Up to the test

Charlottetown Islanders looking forward to playing strong Voltigeurs squad tonight in Drummondville, Que.

Two of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League’s hottest teams will go head-to-head tonight.

The Charlottetown Islanders (10-5-1-0) are in Drummondville, Que., to play the Voltigeurs (11-41-0) to start a three-game weekend road trip. The Islanders have won seven straight games while the Voltigeurs are 6-0-1-0 in their past seven.

Five of the Islanders seven wins have come against the bottom two teams in the 18-team circuit.

Islanders veteran Keith Getson said tonight will be a good opportunity for the club to measure itself against a squad with multiple NHL-drafted prospects.

“At this point in our season, we have to expect to win games and expect to win games against lower seed teams,” he said. “And, honestly, we have to go in to Drummondville having the expectation that we’re going to beat teams like that too because we are a top team in the league and we have to have that kind of swagger about us.”

Only a few goals separate the teams’ offences, but Drummondville has allowed nine fewer goals.

“We can’t get into (a) run-andgun (game) because they have more bullets in their gun,” Isles head coach Jim Hulton said. “We have to be that tenacious, persistent (team) that takes away time and space, is in-your-face and be that annoying team to play against.”

While the team has been winning games recently the special teams have sputtered. The Islanders own the league’s worst power play at 13 per cent success rate, but it’s their ability to stop other teams with the man advantage that is of more concern to Hulton.

“Our penalty kill is god awful right now and that falls on me,” he said of the 70.4 per cent success rate.

Players looking for more ice time can earn it on the penaltykilling units by being prepared to pay the price and block shots.

“We need to take pride in that,” he said.

Veterans Daniel Hardie and Kevin Gursoy have been hot lately and the Islanders will need that to continue to have the best chance of success on the road.

“It proves when they’re motivated to their max, how good they can be,” Hulton said. “The challenge now is to bring it on a consistent, daily basis.”

The Islanders are down to 12 forwards with the departure of Sullivan Sparkes earlier this week and Liam Peyton (back) remaining in Charlottetown. The team has six defencemen on the trip and access to prospect Anthony Hamel, if needed. Mathew Welsh is expected to start in goal.