A daunting task for Isles
Charlottetown to face QMJHL’S top regular-season team in opening round
Charlottetown Islanders general manager and head coach Jim Hulton understands the challenge that lies ahead.
The Islanders, who finished the 2023-24 regular season with a record of 26-34-6-2, face the Baie-comeau Drakkar in the opening round of the Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League (QMJHL) playoffs.
The Drakkar (53-12-2-1) finished first overall in the 18-team league with 109 points, seven more than the Drummondville Voltigeurs (48-14-5-1).
Games 1 and 2 will be played in Baie-comeau, Que., on March 29 and 30.
“First of all, we are excited to get into the playoffs,” said Hulton. “That is always your goal. If you want to do anything with your season, the playoffs are No. 1.
“We know it’s a daunting task. If you look at the simple math, it looks like we shouldn’t be in the same building. But the beauty of the post-season is the games are won on the ice and not on paper. Right now, we are on even ground, and we are going to go up and take our best shot at it.”
The Drakkar won both regular-season meetings against the Islanders – 5-2 in Baiecomeau on Oct. 6 and 5-3 in Charlottetown on Nov. 22.
“It is going to be a physical series and it’s a smaller rink in Baie-comeau,” said Islanders forward and team captain Michael Horth, who scored 32 goals and recorded 50 points in 61 regular-season games. “They have a pretty big D (defence) and forwards.”
UNDERDOGS
Horth said the Islanders understand they are the underdogs in this series.
“We know the odds are against us and we are just going to play our game with no pressure,” said Horth. “I think it’s a good way for us to see it and they are going to play at home and have a ton of pressure.”
Horth, the only Islander remaining from the team’s run to the league final three years ago, said playoff hockey is a physical grind. Horth likes what he has seen from the Islanders preparation-wise this week.
“We have had a full week of practice with lots of energy,” said Horth. “We talk a lot about how we are going to approach that, and the guys
are all excited to play again.”
The Islanders will look to build off two strong performances in their final two regular-season games against a strong Cape Breton Eagles team last weekend. Although the Eagles (39-26-1-2) won both games 4-3 and 3-2 in overtime, Hulton liked the Islanders’ approach and effort.
“A lot of teams, as we’ve seen in the past, have coasted through (the end of the regular season) and had their eye on Game No. 1 (of the playoffs),” said Hulton. “These kids knew, first of all, it was important to Cape Breton, and we know we are not a team that can flip a switch and have to be in the mindset on a daily basis. I thought they competed really hard, and I was proud of them.”
KEY ASPECTS
Against Baie-comeau, Hulton said puck management and discipline will be two keys for the Islanders.
“We have been inconsistent with our puck management all year,” said Hulton. “If we turn the puck over, we will feed this team, but if we can consistently get pucks in below their goal-line and create offence down low and get a forecheck going, I think we can sustain some stuff there.
“We have to stay out of the (penalty) box. They have a really good power play and have the only 50-goal scorer in the league in (Justin) Poirier. Justin Gill, the former Islander, has had a terrific season, so we can’t let them go to work with the man advantage.”
Poirier scored 51 goals while Gill, who the Islanders traded as part of the Patrick Guay trade, finished second in league scoring with 98 points.
“We knew Justin (Gill) was going to be a heck of a player,” said Hulton. “We probably didn’t know he was going to be to the extent he is.
“He’s a real good competitive kid. … We are happy for him.”
Hulton and Horth agree the Islanders will have to play a smart game and patiently wait for chances.
“They are a really good team that has lots of offensive talent,” said Horth. “We will need to be patient and opportunistic.”
One player who will have a big role for the Islanders is goaltender Carter Bickle, who played in 45 games with a record of 16-26 and a goals-against average of 3.52 and a save percentage of .890 playing behind a young team that features eight 17-yearolds playing regularly. Bickle, named the team’s most valuable player of the regular season earlier this week, will get the nod in Game 1.
“The most obvious statement in the world is your goaltender is going to have to be one of the best players on the ice if you are going to engineer an upset of the kind we are looking to do,” said Hulton. “We have to be disciplined and staunch defensively.”