Eagles Top Sherbrooke In Shootout For Second Straight Road Win
NOTES FROM THE GAME
– Alexandre Guy’s goal in the fourth round of the shootout was the winner as the Cape Breton Eagles topped the Sherbrooke 2-1 Friday night in Sherbrooke.
– Sherbrooke’s Florent Houle opened the scoring in the first period, while Romain Litalien tied the game with a power play marker in the second period.
– Alexis Cournoyer stopped 31 of 32 shots in the win, in addition to two saves on four shots in the shootout. Kyan Labbé took the loss, stopping 34 of 35 shots, in addition to one of four shots in the shootout.
– Overage Eagles defenseman Brayden Schmitt was in the lineup, appearing in his 250th game. Botth Schmitt & Ales Zielinski left the game n the third period with injuries and did not return.
It was a tight checking first period, with high end chances limited- Sherbrooke outshot the Eagles 8-5. The final five minutes saw the first goal of the contest, as Phoenix forward Florent Houle capitalized on a turnover and quickly shot the puck by Cournoyer to make it a 1-0 game.
The Eagles took control of the game in the second period, outshooting Sherbrooke 19-8. The biggest opportunity came when the Eagles were given a five on three power play with Jean-Félix Lapointe & Hugo Primeau both in the penalty box. Sherbrooke killed off the five on three, but Primeau was still in the box when Litalien redirected a point shot by Labbé to knot the game at one. The teams headed to the second break even.
Both teams had their chances- including three shots a piece in overtime- but there was no winning goal to be found. Goals were easier to come by in the shootout, as Sherbrooke’s Thomas Rousseau and Cape Breton’s Cam Squires both scored on their first shot. The Phoenix had the opportunity to win in the third round after a Louis-Alex Tremblay goal was countered by a Labbé save on Lewis Gendron.
However, Cournoyer gave the Eagles a chance to extend the game by denying Mavrik Lachance. Litalien made no mistake in extending the shootout, and after a Cournoyer save on Jayden Plouffe, Guy had the chance to win the game. Skating up the left side of the ice and ripping it by Labbé he did just that as the Eagles captured their second win in as many nights on the road.
The Eagles will finish up their Quebec road trip Sunday afternoon in Rimouski! Puck drop is at 4 PM AST . The game is available for purchase on https://shorturl.at/QnGcS and you can also hear all the action on 1270 AM CJCB or online at www.cjcbradio.com
THREE STARS OF THE GAME
1. Kyan Labbé (Sherbrooke) 34 saves on 35 shots
2. Alexis Cournoyer (Cape Breton) 31 saves on 32 shots
3. Romain Litalien (Cape Breton) 1 goal, shootout goal
Scratches For Cape Breton: Rory Pilling, Logan Quinn, Carson Griffin, Aiden McCullough
Scratches For Sherbrooke: Félix Ouellet (injury), Charles-Antoine Beauregard (injury), Robin Benoit (injury), Olivier Dubois (injury)
Final Shots On Goal: 35-32 in favour of Cape Breton
Cape Breton Power Play: 1/4
Sherbrooke Power Play: 0/2