The Cape Breton Screaming Eagles, 10-1-1 in their last 12 hockey games, take to the ice in Halifax tonight in their first of two weekend road games (the Eagles play in Moncton tomorrow night against the Wildcats). The game also serves as the back end of a post-holiday home-and-home stand with the Mooseheads, with the Eagles having won the first matchup 7-2 at C200 on Wednesday night. Cape Breton enters this game with a record of 27-12-2 for 56 points, good for second place overall and second in the East Division. The club continues to trail the league-leading Lewiston MAINEiacs by five points. Lewiston is at home to the Rimouski Oceanic tonight.
Tonight should be a closer game than the last meeting between the two teams, as the Mooseheads will certainly want to come out strong in front of their home fans after being dominated so thoroughly on C200 ice on Wednesday night. Having said that, this is still a team that the Eagles should beat. Each of the three two-game sets between the two teams this season has resulted in a split, and given where the two teams are in the standings and in the building cycle, it's high time that the Eagles take both games of a two-game set from the Mooseheads.
Lineups should be pretty much the same as they were on Wednesday night, including starting goaltenders David Davenport and Roger Kennedy. The only major lineup difference on either team is that Halifax will see the debut of newly-acquired overager Jean-Sebastien Cote, picked up yesterday in a trade with the Chicoutimi Sagueneends. Cote is an energetic two-way player and effective third liner, and should add some spark to the Mooseheads' lineup. He centered the third line on the 2005 President's Cup champion and Memorial Cup finalist Rimouski Oceanic.
The most important thing to note about tonight's game is that it is being broadcast live on Eastlink Television. This is a rare opportunity for fans to watch the Eagles play on the road from the comfort of their homes. Eastlink does an excellent job of broadcasting QMJHL hockey games, so be sure to tune in, you will enjoy it!
Once again, the main thing for the Eagles tonight is to avoid getting too overconfident after the easy win on Wednesday night, and to be ready to match the intensity that Halifax is likely to come out with after getting embarassed so badly.
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It has been announced by the team that defenceman Charlie Pens will be out four to six weeks at the very least with that concussion sustained on Dec. 28 against the Saint John Sea Dogs. It is very much up in the air as to whether or not Pens will return to hockey at all this season. We wish him the best of luck in his recovery.
As well, it should be noted that rookies Stephen Ceccanese and Mickey MacDonald have sat out three consecutive hockey games apiece as healthy scratches, an interesting fact considering that the trading and roster deadlines are fast approaching.
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Three more times this season, the Eagles will play back-to-back home games against the same team (Jan 12/13 against the Bathurst Titan, Jan 26/27 against the Lewiston MAINEiacs, Feb 15/16 against the Saint John Sea Dogs). For each of these two-game sets, the Eagles plan to offer fans a special discount ticket package. You will be able to buy both games as a package, receiving a discount of $2.25 on each ticket, or $4.50 in total. This will especially come in handy when Bathurst and Lewiston come to town, as these games will be key divisional matchups for the Screaming Eagles.
That's all for now. Of course, the trade rumour mill is swirling faster and faster with each day, and we will know in just a few short days what exactly the final edition of the 2006-2007 Eagles will look like. Stay tuned!
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