Eagles Fall To Islanders In Overtime
NOTES FROM THE GAME
– Egor Goriunov’s goal at the 2:39 mark of overtime spoiled a pair of Eagles comebacks as Charlottetown defeated Cape Breton 4-3 on Saturday night.
– Tomas Lavoie scored twice, Dylan Andrews notched two assists, and Angelo Fullerton also scored for the Eagles.
– Former Eagle goaltender Nicolas Ruccia was honoured with a video tribute in his first game at Centre 200 as a visiting player. He picked up the win, stopping 31 of 34 shots. Jakub Milota stopped 29 of 33 shots in the loss.
– Eagles forward Joey Henneberry was absent from the Cape Breton lineup as he served the second game of a two game suspension. Overage defenseman Brayden Schmitt, who was injured in an off-season car accident and has yet to play this season, took warmup for the Eagles.
Neither team could find the back of the net in the opening period, despite two power play opportunities for each team. (The second Charlottetown power play was a minor penalty that carried over to the second period but they weren’t able to score.)
Charlottetown did find the back of the net on the third power play, as Matthew Butler cashed in with a shot from the side of the goal. Three minutes later, it was the Eagles turn to get their third power play, which would also result in a goal- however, that first goal was short handed.
Ross Campbell came up the right wing with Kyle Powers in front of him, and elected to shoot, beating Milota to make for a 2-0 score. The Eagles remained on the power play after the short handed marker, and with two seconds left in the penalty Lavoie blasted a shot from the left faceoff circle to get the Eagles on the board.
The Eagles still trailed heading into the third period, and almost to the halfway mark, when Lavoie came through with another heavy shot, this time a riser from the right side, to even the score at two. But Charlottetown’s power play would put them in front again. After the Centre 200 crowd took exception to a goaltender interference penalty against Cam Squires, things got worse for the Eagles when defenseman Etienne Desjardins lost his stick on the penalty kill. Forward Jacob Newcombe gave Desjardins his stick, but the Isles continued to move the puck around and Nathan Leak redirected a Campbell shot by Milota with under six minutes to play.
The Eagles would push back once more though. After a defensive zone faceoff win, Charlottetown defenseman Anton Topilnyckyj tried to pass the puck behind his own goal but it was quickly intercepted by Fullerton and he put the puck into the Charlottetown goal. The remaining two plus minutes were not enough to determine a winner and the game headed to overtime.
Both teams had chances in the extra session, with shots registering at two a piece. A broken pass bounced off Luke Patterson and found its way to Goriunov, who was able to flutter the puck over Milota for the game winning goal.
The Eagles & Islanders will renew their rivalry in less than 24 hours for a Sunday afternoon clash tomorrow! Puck drop is at 3 PM.
Tickets can be purchased at https://shorturl.at/aLEbq They are also available for purchase in person at the Centre 200 box office and by the phone during box office hours at 902-564-2200
THREE STARS OF THE GAME
1. Tomas Lavoie (Cape Breton) 2 goals
2. Ross Campbell (Charlottetow) 1 goal, 1 assist
3. Dylan Andrews (Cape Breton) 2 assists
Scratches For Cape Breton: Joey Henneberry (suspension), Brayden Schmitt (injury), Romain Litalien (World Under 17s), Logan Quinn (injury), Noah Larochelle
Scratches For Charlotetown: Will Shields (injury), Simon Hughes
Final Shots On Goal: 34-33 in favour of Cape Breton
Cape Breton Power Play: 1/5
Charlottetown Power Play: 2/6
