April 14th, 2008
Game Over - Eagles Eliminated by Mooseheads
HALIFAX - Tears flowed. Hugs were given. Yes, a remarkable season of hockey came to a close for the Cape Breton Screaming Eagles, Friday night.
But as tough as it was to see their year come to an end, the Eagles to a man were proud of what they accomplished these past eight months.
Picked by many to place last in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League’s East Division, Cape Breton finished tied for sixth overall in points, spent three weeks as the No. 1-ranked team in Canada, won an opening-round playoff series over the defending league champion Lewiston Maineiacs and gave a powerful Halifax Mooseheads squad everything it could handle, and then some, in the league quarter-finals. No question, losing in the playoffs hurts. But these Eagles have no reason to hang their heads.
“It’s never easy to lose, especially to Halifax,” Eagles forward Chris Culligan said after the team’s 5-2 loss at the Metro Centre, a setback which gave Halifax the best-of-seven series 4-1. “But we feel like we competed well. All year we did things that people didn’t expect.
“I mean, I’m just so proud our guys. Everybody played their heart out. Nobody left anything out on the ice.”
Like in the previous four games of this hard-fought series, Game 5 was a nail-biter. Cape Breton went into the third trailing 3-1, but cut the deficit to one when Culligan scored his second goal of the game with 3:07 left in regulation time on a play in front of Halifax netminder Mark Yetman. Cape Breton then went in search of the equalizer, but Halifax iced the victory with two empty net goals in the final 28 seconds.
“I’m just proud of the guys. Twenty-three brothers. Twenty-three warriors. We never gave up,” said Eagles captain Dean Ouellet. “We gave everything we had. I’m just proud being apart of this team.”
Even the opposition talked highly of Cape Breton. While the Eagles and Mooseheads finished three points apart in the regular season standings, there was no question Halifax was the clear-cut favourite in this best-of-seven affair.
The Mooseheads were older and sported more proven talent. But Cape Breton, with 12 rookies, made Halifax earn everything they got. In fact, a bounce here or there, and it could’ve been Cape Breton celebrating the series win, or at worst, extending it to a sixth game back at Centre 200. “Cape Breton never quit. They’re a hard working team. They had a lot of heart,” said Mooseheads forward Ryan Hillier, who scored twice in the second period to put Halifax ahead to stay. “They weren’t ready to back down at any time.”
When the final horn sounded, the Eagles players gathered in front of 16-year-old netminder Olivier Roy, who was once again spectacular with a handful of highlight-reel stops. When the post-series handshakes concluded, the Eagles players lined up on each side of the ice, and let their three graduating 20-year-olds, Ouellet, Jordan Clendenning and Beau Prokopetz, lead them off the ice one last time.
“That was everything. That was so special,” Ouellet said in a quiet voice. “That just shows what kind of team chemistry we have and what type of individuals we have. It’s just amazing.”
NOTES: Logan MacMillan, Colby Pridham and Brad Marchand, who also had two assists, rounded out the scoring for Halifax. Shots favoured the homeside, 37-32 … The Gatineau Olympiques, who beat Quebec Remparts 3-2 on Friday night to take that series 4-1, will now meet the Mooseheads in the league semifinals. The Rouyn-Noranda Huskies will face the winner of the Saint John Sea Dogs-Bathurst Titan series in the other semi. Saint John is up 3-1, with Game 5 tonight at Harbour Station.
sports@cbpost.com
