Back to work
Islanders return to the ice as second half of QMJHL season is set to get underway
It’s back to the grind time for the Charlottetown Islanders. The Quebec Major Junior Hockey League club begins the second half of the regular season schedule Thursday versus the Mooseheads in Halifax, N. S ., after a 12- day break. Game time is 7 p.m.
It’s one of a full slate of nine games as the league fires up following the Christmas pause and Jim Hulton, Islanders head coach, is expecting a bit of a turkey hangover.
“The first few games will be sloppy,” said Hulton, who doubles as Isles general manager. Charlottetown surprised in the first half with a younger squad devoid of last year’s high-fliers like Daniel S prong, Filip Chlapik, Alex Dostie and Francois Beauchemin.
Th at squad made the third round of the playoff s for the first time in franchise history, but this year’s group wasn’t expected to even com- pete for a playoff spot. Well, 33 games into the campaign the plucky, defensiveminded Isles sit ninth overall, is one of eight clubs with 20 wins and trail Maritimes Division- leading Halifax by just five points.
It’s thanks to a workmanlike lineup with 12 players scoring in double- digits, including defencemen Pierre- Olivier Joseph, Saku Vesterinen and Hunter Drew, third, fourth and seventh in team scoring respectively.
Those numbers are also helped by a sixth- best 81.5 per cent penalty kill, a fifth-overall low in goals against ( 96) and by third- year goalie Matthew Welsh.
Th e 18- year- old Halifax native is tied for the league lead in wins ( 18), has two shutouts, and owns a fifth- best goalsagainst average of 2.44 and and sixth- best save percentage of .915.
Combining all those factors has the Islanders right in the mix. But to stay there, Hulton knows what must happen quickly once the team laces up the skate again.
“We’ll have to return to effort and a structure as soon as possible,” he said. Vesterinen, Nathaniel Doyon and Taylor Egan were shutdown before the break because of injuries and will be gametime decision son Thursday if they play. Charlottetown hosts AcadieBa thurston Friday in the first of a two- game, home- andhome with the Titan. Game time is 7 p.m ., and marks the return of former Islanders forward Mitchell Balmas to the Eastlink Centre.
Th e Titan picked up Balmas in the current trade period from Gatineau. Charlottetown traded the Sydney, N. S ., native to the Olympiques last year as part of the deal for Dostie. Balmas had 36 goals and 59 points in 65 games with Gatineau.
In Wednesday’s trade news, Drummondville moved 20- year- old left- winger Nathan Hudgen to Val- d’Or for a seventh round pick in 2018.