Defying the critics
Islanders sweep three-game road trip of Quebec
The Charlottetown Islanders continue to rise to the occasion.
A team many had written off at the beginning of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League (QMJHL) season just won three games in Quebec in as many days.
Pascal
Aquin scored twice and rookie Dakota LundCornish made 37 saves Sunday in a 2-1 victory over the Drummondville Voltigeurs.
“They just keep finding ways,” a proud Islanders head coach Jim Hulton said. “They drain the tank everyday. It sounds like a cliché, but this group really and truly does that.”
The Islanders are 9-1-0-0 in their last 10 games, including victories against teams ahead of them in the standings like Quebec, Drummondville and Acadie-Bathurst.
“We went on a run at home, but now we’ve learned how to win on the road too,” Hulton said. “To get the success early, hopefully holds us in good stead for the rest of the year.”
Keith Getson had two assists on Sunday while Pierre-Olivier Joseph had one.
Nathan Hudgin from MarcOlivier Duquette and Morgan Adams-Moisan replied for Drummondville. Daniel Moody stopped 18 shots in the loss.
The Voltigeurs were 0-for-7 on the power play while the Isles were 1-for-2.
Hulton called the refereeing “atrocious.”
“I thought we got screwed on a bunch of calls late in the game,” he said, noting the team had to kill off a 5-on-3 power play with two minutes to play.
The Islanders held period leads of 2-0 and 2-1.
Charlottetown improved to 10-7-1-0 while Drummondville falls to 11-6-1-1.
On Saturday, rookie Nikita Alexandrov recorded the first three goals of his QMJHL career and Matthew Grouchy scored 3:31 into overtime as the Isles defeated the Sherbrooke Phoenix 5-4.
Getson also scored in the win. Marcel Berube and Saku Vesterinen each had two assists while singles went to Alexandrov, Joseph, Samuel Meisenheimer, Sam King, Hunter Drew and Brendon Clavelle.
Kevin Gilbert scored twice for the home squad while Nicolas Poulin and Felix Robert each had a goal and a helper.
Matthew Welsh made 34 saves for the win while Brendan Cregan stopped 26 shots in the loss.
The game was tied 2-2 after the first period while Sherbrooke took a 3-2 advantage to the third.
Charlottetown was 1-for-4 on the power play while Sherbrooke was 1-for-5 with the man advantage.
The Islanders begin a home and away series with the Cape Breton Screaming Eagles Wednesday at 7 p.m. at the Eastlink Centre. The Isles then travel to Sydney, N.S., for a game Friday at 7 p.m.
Hulton said the team anticipates centre Gregor MacLeod will return for one of this week’s games with Cape Breton.
He has been going through the concussion protocol since a hit in the Rouyn-Noranda game on Oct. 28.
Pownal’s Abbey MacLellan helped the UBC Thunderbirds win a seventh straight McCrae Cup as U Sports national field hockey champions during the weekend.
The Thunderbirds swept the best-of-three final with the York Lions, winning both games 2-0, on home turf. MacLellan was named the player of the game Friday in Game 1.