SYDNEY, N.S. — The Cape Breton Eagles will look to extend their three-game winning streak over the weekend when they welcome a pair of New Brunswick rivals to Centre 200.
Friday, the Eagles, who are 5-4-1-0 in their last 10 games, host the Acadie-Bathurst Titan. The 2018 Memorial Cup winners are in the midst of a rebuild and have the worst record in the Québec Major Junior Hockey League with just six wins in 36 games. Last week, the Titan sent team captain Shawn Element to the Eagles in exchange for a package of players and picks that included rookie David Doucet and a first-round pick in the league’s 2020 Entry Draft.
The 19-year-old Element has three goals in three games so far with Cape Breton and his 23 goals on the season are the fifth-most in the “Q”. Teammate Egor Sokolov, who is playing for Russia at the world junior championship in the Czech Republic, is fourth overall with 24 goals in 30 games. And, six-foot-five power forward Shawn Boudrias, who has 19 goals to go along with 21 assists, also made the top 20 list of goal scorers.
Friday’s contest will be the fourth meeting of the season between the Eagles and the Titan, but the first at Centre 200. Cape Breton started the 2019-20 campaign with 3-1 and 6-3 wins over the Titan in Bathurst. Ironically, the season-opening win also featured a heavyweight tilt between then rivals Boudrias and Element. The two teams last met on Dec. 11, when the Titan trounced the Eagles 5-1 in a game that included a pair of goals by Element.
On Saturday, Cape Breton will face off against one of the better teams in the league, the Moncton Wildcats (26-10-0-0) who sit second in the Eastern Conference with 52 points. The Eagles (20-13-2-1) are in fifth-place with 43 points, although the league table is crowded. Cape Breton is three points behind the Rimouski Océanic with a game in hand and four points behind Charlottetown Islanders with three games in hand.
The Wildcats, who recently acquired former Halifax Mooseheads captain Benoit-Olivier Groulx, are considered to be one of the top contenders for the league title. Groulx, an Anaheim Ducks draft pick and the last player to be cut from the Canadian national junior team roster, joins an already stacked Moncton side rumoured to have also added Gabriel Fortier, who was the captain of the Baie Comeau Drakkar, to its depth chart on Thursday. Fortier, who has 32 points in 36 games this season, was selected by the Tampa Bay Lightning in the second round of the 2018 NHL draft.
The Wildcats lineup includes forwards Alexander Khovanov (Minnesota Wild), Calgary Flames prospects Jeremy McKenna and Jakob Pelletier, Mika Cyr and rookie Zachary L’Heureux. On defence, the Wildcats boast NHL-draftees Jordan Spence and Axel Andersson, while Edmonton Oilers prospect Olivier Rodrigue is one of the league’s best goalies. Khovanov and Rodrigue are at the world junior championship and will miss Saturday’s match.
Cape Breton recently welcomed defenceman Adam McCormick back to the lineup but was without Ryan Francis in its New Year’s Eve 4-0 win over Charlottetown after the 18-year-old Francis, who has 15 goals and 32 assists in 35 games, sustained dental injuries in his previous game against Halifax.
The Eagles travel to Saint John for a Wednesday match against the Sea Dogs (19-18-1-0) before returning home for a rematch on Friday, Jan. 10.
NOTES: Statistically-speaking, Eagles goalie Kevin Mandolese has quietly moved up the list of the league’s top goalies. The 19-year-old keeper, who missed the entire month of November to injury, ranks third in both goals-against average (2.50) and save percentage (.916). The squad’s other roster goaltender, William Grimard, has not played since Dec. 6 due to injury. Forward Cole Fraser also remains on the injured list.
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