SYDNEY, N.S. — Home-sweet-home.
After dropping a pair of games to the Acadie-Bathurst Titan last weekend on the road in New Brunswick, the Cape Breton Eagles answered with a win on home ice on Friday.
The local Quebec Major Junior Hockey League team posted a 5-3 victory over the Halifax Mooseheads, snapping a two-game losing streak in front of 1,219 fans at Centre 200 in Sydney.
Émile Hegarty-Aubin, Nathan Larose, Ryan Francis, Connor Trenholm and Félix Lafrance scored goals for the Eagles (3-4-0-0).
Jordan Dumais, Brendan Tomilson and Zachary L'Heureux replied with goals for the Mooseheads (2-4-1-0).
Cape Breton’s William Grimard made 24 saves. Halifax’s Cole McLaren turned aside 33 of 37 shots.
Cape Breton opened the scoring early with Hegarty-Aubin banging home his second goal of the season at 1:34 of the opening frame. Minutes later, Dumais tied the game for the Mooseheads, before Tomilson gave the visitors the lead late in the period.
In the second period, the Eagles tied the game with Larose blowing a point shot past McLaren, making the score 2-2.
The score remained tied until the 3:57 mark of the third period when L’Heureux’s nifty backhander fooled Grimard, but the Eagles would tie the game shortly after with Francis scoring his first of the campaign, on the power play, making the score 3-3.
Trenholm tip home the eventual game-winner at 10:27 of the final stanza. Lafrance sealed the deal for Cape Breton late in the period with an empty net marker, giving the Eagles the 5-3 win.
Cape Breton outshot Halifax 38-27, while going 1-for-3 on the power play. The Mooseheads were 0-for-3 with the man-advantage.
The Eagles and Mooseheads will return to action on Saturday to complete the two-game weekend series. Game time is 7 p.m. at Centre 200.
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