton on the board. Declan Smith tipped home a point shot to bring the hosts within a goal. With the teams playing 4-on-4 hockey, Fiore would score his second of the game, stripping the puck from Sprong and burying the breakaway to even the score at 3-3.
The Screaming Eagles and Islanders traded chances in the third, but Kevin Mandolese in the Cape Breton goal and Mark Grametbauer between the pipes for Charlottetown closed the door.
“All year long we’ve been surprising people and we came back from some games that even people didn’t think we could against big teams, so we knew we could come back in that game,” said Mandolese, who turned away Adam Marsh of the Islanders on a breakaway in the second and flashed the leather on Pascal Aquin in the third.
“We made a good comeback, but it’s disappointing we didn’t finish it off.”
Mandolese made 32 stops in goal, and was named the game’s third star. Grametbauer deflected 32 shots to improve his record to 7-0 in the playoffs.
“It’s over now. We have to go to Game 4, win that and go to Game 5,” said Mandolese.
Game 3 was postponed to Wednesday because of a problem with the ice prior to warmup on Tuesday. A pipe with refrigerant under the ice burst while the net pegs were being installed. Rink crews worked overnight to correct the problem and restore the ice in the north end of the rink.
NOTE: Screaming Eagles defenceman Adam McCormick left the game in the second period and did not return…Marcus Tesink sat out with a lower body injury.