History & Records section - Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League

You probably remember the Sorel Éperviers and the Granby Bisons and Predateurs?

In fact, the Cape Breton Screaming Eagles are the descendants of this franchise which was founded in 1969.

The highlight of the Éperviers' time in the QMJHL was undoubtedly their record streak of 25 consecutive victories. This mark, established during the 1973-74 campaign, is still the longest in the history of the league.

That same season, another unattainable record was set, when this team scored 620 goals, thanks in part to the trio composed of Pierre Larouche, Michel Déziel and Jacques Cossette, three players who have since been inducted into the QMJHL Hall of Fame, and who during that campaign, recorded more than 200 points each!

Lawyer Rodrigue Lemoyne was one of the notable figures of the 1970s with the Éperviers. The decisions of the colorful general manager were not without surprises, like the time when he decided to replace his head coach, Paul Dufour, to take a seat behind the bench in the middle of the 1974 final when the Éperviers faced the Quebec Remparts.

In addition, while the franchise was playing in Verdun during the 1979-80 season, Lemoyne decided mid-season to play the balance of the season's games at the Colisée Cardin in Sorel.

1976-77 - getting ready for a game, we can recognize captain Lucien Deblois sitting right next to the goalie. A leader, the captain of the Sorel Eperviers! He even found himself player-coach of his junior team during 2 games of the 1976-77 season. || More than 1000 games in the NHL! | Captain of the Winnipeg Jets (1982-83 and 1983-84) | One Stanley Cup ring (Montreal | 1986).

Michel Deguise - one of the best goalies in the early days of the QMJHL.

Raymond Bourque (Sorel/Verdun | 1976=>1979) - Total of 197 points in his lifetime with the Eperviers, the best defenseman total in the franchise history! He is accompanied by the big boss of the Eperviers, the famous lawyer Me Rodrigue Lemoyne.

1 9 7 3 - 7 4 ... S E A S O N

THE MOST OFFENSIVE LINE IN CANADIAN HOCKEY LEAGUE HISTORY

200 points each for the members of the 1st trio of the Sorel Eperviers.

Pierre Larouche – 252 points | Center

Michel Déziel - 227 points | Left winger

Jacques Cossette - 214 points | Right winger

On the road to great records in the National Hockey League

Raymond Bourque, celebrating one his famous goal!

RAYMOND BOURQUE

He was a dominant QMJHL defenseman for 3 seasons. After being selected 8th overall in the 1979 draft, he immediately joined the regular lineup of the Boston Bruins. In an almost Hollywood scenario, he would finish his career in Colorado with the Avalanche, with the Stanley Cup in his arms in the spring of 2001...

QMJHL

Total of 197 lifetime points with the Eperviers, best scorer in the history of defensemen of the franchise that played in both Sorel and Verdun, from 1977 to 1979!

NHL

Recordman as a defenseman in the NHL, lifetime:
- 410 goals
- 1169 assists
- 1579 points

The Bisons will be transformed...

The franchise found itself in Granby at the dawn of the 1981-82 season under the name of "Bisons". In the middle of a difficult sequence where the team would miss the playoffs 7 times in 11 seasons from 1982-83 to 1992-93, the 1986-87 season would be different: the Bisons would win 48 times and amass 100 points, good for the 1st place in the general standings.

Before the start of the 1995-96 season, the Morrissette brothers arrived, with Georges (governor) and Jean-Claude (general manager) as leaders within the organization. The famous family of owners had every intention of reversing this unfortunate trend. They would multiply transactions to change the image of the team.

Pierre Turgeon (Granby | 1987) - the one who was nicknamed the "Magician of Rouyn", would become the very first choice in the NHL draft in 1987, being selected by the Buffalo Sabres.

Philippe Boucher - this tall 6'03" defenseman will play for a long time in the National League, after being selected in the 1st round by the Buffalo Sabers in 1991.

Make way for the Prédateurs!

Indeed, in 1995-96, the team's name and colours were changed to make way for the Granby Predateurs! After a heated battle with the Hull Olympiques for first place in the overall standings, they finished with 114 points and a Winning Percentage of .814, crowned as regular season champions.

A 2nd step reached in 1996, after finishing in 1st place in the regular season with 114 points and an exceptional winning percentage of 0.814!

The Granby Prédateurs are on a mission, and win the President Cup

WATCH OUR VIDEO ARCHIVES - SEE BELOW...

Relive the 5th game of the 1996 final... An exciting game won by the "PREDS" by a score of 4-3 against the Beauport Harfangs.... Celebrations at the Léonard-Grondin Centre, the local arena in Granby, in front of more than 3,800 excited fans for this 1st Cup of their favorites... Jason Doig, the most valuable player of the QMJHL playoffs, lifted by his teammates, a few teeth missing...

On May 19th, 1996, in the fog on the ice rink in Peterborough, Ontario...

The GRANBY PREDATEURS and the Morrissette family brought the Memorial Cup back to Quebec in the spring of 1996! As the players shouted at the top of their lungs after their historical win: "RESPECT, RESPECT, RESPECT..."

" Quebec, we are here! Quebec, we are HERE!!!" That's how the general manager and co-owner, Jean-Claude Morrissette, exclaimed in an interview, at the end of the final game won against the Peterborough Petes by a score of 4-0. Without knowing it, the Granby organization was launching a victorious era for the teams of the Courteau league.

Michel Therrien (head coach), Francis Bouillon (captain), Georges Morrissette (governor), Jean-Claude Morrissette (GM)... The "Triple Crown" for the Granby Predateurs, Canadian champions in 1995-96. Champions: Jean-Rougeau Trophy | President Cup | Memorial Cup...

When Francis Bouillon fetched the Memorial Cup as captain, it was the first time in 25 years that a Quebec team had received the trophy. The drought had lasted since 1971 for Quebec teams, the year of the victory of the Québec Remparts and their great leader, Guy Lafleur.

The fleur-de-lis, a symbol of Quebec, is clearly featured on the ring of the Memorial Cup champions, the Granby Prédateurs.

The Screaming Eagles will become... the Eagles

In 1997, Granby lost its "Prédateurs" and the Sydney fans in Nova Scotia welcomed the franchise. Since then, a great rivalry has developed with the Halifax Mooseheads.

It was in 2003-04 that the Screaming Eagles had their best moments by signing 49 victories, while allowing only 164 goals, a new QMJHL record that stood for 5 years.

2008-12-28 *** TEAM RECORD *** - Chris Culligan (CAP) became the team's all-time points leader as the Screaming Eagles defeated the P.E.I. Rocket 4-2 on Sunday afternoon at the Charlottetown Civic Centre. The Howie Centre native picked up two assists in the game giving him 259 points so far in his career. That’s now one better than his former teammate and good friend Dean Ouellet who finished his four-year career with 258 points. In addition, the name of Culligan is always in the team record book, for most games played in regular season in the history with a total of 317. He is always the recordman with his lifetime final total of 284 points in regular season.

The 2016-17 season was one of celebration, as it was the 20th season of the Screaming Eagles in Cape Breton.

In 2019-20, the team name was simplified, since we will now speak of the Cape Breton Eagles.

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On April 4, 2025, the Eagles won their longest game in history, 3-2 over Baie-Comeau, avoiding elimination. This first-round playoff game ended in the fifth overtime period, in the 147th minute of the game; the winning goal of the 2nd longest game in League history was scored by Angelo Fullerton. The winning goalie, Jakub Milota, stopped 84 shots, just 2 shy of the league record.

Jakub Milota

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The greatest names in the history of this franchise: Rodrigue Lemoyne, Pierre Larouche, Jacques Cossette, Michel Déziel, Raymond Bourque, Patrick Roy, Pierre Turgeon, Philippe Boucher, Michel Therrien, Martin Chouinard, Xavier Delisle, Jean-Claude Morrissette, Marc-André Fleury, Chris Culligan, James Sheppard, Pascal Vincent, Ondrej Pavelec, Pierre-Luc Dubois…

Marc-André Fleury (Cape Breton | 2000=>2004) - a rare occurrence for a goaltender, he was chosen first overall in the 2003 National Hockey League draft, by the Pittsburgh Penguins.

Pascal Vincent (8 seasons | 2000=>2008) - no less than 312 victories, a franchise record. Pascal Vincent led the team masterfully, managing to lead his team three times to the group of the 4 best teams in the regular season.

Saturday, March 17th 2012, celebrate St. Patrick’s Day with the Cape Breton Regional Hospital Foundation and the Cape Breton Screaming Eagles as they host the 6th Annual Eagles’ Irish Jersey Raffle. The Screaming Eagles’ will trade their regular home jerseys for Irish-themed jerseys, which will be raffled off at the end of the game. All funds raised will support Kids Care at the Cape Breton Regional Hospital.

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History