Islanders win third straight
Grouchy nets deciding goal against Saint John
Make it three wins in a row for the Charlottetown Islanders after a 3-2 win over the Saint John Sea Dogs on Thursday in Charlottetown.
The Isles, who are 4-6-1 (wonlost-overtime losses in the Maritime Division, now have a pair of wins over Acadie-Bathurst and one against the Sea Dogs to move out of the division basement. The Islanders are one point ahead of Saint John (3-7-2), which is winless in five games.
Isles right-winger Matthew Grouchy netted the eventual game-winning goal in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League contest, and said the streak has come about because of moving the skates.
“I think we’ve finally started to outwork other teams. That’s our identity this year, outworking our opponents, winning the one-on-one battles down low,” said Grouchy, who added an assist in the second period. “(Thursday) I think we capitalized on our chances, did a good job on the penalty kill and power play and helped Welshie (goalie Matthew Welsh) out. We played a complete game.”
Charlottetown took a 1-0 lead three-quarters through the first period on Cayse Ton’s first goal of the season. It lasted until 1:47 of the second, when Cedric Pare tied things 1-1.
A minute later Isles leftwinger Pascal Aquin made it 2-1 with his first of the year, but four minutes down the road Nathan Larose tied it 2-2.
Then Grouchy struck 60 seconds later and that 3-2 lead held through the remainder of the second and the third frames.
Kelvin Grove native Bailey Webster assessed his team’s performance in simple terms.
“They just worked harder. We got off to a good start, but then we took our foot off the pedal,” said the Sea Dogs defenceman, who notched an assist on Pare’s goal.
“They outworked us. (We’re young) and we have to learn how to do that. It’s something we can work on. We’ll take whatever positives we can out of it and get ready to play this weekend.”
Welsh went to 3-6 while stopping 26 shots.
Alex D’Orio stopped 21 shots and dropped to 2-7.
Next up, the Isles host the Shawinigan Cataractes on Saturday. Game time is at 7 p.m. at the Eastlink Centre.