Game Recap: Cape Breton Screaming Eagles vs. Halifax Mooseheads

Cape Breton Screaming Eagles vs. Halifax Mooseheads

Final Score
Cape Breton - 2
Halifax - 4

Goalscorers
Cape Breton: Jakub Culek (2)
Halifax: Martin Frk, Stefan Fournier, Matthew Boudreau, Nathan MacKinnon

Goalies
Cape Breton: Philippe Trudeau (L)
Halifax: Zach Fucale (W)

Fireball Player
(He's so hot, nothing is gonna put this guy out)

Tie: Nathan MacKinnon and Jonathan Drouin: scoring aside (1G 2A for MacKinnon, 2A for Drouin) they were on fire tonight. What impressed me most was their penalty killing. There was a part in the first period were MacKinnon held the puck for a while in the Cape Breton and neutral zones, then when he lost the puck, Drouin got the puck and did the same thing. These guys were all over the ice.

Snake Bitten Player
(No amount of sucking will help get the poison out of him)

Darcy Ashley - I really wanted to avoid putting Frk here again, so Ashley takes the hit. It is not without merit though, as he did take two bad penalties. Luckily for him, the Mooseheads killed both.

Play of the Game
(Every game has a defining moment, this is probably it)

Any play with a bad penalty. Frk's bad hit from behind, Walsh's bad hit from behind were the two big ones. Frk's penalty lead to Cape Breton tying the game while Walsh's lead to the eventual game winning goal for Halifax.

Notes

• The reason Halifax didn't have a bigger win: Abeltshauser was scratched
• Halifax's first goal was the best play of the game from my perspective. Drouin managed to keep the puck onside, passes rink-wide to MacKinnon, who then passes to Frk in the slot. Frk redirected the pass into the net.
• This was not a good game for the refs. There were quite a few missed calls, and a few of the penalties that were called seemed suspect.
• Have to give Trudeau props for two big saves on MacKinnon in the second. First was a pad save on a two-on-one, then the rebound afterward was the second.
• That third period was boring. Outside of a powerplay for Halifax, it seemed like a giant game of ping-pong, with both teams having a minute or two of (unproductive) offense before heading back to play defense. Two breakaway's from Halifax (one for MacKinnon, one for Frk) were the highlights of that period.

Pictures