Don't look now, but the Cape Breton Eagles have been one of the hottest teams in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League since the start of the second half of the season.
The team is currently 9-1-0-0 in their last 10 games.
It couldn't come at a better time as they continue to work their way up the Eastern Conference standings, behind only the Chicoutimi Saguenéens and Moncton Wildcats, who are also sporting stellar records in their last 10 games.
Although most people only see wins and losses — and that's fair and understandable — there are some statistics which may be getting lost in the team's success to date in the season.
KEVIN MANDOLESE
Since coming back from a lower-body injury in December, the 19-year-old netminder has played great hockey between the pipes for Cape Breton.
The Ottawa Senators draft pick has a 10-4-1-0 record since Dec. 1, but what's even more impressive is his goals-against-average and save percentage through his first 26 games of the season.
Mandolese is currently second in the league in both goals-against-average (2.35) and save percentage (0.921). In 26 games, he's allowed 57 goals against.
For the first time in his QMJHL career, Mandolese has a save percentage above .900. Other than September, Mandolese's save percentage hasn't dropped below .910.
Last January, Mandolese finished the month with a 7-1-0-0 record. He's already 6-1-0-0 this month with four games remaining, all of which are on home ice.
TOP 10 IN SCORING
The Eagles have not had a problem when it comes to scoring this season. It's been said over and over, this team is dangerous offensively and its attack only became more potent with the additions of Shawn Element and Tyler Hinam.
As of Monday morning, Cape Breton had three players in the top 10 in scoring, which is more than any other team in the league.
Egor Sokolov is leading the way for the team with 31 goals, only two red lights away from tying Rimouski's Cédric Paré (33) for most goals in the league. He currently leads the league in game-winning goals (6). It should be noted he missed a month after being with Russia's national junior team.
Meanwhile, newly acquired Shawn Element is ranked fifth in goals with 28, two goals behind Alex Beaucage of the Rouyn-Noranda Huskies for third overall. He currently leads the league in shorthanded markers with five.
Shawn Boudrias is ranked eighth in the league, having notched 25 goals in 40 games for the Eagles. While Sokolov was away from the team, the 20-year-old stepped up, recording 10 points in nine games in December.
PENALTY KILL ON THE RISE
For the first couple of months of the season, the Eagles penalty kill was a sore spot for the team.
In mid-October, the team's penalty kill struggled and was ranked 16th in the league, working at 70 per cent. Everyone knows special teams are important and something had to change.
Today, Cape Breton's penalty kill is ranked among the best in the league, working at 81.4 per cent. It's ranked fifth overall, behind only the Baie-Comeau Drakkar (86 per cent), Moncton Wildcats (84.3 per cent), Halifax Mooseheads (84 per cent) and Chicoutimi Saguenéens (82.3 per cent).
The addition of Xavier Bouchard on the backend has only added value both offensively and defensively for the team. Bouchard is no stranger to the PK and won't be as long as he's a member of the Eagles.
Penalty killing is key, especially when Cape Breton is the sixth-most penalized team in the league with 507 penalty minutes through 43 games.
TOP PLUS/MINUS
It's a statistic that can sometimes float under the radar and one fans may not keep track of as closely as others.
When you're on the ice for more goals for than against, it can certainly make a coach happy and that's been the case for many Eagles players this season.
Cape Breton currently has seven players in the league's top 20 for plus/minus, including defenceman Adam McCormick, who leads the team with a plus-32 rating in 30 games.
Forward Félix Lafrance, who is also on the penalty kill, is following McCormick closely with a plus-29 rating, while Boudrias, Nathan Larose and Sokolov have posted plus-25 and plus-23 ratings respectively.
Rounding out the team's top players in plus/minus are forward Ryan Francis (plus-23) and defenceman Jarrett Baker (plus-23). They're ranked No. 18 and No. 19 respectively.
It may go unnoticed by fans, but it's certainly a positive for the team.
GOALS PER GAME
As mentioned before, the Eagles have not had trouble lighting the lamp this season.
In fact, the team is averaging 4.21 goals per game, which is the highest among the 18 teams in the league, even better than Sherbrooke (4.18), Moncton (4.12) and Chicoutimi (4.07).
The last time Cape Breton averaged 4.21 goals per game was during the 2015-16 season with players like Drake Batherson, Pierre-Luc Dubois, Clark Bishop, Massimo Carozza, Evgeny Svechnikov and Michael Joly in the lineup.
How does this compare to the 2018-19 season?
Cape Breton averaged 3.93 goals per game, along with notching 267 goals during the regular season. They were ranked seventh in the league in goals for last year.
The Eagles currently have scored the most goals in the Eastern Conference with 181 markers in 43 games, and are second in goals for in the entire league, behind only the Sherbrooke Phoneix's 187.
Don't expect things to change much when it comes to scoring with this team.
Jeremy Fraser covers sports for the Cape Breton Post. If you have a column idea, sports story or would like to give feedback about this week's Sports Chat, contact Jeremy by emailing [email protected] or follow @CBPost_Jeremy on Twitter.
