Prince Edward Islanders shining early in QMJHL season
Pitching, defence have been keys in MLB playoffs
The fast start by P.E.I. youngsters early in the 2020-21 Quebec Major Junior Hockey League season, but not with the local Charlottetown Islanders, has some folks wondering if the local team missed the boat on these kids.
That is not the case folks, take it from The Prophet.
In the early days of the current QMJHL season, the Acadie-Bathurst Titan leads the Maritimes Division with seven points, one more than the Islanders.
That is thanks to the play of Kensington Wild grads – goaltender Chad Arsenault, who leads the league in goalsagainst average, and Bennett MacArthur, who five goals in four games. Arsenault is from St-Rafael, near Wellington, and MacArthur is a Summerside native.
The Titan also has two former Island major under18 standouts in defencemen Cole Larkin of Mermaid, who leads the QMJHL in plus-minus at plus-6, and Wild product Zach Biggar of Portage.
In all fairness to the Islanders, in the off-season, they traded for Rimouski’s Colten Ellis, arguably the best goaltender in the league and a third-round draft pick of the St. Louis Blues. At the same time, the Islanders are developing young and highlyregarded back-up Jacob Goobie, so there was no room for Arsenault.
The Islanders did Arsenault a favour by sending him to the Titan and you and I know the rest of the story.
Larkin, on the other hand, was a standout for Luke Beck’s Charlottetown Pride (now the Knights) major under-18 team. At six-foottwo and 185 pounds, he was a second-round pick by Halifax in the same draft that the Islanders landed Lukas Cormier. His emergence as a top defenceman is no surprise.
As for MacArthur, he got a chance to play the second half last year with a weak Titan squad and the experience gained is paying off now. Regardless, it’s great to see Island youngsters starring in the Quebec league.
On the NHL front, ex-P.E.I. Rocket captain Josh Currie has signed with Pittsburgh Penguins. You can bet he’ll be ready to roll when the season opens Jan. 1, 2021.
Another local standout, Ryan Graves, has inked a hefty three-year, $9-millionplus deal with Colorado while Zach MacEwen has a new two-year deal with Vancouver.
BASEBALL PLAYOFFS
The baseball playoffs have been surprising as the heavily-favoured Los Angeles Dodgers went into Friday’s night’s game trailing the Atlanta Braves 3-1 in National League play. In the American League, the Tampa Bay Rays were up 3-2 in games against Houston heading into Friday’s Game 6.
Pitching and great defence wins games at World Series time. Never has that been more evident than in these two series.
In local ball, the recent slopitch fundraiser in support of Jeff May, sponsored by Charlottetown Minor Baseball and held at City Diamond, raised in the vicinity of $1,500.
Donations can still be made to support Jeff with his health expenses at his sister Jana’s E-mail account – jmmay@ihis.org.
HARNESS RACING
Local harness racing continues today in Charlottetown at 12:30 p.m., with an 11-dash card. The $3,100 feature has attracted a field of six with iron-sided Rose Run Quest on the outside and facing a tough field that includes aging star The Rev, Screen Test, Euchred, Mantario, plus current sensation Cowboy Logic, the syndicate wonder. This is Cowboy’s toughest test of his career.
Also this afternoon, Arc Light has the outside No. 6 post in the $15,100 test for aged mares. Co-owned by the Cross Roads Syndicate, which includes dentist Brad Campbell, Darren MacDougall, Forbie MacPherson, Kent and Bernie MacDonald, Jason Rice and a couple of others, Arc Light was a recent purchase by this group from owner Paul Gray and she stays in the Marc Campbell Stable.
Bernie has had several top Maritime-breds, including multiple stakes winner Dusty Lane Connie, whose daughter Dusty Lane Tate is the dam of 2020 threeyear-old standout Dusty Lane Zambucca p, 3, 1:56 ($30,000 ). He was explaining to syndicate members the ins and outs of the game last Sunday, Breeders Crown Day, and they had a ball, watching their horse race and celebrating Bernie’s 65th birthday. . . In other harness racing news, blacksmith Bobby Drake parred five consecutive holes last week with playing partners Jamie Smith and Sock MacDonald, taking away some of their folding stuff. . . The Mohawk card tonight features OSS Gold Night with eight races each going for $250,000. Dr. Ian Moore sends out several favourites, including Serge Savard’s Lawless Shadow (by Shadow Play), Alumni Seelster and three-year-old star Tattoo Artist, who tangles with Indictable Hanover (James MacDonald) and Beaumond Hanover (Jody Jamieson).