Eagles Drop Tigres In Road Trip Opening Win
NOTES FROM THE GAME
– Jacob Newcombe’s hat trick helped pace the Cape Breton Eagles to a 6-2 victory as they topped the Victoriaville Tigres to begin a three game road trip through Quebec.
– Newcombe was one of five players to register a multi-point night for the Eagles- Xavier Daigle scored and added two assists, Tomas Lavoie had three assists, Etienne Desjardins notched a goal and an assist while Ales Zielinski recorded two assists. Angelo Fullerton also scored short handed in the first period for the Eagles.
– Eagles overage defenseman Brayden Scmitt played his first game of season after an off-season car accident. He was +1 with a shot on goal and a minor penalty.
– Jakub Milota picked up the win in goal, stopping 39 of 41 shots. Gabriel D’Aigle took the loss, allowing four goals on 16 shots before being replaced by Jakob Hanlan. Hanlan stopped 21 of 23 in relief.
– It the first meeting between the two teams since the trade that sent Joey Henneberry to Cape Breton in exchange for Olivier Houde. Henneberry was honoured on the video screen.
– Eagles forward Noah Larochelle left the game with a lower body injury in the third period and didn’t return to action.
The game found its first goal early, as Desjardins opened the scoring from the top of the left circle just 1:39 into the game. Victoriaville had an opportunity to counter before the halfway mark of the period but the Eagles doubled their lead on a beautiful short handed effort by Fullerton, cutting through the defense and putting the puck over D’Aigle.
The Eagles would unofficially take advantage of their first power play later in the period. The Tigres were able to kill the minor off but without clearing the zone, the Eagles moved the puck around and Newcombe cashed in in front of the net to make it 3-0.
Victoriaville’s breakthrough came in the opening three minutes of the second stanza. Enzo Lottin, playing in first game in the QMJHL after reporting following the NCAA rule change, converted on a pass from Alexis Bourque to make it 3-1. But the Eagles restored their three goal margin less than three minutes later when the puck took a strange bounce behind the net, and Newcombe capitalized to make it 4-1.
Just eight seconds later, the Eagles appeared to have added to the lead again when Romain Litalien batted in a pass from Emile Ricard. The Tigres elected to replace D’Aigle with Hanlan following the “fifth” goal. However, after a review, it was deemed to be a high stick. Despite the goal being disallowed, Hanlan remained in goal.
The Eagles thought they’d earned a power play later in the period when Schmitt was taken down by Eliott Simard, but in addition to Simard’s penalty, Schmitt was given a minor for embellishment. In the ensuing four on four, Houde passed the puck to Justin Larose on a two on one and he scored to make it a 4-2 game.
Once again the Eagles had an answer, this time in the final minute of the period. Daigle shot came from the side boards of the left side, beating Hanlan for the first time. The Eagles carried a 5-2 lead into the third period.
The Cape Breton penalty kill was tested in the final frame, with the Eagles serving four minor penalties. The Eagles killed them all, and added to the lead for good measure as Newcombe hammered a one timer by Hanlan to complete the scoring.
The Eagles are next in action tomorrow evening in Blainville-Boisbriand against the Armada. Puck drop is 5 PM AST. The game is available for purchase on https://shorturl.at/GBadX and you can also hear all the action on 1270 AM CJCB or online at www.cjcbradio.com
THREE STARS OF THE GAME
1. Jacob Newcombe (Cape Breton) 3 goals, 8 shots
2. Tomas Lavoie (Cape Breton) 3 assists, 4 hits
3. Enzo Lottin (Victoriaville) 1 goal, +1, 4 shots
Scratches For Cape Breton: Aiden McCullough, Carson Griffin, Rory Pilling, Logan Quinn
Scratches For Victoriaville: Malik Houle, Mathéo Lepage, Milan Monaco
Final Shots On Goal: 41-39 in favour of Victoriaville
Cape Breton Power Play: 0/3
Victoriaville Power Play: 0/7
