Squires Hat Trick Helps Eagles Thwart Foreur Rally

NOTES FROM THE GAME
– A hat trick from Cam Squires, including a spectacular lacrosse style goal in the game’s final minute, paced the Eagles to a 5-3 victory over the Val-d’Or Foreurs on teddy & toque toss day at Centre 200.

– Former Eagle Noah Reinhart scored all three goals for Val-d’Or in his return to Centre 200 for the first time as a visiting player since the trade.

– Luke Patterson opened the scoring, triggering a flood of teddy bears & toques thrown on the ice. Émile Ricard also scored for the Eagles. Jacob Newcombe collected three assists, while Cole Burbidge notched two helpers.

– Jakub Milota stopped 28 of 31 shots in the win, while Cédric Massé stopped 29 of 34 in the loss.

– It was the final home game of the first half of the season for the Eagles, who will play games in Saint John & Moncton next weekend to finish the season.

Patterson’s goal sent the bears flying at the 9:46 mark, as he came down the left wing and zapped the puck by Massé on the glove side. The Eagles added to the lead before period’s end with a power play marker- Ricard finishing a one timer in the right faceoff circle to make it 2-0.

Both teams had ample opportunity in a fast paced second period that saw Val-d’Or outshoot the Eagles 13-10, in addition to both teams having several shots attempts that went too high or wide. The Foreurs did get their breakthrough on a delayed penalty- a Reinhart shot went off the mask of Milota, and the former Eagle dug for the rebound and pushed it over the goal line.

It wasn’t a one goal game for long. Just 25 seconds later, Newcombe found Squires streaking through the middle of the ice, and the Eagle forward raced in on a breakaway and beat Massé on the backhand. The second period finished with a 3-1 Eagles score.

Squires’ second goal of the game came on the man advantage past the five minute mark of the third period. A point shot from Brayden Schmitt left the puck available in the blue paint, and Squires pushed the rebound home to make it 4-1.

The next penalties also went the way of Val-d’Or- the Foreurs were able to kill a minor penalty to Alix Durocher at the halfway mark of the period, but lost Donovan Arsenault for the rest of the game when he took a ten minute misconduct. A penalty to Nathan Brisson put Val-d’Or in another short handed situation, but this one wouldn’t last long.

Penalties four seconds apart to Lucas Romeo & Xavier Dagile turned a 5 on 4 Eagles power play into a 3 on 4 Eagles penalty kill. Reinhart capitalized on the man advantage to cut the lead to 4-2. Less than a minute later, with the teams playing four on four, Reinhart cut through the zone to beat Milota and make it a 4-3 game. The Eagles were able to kill the five on four Val-d’Or power play and held a 4-3 lead with under six minutes goal.

In the late stages of the period the Eagles kept the puck in the Val-d’Or end, preventing Massé from leaving for an extra attacker. Squires found himself behind the net in the final minute, lifted the puck on his stick and tucked in into the top corner, sending the crowd into a frenzy and helping secure the win for the Eagles.

The goal came with 55 seconds to play. Ten seconds later, Massé did get to the bench for a sixth skater but the Foreurs were unable to get any closer.

THREE STARS OF THE GAME
1. Cam Squires (Cape Breton) 3 goals
2. Noah Reinhart (Val-d’Or) 3 goals
3. Jacob Newcombe (Cape Breton) 3 assists, +2

Scratches For Cape Breton: Logan Quinn, Aiden McCullough, Noah Larochelle, Carson Griffin

Scratches For Val-d’Or: Mathias Bourque, Raphaël Laviolette, Benjamin Olivier

Final Shots On Goal: 34-31 in favour of Cape Breton

Cape Breton Power Play: 2/6

Val-d’or Power Play: 1/4