Eagles even series
Series tied 1-1 as best-of-seven shifts to Chicoutimi
Cape Breton beats Chicoutimi 5-2 at Centre 200.
The Cape Breton Screaming Eagles outhit, outshot and outscored the Chicoutimi Saguenéens in the Québec Junior Hockey League’s equivalent of Survivor.
In fact, the home team did a whole lot of things right in Saturday’s 5-2 playoff win over the Sags that levelled the best of seven opening-round QMJHL series at one game apiece before 3,428 fans at Centre 200.
The next three games will all be played in Chicoutimi as per the 2-3-2 format used when a Maritime Division team meets a Québec-based team in the playoffs.
Game 3 is set for Tuesday, Game 4 for Wednesday, and Game 5 will be played Friday. Games 6 and 7, if necessary, will be played at Centre 200 on April 4-5.
“After losing the first game we wanted to head up to Chicoutimi with a split and we got what we wanted in convincing fashion, so it sends a message to them. We’ve shown them how we can really play,” said Eagles blue-liner and Sydney native Duncan MacIntyre. “It’s a good mental thing for us going up there knowing we can beat them the way we did in Game 2.”
In Friday’s series opener, Chicoutimi goalie Julio Billio stopped 50 of Cape Breton’s 51 shots to help his team to a 3-1 victory. On Saturday, the numbers were just as impressive as the Eagles outshot the Saguenéens 45-16, outhit them 36-15 and were the better team in the faceoff circle, winning 38 of 67 draws.
Cape Breton head coach and general manager Marc-André Dumont said the key to victory was his team’s overall dominance of play.
“Our possession time was higher and we made good plays coming out of our zone — possession time is the best defence as long as you are responsible with the puck,” he said.
MacIntyre, who was named a game star for the second contest in a row, opened the scoring five minutes into the first period. Evgeny Svechnikov and Michael Joly drew assists.
Svechnikov doubled the lead early in the second frame with a power-play marker before the Sags’ Landon Schiller brought the guests to within a goal.
Joly and Chicoutimi’s Dmitry Zhukenov traded goals in the middle stanza and Cape Breton entered the final period up 3-2. They clung to that margin through the first three quarters of the period before Massimo Carozza and Yannik Bertrand scored 90 seconds apart to give the Screaming Eagles some breathing room.
The contest ended with some late-game shenanigans that resulted in a host of players from both teams hearing the buzzer from their dressing rooms.
“A series is a marathon, it’s not a sprint, so you got to take it one game at a time and the only game that is important right now is on Tuesday,” said Dumont.
NOTES
Dumont said forwards Max Lazarev (upper body) and Clark Bishop (lower body) are likely to return in the series. Both missed Game 2.