Eagles Host Bathurst Titan For Final Time Ever At Centre 200
A crucial chapter in the history of the Cape Breton Eagles franchise comes to an end tonight in Sydney.
Barring a playoff matchup, the Eagles will play host to the Acadie-Bathurst Titan, the eighth and final game of the season series between the two teams. Following this season, the Titan will be relocating to St. John’s, Newfoundland, almost certainly adopting a new team name, and bringing an end to 27 years of major junior hockey in northern New Brunswick.
Throughout the Eagles history, particularly in the early days of the franchise, Cape Breton & Bathurst engaged in many memorable battles, with the Titan challenging the Halfiax Mooseheads for the title as the Eagles’ chief rivals. In rougher days gone by, there were many memorable physical incidents between the two sides; goaltender fights such as Marc-André Fleury vs Adam Russo & Martin Houle vs Fabio Luongo, or Eagles enforcer George Davis jumping into the Bathurst bench on a snowy February night in front of a national television audience.
But the play between the whistles provided many memories as well. Between 1999 & 2002, the Eagles & Titan clashed three times in the playoffs, most notably a Dillio Conference Final between star-studded teams in 2002 with an Eagles team featuring Fleury, Dominic Noel, Stuart MacRae, and JP Cote against a Titan team with the likes of Russo, Olivier Fillion, Jonathan Ferland, and Antoine Bergeron. The Titan prevailed in five games, winning the series as they would again in 2006. However, in 2007, the Eagles finally caught Bathurst in the post-season, winning in five games in a second round showdown that will stand as the last playoff series between the teams- barring a playoff showdown this season.
In the present, the two teams are battling for playoff positioning, as last night’s Eagles victory over the Titan pulled Cape Breton within four points of fourth place Bathurst, the final home ice position in the Eastern Conference. Alexis Cournoyer was excellent in the Eagles goal, stopping all 28 shots for his second shutout in three games. Cam Squires continued his torrid pace by collecting two assists, while Lewis Gendron scored for the third time in four games as a Cape Breton Eagle.
Here’s what else you need to know ahead of tonight’s historic showdown at the Nest!
BUY TICKETS: https://shorturl.at/RfcEx
50/50: https://rafflebox.ca/raffle/cbeagles
Venue: Centre 200, Sydney, NS
Puck drop: 7 PM AST
Web coverage: https://watch.chl.ca
Radio Coverage: 1270 AM CJCB or online at www.cjcbradio.com
Twitter: @cbehockey
Live stats: https://chl.ca/lhjmq-eagles/gamecentre/31220/
| ACADIE-BATHURST | CAPE BRETON | |
| 4th Eastern Conference, 20-12-1-1 (Away: 8-6-1-1) | RECORD | 6th Eastern Conference,17-14-3-1 (Home: 8-7-1-1) |
| 0-1–0-0 | CURRENT STREAK | 4-0-0-0 |
| 95GF/91 | GOALS FOR/GOALS AGAINST | 113GF/110GA |
| 4-3-0 | SEASON SERIES | 3-4-0 |
| Colby Huggan (26 points in 33 games) | LEADING SCORER | Cam Squires (34 points in 29 games) |
| 18th, 12.7% (Away: 18th, 11.5%) | POWER PLAY | 11th, 22.7% (Home: 7th, 24.2%) |
| 2nd, 85.2% (Away: 1st, 89.7%) | PENALTY KILL | T8th, 79.1% (Home: T11th, 76.7%) |
| David-Alexandre Coulombe, Emile Perron | iNJURY REPORT (PRIOR GAME) | Brandon Lavoie |
