Flying with champs
SYDNEY — A former Cape Breton Screaming Eagle player can add a championship to his hockey resume.
Forward Giovanni Fiore captured the Deutsche Eishockey Liga championship last weekend, helping Eisbären Berlin knock off Grizzlys Wolfsburg 2-1 in their best-of-three league final.
Eisbären Berlin advanced to the league final after eliminating the Iserlohn Roosters 2-1 in the quarter-finals, as well as former Eagle Morgan Ellis and ERC Ingolstadt 2-1 in the league semifinal.
Fiore and Eisbären Berlin opened the league final with a 3-2 overtime loss on May 2, before tying the series with a 4-1 victory on May 5.
The club secured the championship with a 2-1 win last Friday.
The 24-year-old Fiore signed with the German team in December and appeared in 33 games with the club, posting eight goals and 20 points with a +15 rating. He had a goal and four points in nine playoff games.
The Laval, Que. product played a season-and-a-half with the Screaming Eagles from 2016 to 2017.
Fiore had his best season in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League with the Eagles, posting 52 goals and 90 points in 61 games during the 2016-17 season.
He was one goal shy of tying Cam Fergus' team record for most goals (53) in a single season.
Following his time in Cape Breton, Fiore bounced around the American Hockey League and ECHL between San Diego (AHL), Tucson (AHL), Rapid City (ECHL), Toronto (AHL), and Ontario (AHL).
He also played one game in the NHL with the Anaheim Ducks.
On Monday, Fiore signed a one-year extension with Eisbären Berlin and will play with the club for the 2021-22 season.