Eagles top Islanders in first half of double header
In front of over 4300 fans and a national television audience, the Screaming Eagles solved the riddle of the Charlottetown Islanders.
Friday marked the fourth meeting of the season between two rivals from opposing islands and Cape Breton topped Charlottetown for the first time. With a 6-3 victory the Eagles have won two straight games, both against divisional foes after topping Moncton last Saturday.
Special teams was the story of the first period as both teams converted on the man advantage. First it was the visiting club, as Chris Chaddock set up on the doorstep of Eagles goaltender Alexandre Bélanger and slipped one into the open space by the keeper. The home side countered in the final three minutes of the period, as Max Lazarev converted a Pierre-Luc Dubois one timer to even up the score.
Period two belonged to Cape Breton. It was special teams starting the scoring again- but this time, it was the Screaming Eagles scoring shorthanded. The Russian combination of Lazarev and Evgeny Svechnikov was at it again, with Svechnikov cashing in a drop pass from his countrymate to give the Eagles the lead.
Lazarev was just getting warmed up. By period’s end, he would complete a hat trick with a pair of highlight reel goals. In both cases, he worked in a tight space to pull the puck off the ice and put it just under the crossbar. Cape Breton went into the final twenty minutes leading 4-1.
After a scoreless half to start the third period, Mitchell Balmas of the Islanders and Dillon Boucher of the Eagles would trade goals past the halfway mark. With under five minutes left and his team trailing by three goals, Islanders coach Jim Hulton gambled when Charlottetown was given a power play and pulled the goaltender. It paid dividends as Filip Rydstrom made it a 5-3 game.
However, when Hulton pulled Mason MacDonald again a few minutes later, Dubois would hit the empty net to seal the victory for Cape Breton.
There was an anti-bullying theme to the game as the Eagles teamed up with a variety of local businesses and companies to distribute tickets to middle school students. Banners designed by the various schools surrounded the arena. In keeping with the theme, the Screaming Eagles and Islanders players shook hands prior to the game.
Eagles captain Clark Bishop missed the game after having sustained a lower body injury in Thursday’s night game of the CHL Canada Russia Series. Bishop is expected to be out for 7 to 10 days. Anthony Sorrentino returned to the lineup after missing last game with an upper body injury.
Belanger picked up the victory in goal for Cape Breton, stopping 32 of 35 Islander shots. MacDonald was tagged with the loss, allowing five goals on 25 shots.
The same two teams will tangle again tomorrow night as the Eagles will play the Islanders in a rematch. The puck will drop at 7 PM. Tickets can be purchased at Centre 200 box office, by calling 902-564-2200 or online at https://tickets.capebreton.ca/Online/default.asp
Three stars:
1. Maxim Lazarev (Cape Breton) 3G, 1A, +3
2. Pierre-Luc Dubois (Cape Breton) ) 1G, 3A, +2
3. Mitchell Balmas (Charlotettown) 1G, 1A, 8 shots
Scratches For Cape Breton: Cole Reginato, Clark Bishop (lower body), Jérémie Beaudin
Scratches For Charlottetown: Alexandre Goulet (ankle), Kameron Kielly (upper body), Josh Shatford, Andrew Smith, David Comeau
Final Shots On Goal: 35-26 in favour of Charlottetown
Cape Breton Power Play: 2/6
Charlottetown Power Play: 3/8
Written by Patrick McNeil
