Isles face tough test in playoffs

P.E.I.'s Gardiner MacDougall caps perfect season behind UNB Reds’ bench

The Charlottetown Islanders entertain Cape Breton here at 4 p.m. in the final regularseason game of the 2023-24 Quebec Maritimes Junior League (QMJHL) regular season on March 23.

The eighth-place Islanders are matched against the firstplace Baie-Comeau Drakkar in Round 1 of the playoffs. On paper, it looks like a fourgame sweep for the powerful Baie-Comeau club.

The Drakkar is led by former Islander Justin Gill (38-58 – 96 points), a fifthround New York Islanders’ draft pick; Justin Poirier (50-28 – 78) and Matyas Melovsky, who had 11 points for Czechia in the 2024 world junior tournament.

The Drakkar also has four other 20-goal scorers.

Islanders GM and head coach Jim Hulton has a reputation of icing a competitive team at playoff time, but winning this series would border on the miraculous. The Islanders could win a game and, for this squad, with eight 17-year-olds, that would be a terrific accomplishment.

The Islanders are led by Michael Horth (32 goals) while Simon Hughes has 19 goals in 55 games, as does Cole Huckins.

Marcus Kearsey leads the defensive corps with 49 points while rookie Owen Conrad has 29. The Islanders open the playoffs on the road next weekend and return here the first week of April for Games 3, 4 and 5, if necessary, of the best-of-seven series.

UNB

In other local hockey news, head coach Gardiner MacDougall of Bedeque, P.E.I., led the UNB Reds to another U Sports men’s hockey title with a 4-0 win over the Université du Québec a TroisRivières Patriotes on March 17.

In this tournament, UNB did not allow a goal and finished the season with 47-0 (won-lost) record, which established MacDougall as the greatest coach ever in Canadian men’s university hockey. He has nothing more to accomplish. I’m certain he’ll be in the NHL very soon.

Followers of university hockey must be as frustrated as I am with the lack of coverage, especially of the national tournament. The championship game wasn’t on television – live or on tape delay. I went looking through the channels but nothing, hardly a mention of the tournament being played in any of the NHL telecasts by any of the analysts.

One would think that a hockey tournament featuring all-Canadian content would command some TV attention. I guess if the game featured U of Toronto or U of Alberta the coverage would have been there, but the big boys that call the shots are not interested in UNB or Université du Québec a Trois-Rivières. What a shame!

MLB

The Toronto Blue Jays finally did what all of us expected – they traded former 2022 all-star second baseman Santiago Espinal to Cincinnati for a prospect working out of A ball. It was obvious with the arrival of manager John Schneider, who preferred the kids he managed in the minor leagues, like Cavan Biggio, over Espinal.

The Jays did everything to reduce Santiago’s playing time, using an assortment of players at second base – Biggio, Witt Merrifield, Davis Schneider and now Ernie Clement.

Espinal is a career .273 hitter with outstanding defensive skills and will likely be the opening day second baseman for Cincinnati. This is a continuation of more blunders by the inept Blue Jays’ management in both front office and in the dugout – the three stooges and Charlie McCarthy (Schneider).

Jays’ management has turned Arizona into a playoff team by trading Lourdes Gurriel Jr. and Gabe Moreno. If you watched the MLB season’s opening game between San Diego and the Los Angeles Dodgers this week from South Korea, you should have noticed former Jay Teoscar Hernández batting fifth for the power-packed Dodgers. The Blue Jays didn’t want him, but the Dodgers did. That says it all!

(MacDougall) has nothing more to accomplish. I’m certain he’ll be in the NHL very soon.

HARNESS RACING

... No live racing here, but opening day in May is fast approaching, and there’s plenty of Prince Edward Island-connected horses racing up-country. At Mohawk March 16, All Bets on Tex impressed in winning in 1:51:4 for trainer-driver Tyler Moore for owners Jeff Lilley, Blair MacLauchlan, Kent Livingston and Marc Gallant – a nice purse of $23,000. Kevin Harvey’s top class pacer Uncle Shank didn’t like the heavy track and finished third in 1:53:2 while Mr. Andreychuk was third in 1:55 (purse $18,000).

... At Mohawk on March 15, Western Wish was second in 1:51:4 and in the same race, So Much More came up with a rare clunker and was seventh in the $36,000 Open Mares.

... Andrew Moore’s threeyear-old filly Margosgotthecargo saw her unbeaten string snapped as she ran out of real estate closing fast for second in 1:54 (purse $19,000. Former Maritime star, Mystifying, was a great second in 1:53:1 (purse $24,000) for trainer Ron Macdonald.

... It’s great to see Truro trainer Ben Hollingsworth having great luck with a trio of Brookdale horses bred and owned by Doug Polley Sr. and Jr.

... The Bogata Pacing Series got underway March

18 at Yonkers – four races at $50,000 – and Desperate Man (Matt Kakaley) in 1:51:4, Rocknroll Runa (Mark MacDonald) in 1:52:1, Covered Bridge (Jordan Stratton) in 1:52:3 and Linedrive Hanover (Scott Zeron) in 1:51:2 won.

The Bogata series continues March 25 and Linedrive, Desperate Man and Covered Bridge drew into the same division. Covered Bridge is a very good horse but not in the same league as the two former Ontario stars, Linedrive Hanover or Desperate Man.

... I listened to a very interesting presentation by Dr. Ben Stoughton of AVC on March 19 at Red Shores on risk management at breeding farms.

... Horsemen are reminded that the annual Horsemen’s Awards Night is April 19 at the Rodd Charlottetown. Tickets are available at the Charlottetown Vet Clinic.