KEEPING UP THE MOMENTUM
Islanders hoping to ride the momentum of a 2-0 series lead into tonight’s Game 3
So far the Charlottetown Islanders’ gritty and grindy style has bottled up the high-octane Halifax Mooseheads, but Game 3 is another chance for the cap to pop off.
Isles forward Cameron Askew realizes it. He knows, despite his team’s 2-0 lead earned on the road in the best-of-seven quarter-final, the Herd – tied for third in regular-season goals at 270 – could explode at any time.
So the plan remains the same for Tuesday at Eastlink Centre. Start time for the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League contest is 7 p.m.
“We’ve just stuck to the game plan. Everyone knows they have a highly skilled team, highly skilled players, so we can’t let it turn into a track meet,” Askew said. “We feel good. I don’t think we expected to go into Halifax and take two (games). We haven’t played our best hockey yet, so that’s encouraging. We’ve had a good practice. We should be ready for (Tuesday).”
Game 1 was a back-and-forth slugfest the Islanders won 4-3 in overtime, thanks to a gamewinner from Pascal Aquin.
Game 2 featured Charlottetown roaring out to 6-1 lead, thanks to a four-point night by Nikita Alexandrov, only to taste the Mooseheads might as Raphael Lavoie, Brett Crossley and Benoit-Olivier Groulx opened fire for a combined three goals over a seven-minute stretch in the third to cut the lead to 6-4.
Hunter Drew’s empty-netter late in the game calmed a few nervous hearts, but the rally showed what Halifax can do.
Isles head coach Jim Hulton attributes some of that lapse to tired legs after Charlottetown won a gruelling seven-game series against the Quebec Remparts in Game 7 on April 3 in Quebec City. The team travelled back, then played Friday and Saturday.
But Hulton also knows timely goals and the hockey gods have played a part.
“In Game 2 (Keith) Getson’s short-handed goal was the turning point. We’d just given up a power play goal (to Filip Zadina) and they were on another power play. Instead of it being 2-2 it’s 3-1. That’s a two-goal swing in our eyes,” said Hulton, who doubles as Isles general manager. “We’ve had real good commitment and buy-in, good goaltending and good luck.”
Right now, Aquin and Getson lead playoffs in goals at eight each. Aquin and Zadina are tied with Victoriaville’s Vitalii Abramov for second in scoring with 11 points.
And Halifax’s lineup remains potent, given four of its top five playoff scorers boast 20-plus regular season goals.
Further down is Lavoie (30 goals) and Askew’s fellow Bostonian Connor Moynihan, a two-time 21-goal sniper who Askew played against in minor hockey and in the all-American top prospects game two years ago in Buffalo, N.Y.
“They’re going to come out hard. Down 2-1 or 3-0 is a huge difference,” said Askew, who has a goal and six points in the postseason.
Isles captain Pierre-Olivier Joseph didn’t skate in Monday’s practice, but he’s pencilled in for Game 3. In Game 2, Joseph was hit in the hand by a puck, but X-rays determined the hand wasn’t broken.
Game 4 is Wednesday. Start time is 7 p.m. at the Link.