By: Jeremy Fraser

The Cape Breton Screaming Eagles open their 16th season in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League on Friday as they host the Halifax Mooseheads at Centre 200. Game time is scheduled for 7pm.

Friday night's home opener promises to be a good one, as the game will mark the fifth meeting in the last month between Cape Breton and Halifax. The last game between the two clubs came in the pre-season on September 9th in Halifax, a game which saw the Screaming Eagles defeat the Mooseheads 5-3 in front of 1,700 fans at the Halifax Forum. In four pre-season contests, the teams have combined for a total of 176 penalty minutes.

Also on  Friday night, the Screaming Eagles, during a pre-game ceremony, will honor former assistant coach Blair Joseph. Joseph has coached various teams in the community over the past 40 years and has been involved with the Screaming Eagles hockey club for the past 11 years.

The game will also feature contestants from Cape Breton’s Next Big Thing. Performing at centre ice during the pre-game ceremonies is Kyle Mischiek singing his hit song “We are an Island Remix” featuring Trax Cordero and Taylor Burton.  Performing the National Anthem will be Next Big Thing contestants  Jonathan MacInnis and Lena Murphy.



How the teams match up:

* Pre-season Numbers

2012-13 Team Rosters:

Cape Breton Screaming Eagles

Hockey Staff:

General Manager - Pierre Roux
Head Coach - Ron Choules
Assistant Coach - Jean-François David
Assistant Coach - John Kibyuk
Goaltending Coach - Scott Gouthro
Athletic Therapist - Richard Girardin
Trainer - Buddy Clifford
Assistant Trainer - Alan Sidney



Halifax Mooseheads

Hockey Staff:

General Manager - Cam Russell
Assistant General Manager - Robert LeBlanc
Head Coach - Dominique Ducharme
Assistant Coach - Jim Midgley
Assistant Coach - Steve Hartley
Goaltending Coach - Éric Raymond
Athletic Therapist - Diane Ouimet
Trainer - Chris MacDonald


Leading Scorers:

*Pre-season*

Forwards:

Cape Breton - William Carrier (2 GP, 2G, 3A, 5 pts), Michael Clarke (2 GP, 2 G, 2 A, 4 pts), Alexandre Lavoie (2 GP, 1 G, 3 A, 4 pts), Zachary Moody (3 GP, 0 G, 3 A, 3 pts) and Zach Beaton (3 GP, 1 G, 1 A, 2 pts).

Halifax - Stefan Fournier (3 GP, 4 G, 2 A, 6 pts), Matthew Boudreau (3 GP, 1 G, 3 A, 4 pts), Jonathan Drouin (2 GP, 2 G, 1 A, 3 pts), Max Lindsay (5 GP, 2 G, 1 A, 3 pts) and Darcy Ashley (3 GP, 1 G, 2 A, 3 pts).

Defensemen:

Cape Breton - Gareth Nicholson (2 GP, 0 G 1 A, 1 pt), Jonathan Oligny (2 GP, 0 G, 1 A, 1 pt), Jean-Simon Deslauriers (3 GP, 0 G, 1 A, 1 pt), Simon Desmarais (3 GP, 0 G, 1 A, 1 pt) and Loic Leduc (3 GP, +3 rating and 10 penalty minutes).

Halifax - Randy Gazzola (6 GP, 1 G, 3 A, 4 pts), Brian Lovell (6 GP, 1 G, 2 A, 3 pts), MacKenzie Weegar (6 GP, 0 G, 3 A, 3 pts), Brendan Duke (2 GP, 1 G, 1 A, 2 pts) and Steve Gillard (4 GP, 1 G, 0 A, 1 pt).

Goaltenders:

Cape Breton - Philippe Trudeau (Record: 1-0-0-1, G.A.A.: 3.50, SV%: .879), Alex Bureau (Record: 0-0-0-0, G.A.A.: 2.00, SV%: .944) and David Honzik (Record: 0-0-0-0, G.A.A.: 0.00, SV%: .000).

Halifax - Zachary Fucale (Record: 0-1-0-0, G.A.A.: 5.06, SV%: .762), Anthony Terenzio (Record: 1-0-0-0, G.A.A.: 4.88, SV%: .733) and Chris Clarke (Record: 1-1-0-0, G.A.A.: 1.36, SV%: .923).

Injuries as of Thursday, September 20th:

Cape Breton -  David Honzik (Shoulder).

Halifax - Max Lindsay (headaches).

Suspensions as of Thursday, September 20th:

Cape Breton - None.

Halifax - Martin Frk (Spearing).

NHL Prospects:

Cape Breton - David Honzik (Vancouver), Justin Haché (Phoenix) and Loic Leduc (New York Islanders).

Halifax - Martin Frk (Detroit) and Konrad Abeltshauser (San Jose).


** Last season numbers for both teams