A good start and a not so good finish marked the P.E.I. Rocket 4-3 overtime loss to the Cape Breton Screaming Eagles on Sunday at the Civic Centre.
Cape Breton's William Carrier drove the last stake into the Rocket heart at 1:26 of the extra frame, made worse by a fortunate bounce off the shaft of Rocket defenceman Marc-André Levesque's stick which deflected past P.E.I. goalie Maxime Lagacé.
P.E.I. (5-11-2-1) had a 3-0 lead just over 14 minutes into the first-period on goals by Ben Duffy, Louick Marcotte and Matej Beran and looked to be cruising to its sixth win this season.
Not even a late period score by Cape Breton's Jonathan Brunelle that made the score 3-1 dampened P.E.I.'s mojo.
But Brunelle's power-play marker would prove the lifeline that kept Cape Breton in the game, that and lost chances by the Rocket - none more disappointing than a third period open net missed by Rocket forward Pier-Antoine Dion who couldn't corral a loose puck in front of the Eagles net.
"We had a lot of chances in the second period. We just didn't capitalize," said Duffy, who also had an assist on Beran's goal. "They took the game to us and capitalized on their chances."
Cape Breton upped its record to 8-11-0-1 and stopped its slide down the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League standings, but has still lost eight of its last 10 regular season games.
The Eagles lead the season series against the Rocket 2-1 after winning the last two meetings. The Rocket drop to 3-4-2-1 at the CCC while Cape Breton increased its road record to 4-7-0-1.
Things started shaky for Cape Breton and its goalie Philippe Trudeau, giving up two goals in the opening two and half minutes.
Eagles head coach Ron Choules called a timeout and the squad settled, although the Rocket notched a third marker at 14:07.
But Brunelle's goal kept the Eagles afloat and Trudeau recovered, benefitted from goals by Raman Hrabarenka and Cory MacIntosh (who tied the game 3-3), and shutout the Rocket for the next 46 minutes for his third win this season.
"We started slow, but by the end of the first period we knew we were better than them, getting shots. Dominating," said Trudeau, who's team fired 14 third-period shots at Lagacé. "Keep on moving with the momentum."
In overtime, that momentum paid off with Carrier's winning goal and continued P.E.I.'s trend of not holding leads.
"It's never fun when (we can't get the win), but at the same time I'm a leader offensively and I have to get more goals," said Duffy.
P.E.I. hits the road Nov. 2-6 for games against Drummondville, Gatineau, Victoriaville and Shawinigan.
Instant Replay
A look at Sunday's Quebec Major Junior Hockey League game at the Civic Centre:
The Outcome - Cape Breton 4 P.E.I. 3 (overtime)
The Goalscorers - Cape Breton: Jonathan Brunelle (6), Raman Hrabarenka (1), Cory MacIntosh (5), William Carrier (5) overtime winner; P.E.I.: Ben Duffy (9), Louick Marcotte (2), Matej Beran (8).
The Assists - Cape Breton: David Rose (13), Raman Hrabarenka (5), Kyle Farrell (4); P.E.I.: Marc-André Lévesque (8), Victor Provencher (7), Alex Noël (7), Michael Abbott (5), Ben Duffy (15), Matthew Hobbs (6).
The Goalies - Cape Breton: Philippe Trudeau, 27-of-30, win (3-4-0-1); P.E.I.: Maxime Lagacé, 32-of-36, loss (4-10-2-0).
Shots By Period - Cape Breton: 10-10-14-2, 36; P.E.I.: 10-11-8-1, 30.
Penalty Minutes - Cape Breton: 24; P.E.I.: 14.
Power Play - Cape Breton: 0-for-1; P.E.I.: 2-for-6, 33 per cent.
Hits - Cape Breton: 13; P.E.I.: 19.
Attendance - 1,054.
Next Up - The Rocket (4-10-2-0) hit the road Nov. 2-6 for games against Drummondville, Gatineau, Victoriaville and Shawinigan.
