Mooseheads charge back to beat Eagles
Halifax earns split of two-game weekend series after 10-2 win at Centre 200
Mooseheads charge back to beat Eagles.
SYDNEY — The Cape Breton Eagles surrendered seven third-period goals in a 10-2 loss to the Halifax Mooseheads on Saturday at Centre 200.
The defeat comes on the heels of Friday evening’s 5-3 victory over the Mooseheads at the same venue and left the Eagles with a 3-5 record that is good for fourth position in the Québec Major Junior Hockey League’s Maritimes Division.
But what turned out to be a humiliating loss was actually a close game through the first two periods of play. Félix Lafrance’s fifth goal of the season halfway through the second frame brought the Eagles to within one after the Herd tallied twice late in the first to take a lead it would never give up.
Halifax (3-4-10, seven points) doubled its lead with a late second-period goal, but it was the third period that dictated the outcome. The Mooseheads scored five evenstrength goals in a span of six and a half minutes to stun the home crowd of 1,163 and put the game far out of reach.
Elliot Desnoyers led the Mooseheads with a four-goal performance, while rookie Jordan Dumais contributed four assists. The other Halifax goal scorers were Landon Miron with two, James Swan, Zachary L’Heureux, Liam Peyton and Robert (Bobby) Orr.
Cape Breton’s other goal was scored by rookie Lucas Canning who tallied his first career QMJHL goal late in the third period.
James Brady turned aside 21 of the 23 shots on his net to secure the victory, while William Grimard and Nicolas Ruccia collectively faced 34 shots.
Friday’s contest, played before a crowd of 1,143, was a different story as the Eagles fired 38 shots on Mooseheads goalie Cole McLaren. Grimard stopped 24 of the 27 shots he faced.
Offensively, defenceman Nathan Larose had a goal and two assists to lead Cape
Breton, while Connor Trenholm, Émile Hegarty-Aubin, Lafrance and Ryan Francis rounded out the scoring. Brendan Tomilson, Dumais and L’Heureux tallied for Halifax.
The Eagles hit the road later this week for Friday and
Saturday games in Saint John. The Sea Dogs are 1-3-1-1, four points.
Cape Breton is back at Centre 200 on Nov. 6 when the division-leading AcadieBathurst Titan (7-0-0-1, 15 points) hit town for a pair of weekend games.