Halifax Mooseheads lose at home to Cape Breton Eagles

Reece Peitzche scored two goals, pacing his Cape Breton Eagles to a 5-2 win over the Halifax Mooseheads on Saturday night.

The Mooseheads hosted the Eagles with over 9,000 watching at Scotiabank Centre. The Eagles improved their record to 25-16, returning the favour as the Mooseheads beat them 5-2 the night before.

Peitzche opened the scoring for the Eagles with a short-handed goal two minutes into the game. The Mooseheads’ Connor McPherson would equalize late in the first period, off a beautiful assist from Mooseheads assistant captain Shawn Carrier.

The Screaming Eagles would score the next three goals, bringing the score to 4-1, where it remained until late in the third period, when Carrier bagged his second goal in as many games, reducing the lead to 4-2 with six minutes left.

With three minutes left in the game, the Mooseheads pulled goalie Nick Cirka. Peitzche scored his second goal on an empty net to seal the Mooseheads’ fate.  

Carrier finished the game with a goal and an assist. He downplayed his performance. 

 “I played great, but I mean it’s more about the team than me. So yeah, it’s tough.“

Carrier said the pivotal part of the game was in the second period.

“We missed two open nets, then they went back and scored twice right away. I think that was pretty hard.”

Montreal Canadiens prospect and Mooseheads team captain Carlos Händel spoke with the Signal after the loss: 

“I think we need to give more energy; everybody has to be dialed in and on their toes,” said the native of Germany. 

Both Carrier and Händel stressed the importance of energy and applying immense pressure on their forecheck. According to Händel, that’s when the team is their best.

The other standout player of the game was the Eagles’ centre Lewis Grendon, who scored a goal and an assist. Cape Breton outshot Halifax 31-30. The Eagles were one for two on their power play, compared to zero for two for the Mooseheads.    

The Eagles’ other goals were scored by Raoul Boilard and Jacob Hartlin.

With the win, the Eagles move to fourth place in the Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League (QMJHL) eastern conference standings. The Mooseheads will move to 22-22 on the season and seventh in the eastern conference, still narrowly holding on to a playoff spot with 15 games left in the season. 

The Mooseheads have now lost three of their last five games. Their next game is on Thursday at Scotiabank Centre against the western conference’s second-ranked team, the Shawinigan Cataractes.