Mooseheads take it on the chin in Cape Breton
2024-12-30
The Mooseheads paid a visit to the Eagles in the first of back-to-back meetings between the provincial rivals on Monday night in Sydney and it was a one-sided affair in favour of the home team. Angelo Fullerton scored once and added a pair of assists to lead the way, while eight different players found the back of the net in an 8-2 Eagles romp over the Herd.
16-year-old rookies Amelio Santini and Caylen Blake scored the Halifax goals while newcomer Nick Cirka came on in relief of starter Jack Milner to play the final 20 minutes between the pipes and managed well while under siege by making 21 saves on 23 shots. Milner allowed six goals on 35 shots in the opening 40 minutes.
Cape Breton was lethal on the power play with three goals in four opportunities while handing the Herd their seventh loss in the last eight games. The two clubs are set to meet again on Tuesday afternoon at 2pm in a New Year’s Eve matinee at a sold-out Scotiabank Centre.
The Moose played from behind from almost the get-go as Lucas Romeo lit the lamp only 27 seconds after the opening puck drop. Santini briefly tied the game when he finished off a play with assists going to Shawn Carrier and Quinn Kennedy midway through the period. Will Murphy restored the Cape Breton lead less than two minutes later and they held a 2-1 advantage after 20 minutes.
The flood gates opened in the middle stanza and Halifax surrendered another early goal when Angelo Fullerton potted one 14 seconds into the period. Tomas Lavoie, Luke Patterson and Jacob Newcombe all added to the score to make it a 6-1 game through two periods. Caylen Blake’s breakaway goal was sandwiched between tallies by Cape Breton’s Alexandre Guy and Cole Burbidge in the third period.
Defenceman Owen Phillips left the game with an upper body injury in the first period and did not return. He is listed as day-to-day.
Alexis Cournoyer earned the win in the Eagles’ crease with 29 saves. It was the second win in as many games for the newly acquired 19-year-old who had been playing for the Truro Bearcats of the Maritime Hockey League.
Halifax’s record now sits at 11-17-5-0 after dropping the first two games since returning from the holiday break. Cape Breton picked up their first win since December 8th and are now over the .500 mark with a 15-14-3-1 record.
