Goaltender Patrik Hamrla blocked all 30 shots for the Cape Breton Eagles for his fourth shutout of the season in Friday’s 4-0 win over Rimouski Océanic in Cape Breton.
Alexandre Blais shone with three assists in the guest win.
Cory MacGillivray and Quinn Kennedy played in front of family and friends and hit the target for the winners. Julien Béland and Lyam Jacques also found the net during the game.
“A Great Victory”
“It’s a great win. All lines contributed and Hamrla was super solid in the net. Since we moved Blais to the middle, he’s been playing very well. He collects the pucks. His trio with Maxim Coursol and Lyam Jacques did great things. MacGillivray hadn’t played for a long time. He trains hard and played well,” analyzed Océanic head coach Serge Beausoleil.
The first period went at breakneck speed. Both teams had good chances to score.
It was finally the Océanic who broke the ice with less than 10 seconds to go as Alexandre Blais put the opposing defender ahead in under 10 seconds, pulling the opposing defender towards him before passing the disc to Lyam Jacques, who scored his seventh goal of the season.
Three goals for the Oceanic in the second
The Océanic struck lightning fast in the top of the second when Julien Béland grabbed the return of Luka Verreault at the mouth of the net to double the visitors’ lead.
Midway through the third, Cory MacGillivray completed a good push into the opponent’s zone, defeating Nicolas Ruccia with a backhand from the enclave.
Young Blais and Maxim Coursol had started the sequence. Blais added a third assist on Quinn Kennedy’s goal that took the score 4 to 0 in Océanic’s favour. Hamrla blocked 17 shots in the second.
The Océanic limited the opponent’s scoring chances in the third period to secure the win and shutout.
In summary
As expected, Jan Sprynar was back in action, Nathan Lévesque was cut to make room for him.
Jacob Mathieu and Maël St-Denis are still on the sidelines while Mathys Laurent and Spencer Gill have been left out.
19-year-old striker Julien Béland is the quintessential student player for the Océanic in January. He studied natural sciences at Cégep de Rimouski.
- The Océanic will visit the mighty Mooseheads in Halifax on Sunday.