A veteran Cape Breton Screaming Eagles’ lineup put the boots to the young Halifax Mooseheads last night.
The Screaming Eagles, featuring a stacked lineup with seven players who are headed off for NHL tryouts in the coming week, demolished the Mooseheads 9-2 in Sydney.
The Herd dressed 10 rookies to the Screaming Eagles’ three and dropped to 2-2-1 in the QMJHL pre-season while stars Tomas Knotek and Yuri Cheremetiev stayed home.
“We sat our top five players and threw all our young guys in and they played their full team,” said Mooseheads head coach Cam Russell. “It was a good test to see our young guys in a situation against a real good hockey team.
“We saw what we wanted to see tonight.”
It was a tough night for both Mooseheads goaltenders. Mathieu Corbeil, an 18-year-old returnee who will be the team’s No. 1 this season, allowed five goals on 20 shots. Joel Grondin, a rookie, surrendered four goals on 19 shots.
Luke Adam, Mathieu Brodeur and Nick MacNeil paced the Screaming Eagles with two goals each.
The Mooseheads’ scoring came from 16-year-old sophomore forward Gabriel Desjardins and rookie defenceman Jamie Bishop, who also posted a team-low minus-four.
With a couple of cuts left, it was a revealing outing that could result in a few players sent packing today.
“We saw some guys who can get off the bus and play a 60-minute game against a very good hockey team, a big fast, skilled hockey team, and saw some guys who can’t,” Russell said. “These things help make our decisions easier.”
Blueliner Garrett Clarke aggravated a groin injury in the second and did not return. Guillaume Pelletier fought Ashton Bernard in retaliation to a hit from behind, Russell said.
