Preview: Rocket vs Screaming Eagles

The Cape Breton Screaming Eagles take on the P.E.I. Rocket tonight at Center 200 in Sydney, N.S.

With a victory, the Eagles can clinch the 16th and final playoff spot in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League.

The Eagles posted this photo on there Facebook page this morning:

Delisle-Houde, Rogers handed suspensions

The disciplinary prefect of the Quebec Major Junior League handed down two lengthy suspensions today.



Moncton Wildcats left-winger Patrick Delisle-Houde was suspended five games for his hit to the head on Quebec Remparts' Adam Erne last Saturday.



Reasons for the suspension as listed by the league are as follows:


-Hit his opponent who was no longer in possession of the puck.

-Made contact simultaneously with his body and head.

-Did not try to avoid total contact.

-Was his first offence.



Connor Rogers, a defensemen with the Cape Breton Screaming Eagles was suspended for 10 games for his knee-on-knee hit on Rimouski Oceanic player Jean-Francois Plante.



Reasons for his suspension are as follows:


-Even though the player at fault was gliding, he had a certain speed.

-He extended his leg to hit his opponent.

-The contact was done with force on the knee.

-Was his first offence.



You can see the hit at the 18 second mark with the video below.



Thanks to Chris Phillips of HockeyFights.com for the video.

jonathan@theqspot.ca

Potvin and Bussières suspended

Dany Potvin and Raphael Bussieres have been suspended multiple games by the disciplinary prefect of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League.

Potvin, 19, of the Cape Breton Screaming Eagles was suspended four games for an incident which occurred Feb. 15 against the Victoriaville Tigres.

He received a five-minute major checking to the head penalty along with a game-misconduct.

His opponent no longer had possession of the puck and did not see Potvin coming. The opponent was not injured on the play. This is Potvin's first offense.

Bussieres, 18, of the Baie-Comeau Drakkar was handed a five-game suspension for an incident which occurred Feb. 15 against the Shawinigan Cataractes.

At the 10:36 mark of the third period, Bussieres was given a five-minute major boarding penalty and a game misconduct.

Bussieres' opponent was in a vulnerable position and was injured on the play. Bussieres pursued his opponent and hit his opponent with his left shoulder into the boards. He did not try to partially or totally avoid contact. This is Bussieres first offense.

bryer@theqspot.ca

Fucale, Huberdeau and Brunelle named Telus three stars of the week

Zachery Fucale, Jonathan Huberdeau and Jonathan Brunelle have been named the Telus three stars of the week, the QMJHL announced today.

The week is the period spanning from Feb. 6 to Feb. 12.

Zachery Fucale, 16, of the Halifax Moosheads is the week's first star.

The rookie goaltender posted a 2-1-0-1 record and a 1.44 goals-against average.

On Wednesday Feb. 8, Fucale made 35 saves in a win over the Drakkar. On Friday Feb. 10, he made 32 saves and was named the game's first star in a 4-1 win over the Chicotumi Sagueneens. On Saturday, he allowed three goals on 41 shots against the Shawinigan Cataractes in a 5-2 loss. On Sunday, he made 23 saves in a 2-1 shootout win over the Victoriaville Tigres.

The week's second star is Saint John Sea Dogs superstar Jonathan Huberdeau.

The 18-year-old recorded four goals for six points in two games.

In a 5-0 win over the P.E.I. Rocket on Saturday, the St. Jerome, Que. native had a hat-trick and added an assist. The next day, he recorded a goal and an assist in a 7-2 win over the Acadie-Bathurst Titan.

The Sea Dogs captain has 17 goals and 45 points in 24 games this season.

Cape Breton Screaming Eagles captain Jonathan Brunelle is the third star of the week.

The 20-year-old forward had three goals for eight points.

On Thursday Feb. 9, Brunelle collected two assists against the Gatineau Olympiques. On Saturday, he scored a goal and added a pair of assists. On Sunday, he had a pair of a goals and an assist.

The Boisbriand, Que. native has 23 goals and 69 points in 54 games this season.

Photo courtesy of metro.ca

nolan@theqspot.ca

Reid on the Rocket: Rocket storm back to beat Screaming Eagles

Jessyko Bernard scored with 4:53 remaining in the game to complete the comeback for the P.E.I. Rocket in a 4-2 win over the Cape Breton Screaming Eagles Friday night at the Charlottetown Civic Centre.

For the third straight game, the Rocket used the third period to their advantage, scoring three times after battling back from a 2-0 deficit.

Bernard said the team has been keeping their game simple in the third period and that is what has been successful for them.

"We're trying to get the pucks in deep, play physical on the closing team's defense and it wears them out come third period time and I think that gives us a little bit of a boost."

With the win, the Rocket have won three-straight games, including two straight against Cape Breton, and have improved to 17-31-2-2 on the season.

The winning streak feels good and relaxing, said Bernard.

"Everyone's happy when you're winning. (It) just makes coming to the rink just fun everyday and it's just a good atmosphere around the room right now."

The Screaming Eagles opened the scoring in the first period with a powerplay goal from forward Jonathan Brunelle.

In the second period, Kyle Farrell gave the Screaming Eagles a 2-0 lead at 2:27.

The Rocket cut the lead in half with Victor Provencher's 17th goal of the season at 6:27.

In the third period, Ben Duffy's team-leading 31st goal of the season tied the game 2-2 at 13:15 before Bernard's 15th of the season gave the Rocket the 3-2 lead at 15:07.

Matej Beran sealed the deal with an empty-net powerplay goal at 19:18.

Antoine Bibeau made 24 saves to pick up the win for the Rocket.

Philippe Trudeau took the loss for Cape Breton stopping 24 shots.

The Rocket will look to win their fourth straight game on Friday Feb. 10 when they travel to Acadie-Bathurst to take on the Titan. Game time 7:30 p.m.

Video Highlights


nolan@theqspot.ca

Game Previews-February 3rd, 2012

Game of Interest:

Saint John (36-13-0-2) at Drummondville (21-25-2-4)- Something has to give. Both teams have winning streaks; Drummondville has a four game streak going, while Saint John is riding a five game streak. This is a definite game of interest.

Players to Watch

Jonathan Oligny (Drummondville) & Ian Saab (Saint John). Oligny and Saab are one and two respectively in penalty minutes and major penalties. Expect them to drop the gloves tonight.

Other games on the Q schedule tonight:
Moncton (23-23-3-2) at Halifax (27-16-2-3)

Cape Breton (20-28-0-2) at P.E.I. (16-31-2-2)

Rimouski (31-21-0-0) at Quebec (32-12-4-2)

Victoriaville (33-16-1-2) at Baie-Comeau (24-22-1-3)

Gatineau (19-23-4-4) at Blainville-Boisbriand (27-20-2-1)

Rouyn-Noranda (16-29-2-3) at Chicoutimi (26-16-3-6)

Val-d’Or (21-26-0-4) at Shawinigan (34-11-2-3)

Reid on the Rocket: Wild third period gives Rocket 9-6 win over Screaming Eagles

A six goal effort by the P.E.I. Rocket in the third period propelled them to a 9-6 win over the Cape Breton Screaming Eagles Thursday night at the Charlottetown Civic Centre.

It is the second win in a row for the the Rocket and they up their season record to 16-31-2-2.

Jessyko Bernard (1-2) and Matej Beran (0-3) led they way for the Rocket with three points each. Ben Duffy had two goals while Matt Bursey had the Gordie Howe hat-trick with a goal, assist and a fight.

Jonathan Brunelle (2-1) led the way for the Screaming Eagles with three points.

Bursey, who just turned 18 on Wednesday, said it was a good game but too many goals were given up by the Rocket.

"Obviously we scored a lot of goals, but if we capitalized on all our chances it could have been a different outcome."

For the second straight game the Rocket used the third period to their advantage. The team isn't quitting, said Bursey.

"We know that it's a 60 minute game…and if a team doesn't battle for 60 minutes then their chances aren't that good."

The Rocket opened the scoring 1:53 into the first period with Yan Pavel Laplante's sixth goal of the season.

Cape Breton responded with a powerplay goal at the 10:00 mark with a goal from Alexandre Lavoie. Kyle Farrell scored 14 seconds later with another powerplay goal to give the Screaming Eagles a 2-1 lead.

Brunelle gave the Screaming Eagles a 3-1 lead at 16:28.

Jimmy Oligny scored his fourth of the season to put the Rocket within one on the powerplay at 19:02 before Josh Currie's 19th of the season tied the game with two seconds to play in the first period.

Being down by two, the team knew they could come back, said Bursey.

"It wasn't anything big. We knew we could beat this team and it end up happening."

There were no goals in the second period but it opened up for a wild third period, where the two teams combined for nine goals.

Cape Breton took a 4-3 lead with a shorthanded goal from Brunelle 36 seconds into the frame, but Ben Duffy responded with a powerplay goal just 24 seconds later to tie the game at 4-4. Bursey gave the Rocket a 5-4 lead just 15 seconds later with his seventh of the season.

Olivier Croteau put the Rocket up 6-4 with his 11th of the season at 10:24 before Bernard's 14th of the season made it 7-4 Rocket at 11:47.

Former Eagle Olivier Jodoin put the Rocket up by four with his fifth of the season at 14:31.

Blake Millman scored at 14:31 to make it an 8-5 game before Raphael Corriveau made it 8-6 only 27 seconds later.

Duffy capped off the scoring with an empty net powerplay goal at 18:49 for his 30th goal of the season.

Nobody in the stands could have predicted that third period, Bursey joked.

"We played to get pucks on net…fortunately a lot of them went in."

Rocket goaltender Maxime Lagace made 13 saves to pick up the in but was pulled after the sixth goal. Antoine Bibeau was 1-for-1.

Philippe Trudeau stopped 25 pucks before being replaced by William Racicot who made six saves on seven shots.

The Rocket play the Screaming Eagles again Friday night at the Charlottetown Civic Centre. Gametime 7 p.m.

Video Highlights


nolan@theqspot.ca

Game Previews: January 22nd

SAINT JOHN AT BATHURST: Saint John comes into the game having won two straight and six of their last 10. They should not take Bathurst lightly, especially with the league’s leading scorer, Zach O’Brien on the team. Oh, and Bathurst has a streak of their own: four straight wins.

Players to Watch

Saint John: Charlie Coyle- Since joining the Sea Dogs, Coyle has four goals in three games-an impressive start for any rookie.

Bathurst: Zach O’Brien- Coming off an impressive four-goal performance against Moncton, should be interesting to see what he can accomplish against their other New Brunsiwick counterpart.

MONCTON AT CAPE BRETON: Moncton will be looking to get back on track against Cape Breton. Both teams have only four regulation wins in their last 10 games.

Interesting Fact

Both teams traded their team Captains to the Memorial Cup host Shawinigan Cataractes. Even more interesting is that both players (Ellis & Gormley) hail from P.E.I.

RIMOUSKI AT BAIE-COMEAU: Rimouski has won four straight games, and seven out of their last 10, the second best streak in the league. It’s safe to say that David Rose and the Drakkar will have their hands full in this one.

Players to Watch

Rimouski-Jerome Gauthier-Leduc- The Oceanic’s stud defensemen has had another solid year. Once thought to be surely dealt, stayed in Rimouski, and their fans have been beyond happy.

Baie-Comeau- Jonathan Lessard- To say that Lessard is a pure goal scorer is an understatement. Lessard is second in team goal scoring, but only tenth in overall points.

DRUMMONDVILLE AT BLAINVILLE-BOISBRIAND: The Surprising Armada are tops in their division, 10 points ahead of Drummondville. While it’s unlikely the Voltigeurs catch up to the Armada, you can bet this will be a chippy affair.

Players to Watch

Drummondville-Alexandre Veronneau- There was a lot of questions when Veronneau was acquired, and the questions continue. He has a Goals Against Average greater than six with the Volts. Should be interesting to see how many he lets in tonight.

Blainville-Boisbriand-Etienne Marcoux- The 18-year-old goalie has been one of the best this season, unlike Veronneau. Marcoux is top 10 in every major category for goaltenders this season.

VAL-D’OR AT ROUYN-NORANDA: Val-d’Or have won three straight, while their opponent has lost fourstraight. With Val-d’Or battling for first in the West, you can bet they’ll be hungry.

Stat of the Game

Foreurs’ player Mathieu Guertin is second in the league in minor penalties taken, with 38.

P.E.I AT VICTORIAVILLE: PEI wraps up its latest swing through Quebec hoping for a win. It has been an incredibly rough trip for the Rocket, who have been outscored 15-2 so far. A win may be too much to ask of the Rocket, as Victoriaville is on a four-game winning streak.

Players to Watch

P.E.I. - Ben Duffy- Earlier this season Duffy broke the franchise’s all-time points record. Duffy has been one of the lone bright spots for P.E.I. this year

Victoriaville- Matthew Hobbs- Hobbs, traded from PEI to Victoriaville last month, has been one of the Tigres' best defensemen.

Halifax Mooseheads: Numbers Game

The Halifax Mooseheads have won two of their past three games, defeating Drummondville 6-2 on Thursday night before losing to Chicoutimi by a score of 7-4 on Friday in a game seen nationally on Rogers Sportsnet. The Moose then traveled to Cape Breton where they required a third period comeback in order to secure a 6-4 victory. Here’s ten other numbers you need to know about the past three games.

Halifax gave up only two goals on 18 powerplay opportunities. Both were surrendered to Chicoutimi.

Three Fights in a single game versus Chicoutimi. They play again, in Chicoutimi, Feb. 10,

Jonathan Drouin led the Herd with six points. He now has 10 in nine games.

Brad Cuzner scored his 10^th goal of the season, Shorthanded, against his former club Sunday afternoon. It was the eventual game winner. Four of those 10 goals have come at the expense of the Screaming Eagles.

Nathan MacKinnon scored his team leading 22^nd goal Friday night on Rogers Sportsnet. That’s three less than 17-year-old Quebec Rempart standout Mikhail Grigorenko.

Halifax currently sits at 26 wins, six more than they achieved all of last season.

The Moose powerplay pitched in at 33 per cent, up from their 24 per cent seasonal average.

Chicoutimi amassed 50 shots against the Moose. That’s the most allowed by Halifax this season.

Zach Fucale played 60 minutes against Drummondville. The only game not to feature a Mooseheads goalie swap.

It took Chicoutimi 82 seconds to score three goals in the third period, blowing Friday night’s game wide open. Brodeur scored two of the goals, completing his hat trick.

Bonus Number: 12,265 Fans packed the Metro Center for the Mooseheads two home games.

Mooseheads Weekend Preview

It has been a rocky start to 2012 for the Halifax Mooseheads so far. After losing two straight, the sixth place Mooseheads (24-13-1-3) hope to get back to their winning ways with a matchup against the 14th place Drummondville Voltigeurs (17-22-2-3) on Thursday night. It promises to be an entertaining battle at the Metro Centre as Halifax hasn't lost three straight games since the 2010-11 season, but Drummondville has gained momentum after their home ice win last week over the West Division leading Armada.

The Mooseheads may be leading the season series 2-0, but both of those games were decided by a single goal. Meanwhile, Drummondville is coming off a loss against the Wildcats Wednesday evening.. Alex Emond scored their lone goal. He has three goals in his last two games.

The last time the Mooseheads met Drummondville ended in a 2-1 Halifax victory with goals from Luca Ciampini and Matthew Boudreau along with Nathan MacKinnon chipping in two assists. The Moose power play went one for six that night and they killed off all three Voltigeurs advantages.

Expect a large crowd at the Metro Centre Thursday night as members of the Toronto Blue Jays will be in attendance. Roberto Alomar, Eric Thames, J.P. Arenciebia and Brett Cecil will be signing autographs to any game ticket holders from 5:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. as the East Coast portion of their Winter Tour kicks off in the city.

After Thursday, the Moose will then go national on Friday night against the Chicoutimi Sagueneens (21-14-3-5) to conclude their five game homestand. Rogers Sportsnet will be televising the game nationally to all Sportsnet subscribers as part of their Friday Night hockey programming. To accommodate Rogers programming schedule, the game has been pushed back to 8:00 p.m. The two clubs have yet to meet this season and fans should expect an already tough Chicoutimi squad to play even tougher than their current 9th place standing would suggest with the additions of Mathieu Gagnon, Christian Ouellet and Jean-Gabriel Pageau who are now third, fourth and fifth in team scoring. Chicoutimi got their East Coast swing started Wednesday night in Cape Breton with a 6-0 victory. Pageau and Ouellet each had three points.

The Moose will take a day off before concluding a busy weekend on Sunday when they travel to Centre 200. This will be the seventh meeting between Halifax and Cape Breton this season with the series currently tied 3-3. The Mooseheads are narrowly outscoring the Screaming Eagles 23-22 in that span. Expect the Moose to be led by centre Matthew Boudreau and Brad Cuzner, who always seem to get an added boost against the Screaming Eagles. Boudreau has scored nine points in six games including six goals against Cape Breton this season. Cuzner has nine goals on the season since being waived by the Screaming Eagles. Three of those nine goals have come against his former team this season.

Their last meeting on Dec. 30 resulted in a 6-4 Moosehead victory. The Mooseheads' powerplay has been very efficient at 23 per cent in the six games versus Cape Brenton this season, but Coach Ducharme will look to get a little more out of their penalty kill which has only been 76 per cent efficient.

Halifax has only won five times in their last ten games.

36 QMJHL players listed in midterm rankings

Quebec Remparts forward Mikhail Grigorenko tops the NHL Central Scouting's midterm rankings for the 2012 NHL Entry Draft for the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League.

Yesterday, the Canadian Hockey League announced that 145 CHL players appear on the list.

The domestic rankings list a total of 210 North American skaters including 120 from the CHL, also listing and additional 36 North American goaltenders which includes 25 that currently compete in the CHL.

The QMJHL has 36 representatives on the rankings, with Grigorenko at spot number two, below Nail Yakupov of the Sarnia Sting who is number one.

The highest ranked goaltender for the QMJHL is Victoriaville's Brandon Whitney at number three.

Here is the list of QMJHL players that made the rankings
NORTH AMERICAN SKATERS
RK Name Team
2 Mikhail Grigorenko, Quebec Remparts
25 Martin Frk Halifax, Mooseheads
59 Matej Beran, P.E.I. Rocket
62 Francis Beauvillier, Rimouski Oceanic
64 Andrew Ryan, Halifax Mooseheads
65 Tomas Hyka, Gatineau Olympiques
87 Vladislav Shalimov, Val-d'Or Foreurs
89 Ryan Culkin, Quebec Remparts
93 James Melindy, Moncton Wildcats
96 Charles Hudon, Chicoutimi Sagueneens
102 Liam O'Brien, Rouyn-Noranda Huskies
116 Justin Hache, Shawinigan Cataractes
126 Tomas Pavelka, P.E.I. Rocket
128 Anton Zlobin, Shawinigan Cataractes
130 Taylor Burke, Gatineau Olympiques
138 Dillon Fournier, Rouyn-Noranda Huskies
168 Loic Leduc, Cape Breton Screaming Eagles
173 Tomas Filippi, Baie-Comeau Drakkar
177 Raphael Corriveau, Cape Breton Screaming Eagles
186 Sven Andrighetto, Rouyn-Noranda Huskies
190 Alexandre Leclerc, Rouyn-Noranda Huskies
193 Jeremie Fraser, Acadie-Bathurst Titan
196 Luca Ciampini, Halifax Mooseheads
207 Domenic Poulin, Chicoutimi Sagueneens

NORTH AMERICAN GOALTENDERS
RK Name Team
3 Brandon Whitney, Victoriaville Tigres
6 Francois Tremblay, Val-d'Or Foreurs
13 Etienne Marcoux, Blainville-Boisbriand Armada
16 Francois Brassard, Quebec Remparts
18 Maxime Lagace, P.E.I. Rocket
25 Jacob Brennan, Acadie-Bathurst Titan
30 Roman Will, Moncton Wildcats
33 Philippe Trudeau, Cape Breton Screaming Eagles

Full list can be viewed here.

nolan@theqspot.ca

Screaming Eagles name Brunelle captain

Jonathan Brunelle will be the new captain in Cape Breton, head coach Ron Choules announced today at a media conference at Centre 200.

Brunelle, 20, replaces Morgan Ellis who was recently traded to the Shawinigan Cataractes.

Brunelle was acquired by the Screaming Eagles in the summer from the Drummondville Voltigeurs.

The Boisbriand, Que. native has 14 goals and 45 points in 41 games this season.

Brunelle has strong leadership qualities and was one of the main reasons for being named captain, said Choules in a team press release.

"Jonathan played in a Memorial Cup and understands what it takes to prepare yourself to play at the major junior level. This is important because we have a number of young players…and his experience and the way he carries himself as a person and a player will help in their development."

Sebastien Payette, Stephen Woodworth and Cory MacIntosh were named assistant captains for the rest of the season.

Photo courtesy of Cape Breton Post.

nolan@theqspot.ca

Screaming Eagles active on trade floor today

There were a few moves made today during a pretty quiet trade period so far.

The Cape Breton Screaming Eagles were very active today, making three trades.

The Cape Breton Screaming Eagles sent 18-year-old goaltender Alexandre Veronneau to the Quebec Remparts for a seventh-round pick in 2012.

The Laval, Que. native has posted an 8-26 career record with the Screaming Eagles along with a 4.71 goals-agaist-average.

The Screaming Eagles made another deal on the day, sending 19-year-old Belarusian defenceman Raman Hrabarenka to the Drummondville Voltigeurs for a sixth-round pick in 2013, originally owned by Blainville-Boisbriand.

Hrabarenka skated in 80 career games for Screaming Eagles, collecting three goals and 15 points.

Last but not least for Cape Breton, they sent 17-year-old Samuel Hodhod to the Blainville-Boisbriand Armada for 19-year-old goaltender William Racicot.

Hodhod was a second-round pick by the Shawinigan Cataratces in 2010 and had seven goals and 16 points in 47 with Shawinigan last season.

Racicot, has posted an 8-9-1 record for a 3.43 goals-against-average with the Armada this season.

The Saint John Sea Dogs acquired forward Maxime Villemaire from the Drummondvile Voltigeurs in-exchange for a second-round pick in 2012 and a sixth-round pick in 2013.

Villemaire, 19, has played 90 career games with the Volts, collecting 14 goals and 27 points.

The Sea Dogs sent their first-round pick in 2012 to the Rouyn-Noranda Huskies for Saint John's second-round pick in 2012, Quebec's fourth-round pick in 2012 and Rimouski's first-round pick in the 2012 CHL Import Daft.

For a list of trades, click here.

Photo courtesy of Cape Breton Post.

Cataractes acquire Ellis from Screaming Eagles

The Shawinigan Cataractes have made their dip into the trading period by acquiring defenceman Morgan Ellis from the Cape Breton Screaming Eagles.

Going to Cape Breton is 16-year-old Bronson Beaton, Shawinigan's second-round pick in 2012 as well as a first-round pick in 2013.

Beaton, a native of Springhill, N.S. was a second-round draft pick by the Cataractes in the 2011 QMJHL Entry Draft. He has one goal in 23 games.

Ellis, a native of Ellerslie, P.E.I., spent the last four seasons with the Screaming Eagles picking up 19 goals and 96 points in 210 games. Ellis was a fourth-round pick by the Montreal Canadiens in 2010.

The Cape Breton Screaming Eagles also sent goaltender Alexandre Veronneau to the Quebec Remparts for a seventh-round pick.

Blainville-Boisbriand trade Olivier Tremblay-Laliberte (1994-06-19) to Rouyn-Noranda for a ninth-round pick in 2012.

Val-d'Or acquired defenceman Richard Castonguay from Gatineay for a ninth-round pick in 2012.