Eagles edge Moose
By Willy Palov - Sports Reporter

The Halifax Mooseheads lost again on Wednesday but at least there was progress.

The Mooseheads fell 4-2 to the Cape Breton Screaming Eagles at the Metro Centre in the second game of a back-to-back series billed as the Battle of Nova Scotia. The Eagles won the first game 6-0 in Sydney on Tuesday, which was the third straight time the Mooseheads had been blown out.

Losing by just two goals isn’t exactly a favourable outcome for the Mooseheads but it’s a step up from being routed.

"We’re not satisfied with the loss but it’s something we can build off," said Mooseheads forward Linden Bahm. "It’s obviously better than a 10-1 or a 6-0 game. We’re going to work off this."

Just like the night before when they gave up three goals in the first three minutes, the Mooseheads fell behind early. They surrendered two goals in the first two minutes to dig a hole that would cost them the game once again.

"Yesterday it was the same. We will learn from that," said Mooseheads forward Carl Gelinas. "We played (well) but it was just in the first period we didn’t have a good start. In the second and third it was better. We have to continue like that for (the rest) of the year."

Morgan Ellis, Jean-Sebastien Fournier, Francis Meilleur and Logan Shaw scored for the Eagles, who led 3-0 after the first period and 4-2 after the second. Gelinas and Garrett Clarke answered for the Mooseheads.

Olivier Roy made 22 saves for Cape Breton and Mathieu Corbeil stopped 40 shots for Halifax. The win moves the Screaming Eagles (23-12-2-3) into sole possession of fifth place overall.

"It’s the Battle of Nova Scotia and every time we play Halifax we know it’s going to be a tough game," said Cape Breton forward Nick MacNeil. "We got a few goals early but we knew they weren’t going to quit. They popped a couple and got some momentum and we had to finish the last 40 minutes strong.

"This game was also really important for the standings. It’s really close between us and Moncton so we want to get second place (in the Atlantic Division) so these points will really help."

The loss is the Mooseheads’ fourth in a row and drops their record to 8-29-1-2. The game was their last of 2009 so the concept of pushing for a playoff spot will seem even more urgent now. They need to make up 10 points on the 16th-place Lewiston Maineiacs to qualify for the post-season.

"Every game we’re looking to get points and move up (in the standings)," Bahm said. "Our goal is to make the playoffs and we’ve just got to keep working hard and win some hockey games. If we start winning hockey games, we could get on a roll like we were at one point in the first half and then we’ll have a chance to make the playoffs."

The Mooseheads play their next game on Saturday on the road against the Bathurst Titan.