Eagles Open Road Trip With Overtime Victory In Moncton
NOTES FROM THE GAME
– Antoine Roy played the hero with the overtime winning goal as the Cape Breton Eagles topped the Moncton Wildcats 6-5 on Wednesday in Moncton.
– Both teams rallied from two goal deficits, with the Eagles holding a 3-1 lead in the second period before coming back from down 5-3 in the third period.
– All 11 goals were scored by different players: Olivier Houde, Cam Squires, Ivan Ivan, Jacob Newcombe, and Samuel Johnson also scored for Cape Breton while Maxim Barbashev, Yoan Loshing, Etienne Morin, Vincent Labelle, and Jonas Taibel scored for the Wildcats.
– Johnson, Squires, Ivan, Charles Boutin and Conor Shortall each registered two point games for the Eagles.
– Eagles defenseman Trevor Thurston was given a game misconduct for high sticking in the second period.
The first period offered no signs of a high scoring or eventful game- neither team scored in the opening 20 minutes, both teams failing to score despite two power plays a piece, and a third for the Eagles that carried into the second period. After killing the balance of the penalty in the second period, Moncton struck first courtesy of Maxim Barbashev. Before the five minute mark the Eagles tied the game in a sequence that kick started a busy series of events.
After receiving a pass from Houde, Boutin was sent to the ice after a hit by Oscar Plandowski. With Boutin down on the ice, the puck came back to Houde who ripped the tying goal by Jacob Steinman. Thurston took exception to the hit, and received a five minute major and a game misconduct for high sticking. Plandowski was given two minutes for roughing, setting up two full minutes of four on four.
Knowing they’d be killing a penalty for three minutes, the Eagles took advantage of the open ice in the two minutes of four on four. Cam Squires raced in on a breakaway to put the Eagles in front, and Ivan Ivan held off multiple defenders to score off a right wing rush to give the Eagles a 3-1 lead heading into the “three minute major”. However, the Cats scored twice on the power play to tie the game- first a heavy shot by Loshing, and then a shot by Morin that took a strange dribble off the end boards, off of Oliver Satny and over the goal line.
Moncton kept their foot on the gas even playing at even strength- a Vincent Labelle shot from the right faceoff circle putting the Wildcats in front 4-3, and Taibel added to the cushion after being left alone at the side of the goal. After the teams combined for eight goals in under 13 minutes, the final five minutes of the second stanza were scoreless and Moncton carried a two goal edge into the third frame.
The score remained the same for the opening seven minutes, but when the Eagles found their breakthrough, the tying goal wasn’t far behind. Newcombe blasted a shot into the top corner to make the score 5-4, and less than two minutes later Johnson tipped a Squires shot by Steinman to tie the game at five.
Perhaps appropriate for a game where goals were scored in bunches, no one could find a go ahead goal before the extra session and overtime was required to settle the score. It only took 1:39 to play the fourth frame, as Johnson found Roy streaking up the right side of the ice, and Roy placed a game winning shot by Steinman.
Satny stopped 30 of 35 shots in the win, while Steinman allowed six goals on 41 shots in the loss.
The Eagles will now head to Halifax for 2022-23’s final instalment of the Battle of Nova Scotia. Puck drop is 7 PM Atlantic time. The game is available for purchase online at https://bit.ly/3FJ2PjU. You can also hear all the action beginning with the pre-game show with Patrick McNeil at 6:30 PM on 1270 AM CJCB or online at www.cjcbradio.com
THREE STARS OF THE GAME
1. Yoan Loshing (Moncton) 1 goal, 2 assists, 4 shots
2. Cam Squires (Cape Breton) 1 goal, 1 assist, 4 shots
3. Etienne Morin (Moncton) 1 goal, 1 assist, 4 shots
Scratches For Cape Breton: Owen Arnold, Cameron Henderson
Scratches For Moncton: Preston Lounsbury (injury), Miles Mueller (injury), Trent Ballentyne
Final Shots On Goal: 41-35
Cape Breton Power Play: 0/3
Moncton Power Play: 2/5
