Eagles Push Win Streak To Five By Winning Final Meeting With Titan
NOTES FROM THE GAME
– A three assist night from Cam Squires and goals from five different players paced the Cape Breton Eagles to a 5-1 victory over the Acadie-Bathurst Titan at Centre 200 on Saturday night. The win pushes the Eagles winning streak to five games.
– Jacob Newcombe & Cole Burbidge scored a goal and added an assist for the Eagles, while Joey Henneberry & Ales Zielinski scored 25 apart in the third period. Xavier Daigle also added two assists.
– Alexis Cournoyer stopped 34 of 35 shots in the win, while Mikus Vecvanags stopped 31 of 36 shots in the loss in his QMJHL debut. For the second consecutive game, Cape Breton West Islanders goaltender Jake Poirier served as the Eagles backup goaltender.
– It was the final ever regular season meeting between the Eagles & Acadie-Bathurst Titan, as the Titan will be relocating to St. John’s, Newfoundland, for the 2025-26 season. With the Eagles win on Saturday, the season series concludes with four wins for each team.
– Prior to the game, the Eagles acquired 18 year old forward Nathan Plouffe from the Quebec Remparts in exchange for a fifth round draft pick in 2025. He is expected to join the team in time for their game Thursday against the Charlottetown Islanders.
Special teams helped pace the Eagles to a 2-0 lead at the end of the first period. First, Burbidge cashed in on a rebound at the side of the net to give the Eagles a 1-0 edge with a power play goal. Then, as the seconds were winding down on Bathurst’s first man advantage, Squires fed Newcombe on an odd man rush and the Eagles captain put it under the cross bar to make it 2-0.
Bathurst had their own significant scoring chance short handed in the second period as Mathieu St-Onge came in on a breakaway. Cournoyer came through with a big save- the play went the other way, and Gendron connected for a power play marker. The Titan would get their breakthrough later at even strength, as Colby Huggan blasted a one timer from the right faceoff circle past Cournoyer.
With seven minutes to play in the third period, the Titan hoped extra open ice could spur a comeback, with penalties to Cape Breton’s Lucas Romeo and Bathurst’s Noah Laberge creating a two minute four on four. But it was the Eagles who took advantage- first it was Henneberry with a spectacular display of stickhandling to beat Vecvanags, and then Zielinski hammered a shot by the Titan goalkeeper while coming down the right wing.
The Eagles will play their first road game of 2025 on Thursday night as they visit the Charlottetown Islanders! Puck drop is at 7 PM . The game is available for purchase at https://shorturl.at/7dbLL and you can also hear all the action on 1270 AM CJCB or online at www.cjcbradio.com
THREE STARS OF THE GAME
1. Cam Squires (Cape Breton) 3 assists, +2
2. Jacob Newcombe (Cape Breton) 1 goal, 1 assist, +1
3. Cole Burbidge (Cape Breton) 1 goal, 1 assist
Scratches For Cape Breton: Jakub Milota (World Juniors), Brandon Lavoie (injury), Logan Quinn, Callum Aucoin, Carson Griffin, Aiden McCullough, Nathan Plouffe
Scratches For Bathurst: David-Alexandre Coulombe (injury), Emile Perron (injury), Jayden Lazare, Ty Peddigrew
Final Shots On Goal: 36-35 in favour of Cape Breton
Cape Breton Power Play: 2/3
Bathurst Power Play: 0/4
