Islanders Blank Eagles 1-0 Sunday At The Nest
NOTES FROM THE GAME
– Nathan Leek’s goal early in the second period was the only tally for either side as the Charlottetown Islanders topped the Cape Breton Eagles 1-0 on Sunday afternoon in Sydney.
– Charlottetown’s Nicolas Ruccia recorded the shutout, stopping all 21 Eagle shots. Alexis Cournoyer stopped 24 in 25 shots for the Eagles, suffering his first loss in five appearances with the Eagles.
– It was the first regulation loss for the Eagles since the resumption of QMJHL play from the Christmas break. For Charlottetown, the victory extended their winning streak to five games.
– Cape Breton’s Lucas Romeo & Charlottetown’s Jaybez Seymour were each given game misconducts after a fight at the 18:16 mark of the second period.
The first big chance of the game didn’t go on net, as Eagles defenseman Andrew Brown rang the puck off the iron. The first shot of the game was a big scoring chance, a breakaway for Charlottetown’s Ethan Montroy, but he was denied by Cournoyer. It remained scoreless after one as the Islanders killed their first minor penalty, and the Eagles then killed off consecutive minors.
Leek opened up the scoring in the first two minutes of the second period, coming off the wing and deking through the defense to give Charlottetown the lead on a beautiful individual effort. While there was no further scoring, it was a spirited rest of the period- in addition to the fight between Romeo and Seymour, on two separate occasions a Charlottetown power play was nullified when Islanders forward Ross Campbell took a minor penalty.
Penalties were a story early in the third period as well. With Campbell in the box, Cam Squires took a high stick from Ethan Montroy- but play continued on. Charlottetown took the puck into the Eagles zone, and Jonathan Lanza put the puck by Cournoyer for what appeared to be his first QMJHL goal. But the Montroy high stick was reviewed, and a double minor was assessed, which also disallowed the goal.
The Montroy penalty created a five on three for the Eagles, but they were unable to score in those 38 seconds or the remainder of the double minor. Another power play opportunity came when Maxwell Jardine was sent off in the final six minutes, but Charlottetown held off the Eagle attack. With under three minutes to play, Cape Breton’s Andrew Brown was given a penalty- the Eagles were able to lift Cournoyer for an extra attacker in the final 30 seconds but couldn’t find a six on five goal.
The Eagles will now hit the road for a Quebec trip, which begins Thursday night in Drummondville against the Voltigeurs! Puck drop is at 8 PM Atlantic time. The game is available for purchase on https://shorturl.at/Xzx3M and you can also hear all the action on 1270 AM CJCB or online at www.cjcbradio.com
THREE STARS OF THE GAME
1. Alexis Cournoyer (Cape Breton) 24 saves on 25 shots
2. Nicolas Ruccia (Charlottetown) 21 saves on 21 shots
3. Will Murphy (Cape Breton) 1 shot, 3 hits
Scratches For Cape Breton: Romain Litalien (injury), Carson Griffin, Aiden McCullough, Rory Pilling
Scratches For Charlottetown: Pavel Simek (injury), Mathis Valente, Emile-Alexandro Lemieux-Goupil, Lane Sim
Final Shots On Goal: 25-21 in favour of Charlottetown
Cape Breton Power Play: 0/6
Charlottetown Power Play: 0/6
