QMJHL's Islanders conclude regular season with 3-2 overtime loss to Eagles
- reegmacaulay
- Mar 23, 2024
- 4 min read
March 23, 2024
In what was a playoff-esque game to conclude the 2023-24 Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League regular season for the Charlottetown Islanders (26-34-6-2), their hard-fought effort wasn't enough against the superior Cape Breton Eagles (39-26-1-2), who won 3-2 in overtime and swept the weekend's Eastlink Centre doubleheader.
The Eagles dominated the game offensively, outshooting the Islanders 42-25, but Charlottetown refused to back down, forcing the game to an extra period and taking as much advantage as possible of another brilliant performance by goaltender Carter Bickle.
Head coach Jim Hulton said it was a playoff-style game which is what the team wanted.
"Tight checking, low scoring. (Carter) Bickle was really good in the net and gave us a chance. We had some looks on the power play in the third period. I liked our effort," Hulton said.
Three Islanders players played their final career QMJHL regular season game on Saturday afternoon. Captain Michael Horth and forwards Giovanni Morneau and Cole Huckins, all overage players, were honoured in a pre-game ceremony for their contributions to the team. All three players failed to get on the scoresheet but were easily noticeable on the ice and put in a valiant effort.
Morneau played his first game in over a month after dealing with a long-term injury and said it felt good to be back.
"Coming out hoping to get some touches in before the playoffs. I gotta get back in the groove, get all my details back, and try to get as sharp as I can before.
"I had a great time in my two years. It was tremendous. The fans, the people, billets were awesome," Morneau said.
Horth said the team gave everything they had.
"Tough bounce at the end but I think we bounced back and we got good goals from the young guys," Horth said.
He also thanked the fans for a great three seasons.
"I really enjoyed living here and, the fan's support, I really appreciated it," Horth said.
Coach Hulton said he admires guys who play their overage season.
"They put everything on the line. It's a sad day in one respect because you see a guy's chapter end but these guys have all given us a lot this year in particular. Michael's been around a little longer, Gio's been here for a couple years.
"They've been real good soldiers, and I think, most importantly, they're real good people. That's what I remember most. Good people make a good team and we were real lucky to have three real good people in our OA spots," Hulton said.
The Eagles got on the board first with an Olivier Houde goal at 4:22. The game would relax for some time until Islanders rookie forward Matthew Butler went on a breakaway and scored his 11th goal of the season in the second period at 9:57. Later, Butler collected an assist on Charlottetown's second goal of the game, where forward William Shields scored a rebound goal to give the Islanders a 2-1 lead with 1:19 remaining in the period.
Cape Breton had no problem in quickly tying the game early in the third period as defenseman Tomas Cibulka fired a shot from the blue line which got through traffic and past goaltender Carter Bickle. The Islanders would have two big opportunities later in the period to retake the lead with two power plays, but they failed to capitalize on both. An overtime period was needed.
Over a minute into the extra period, Eagles defenseman Brayden Schmitt fed a pass to P.E.I. native Cam Squires, who sped down the ice and backhanded the puck past Bickle to give Cape Breton the win.
The final shots were 42-25 in favour of the Eagles. Bickle denied 39 of 42 shots and Eagles rookie goaltender Jakub Milota denied 23 of 25 shots. Charlottetown went 0-for-3 on the power play while Cape Breton went 1-for-4.
The Islanders concluded the regular season with a 26-34-6-2 (W-L-OTL-SOL) record, finishing eighth in the Eastern Conference, fifth in the Maritimes Division, and 15th in the league overall. It was the team's second straight season with more losses than wins.
Charlottetown will now focus on preparing for the playoffs as their first-round series against the top-ranked Baie-Comeau Drakkar (53-12-2-1) gets underway next Friday, March 29 in Baie-Comeau, Quebec.
The team gets a full week to practice which coach Hulton is happy about.
"We just told the team there are 16 teams that are tied for first place right now. It's an entire, brand new season. If you're happy with your season, you look to build on it. If you aren't happy, you get a chance to wipe the slay clean and go to work.
"It's nice that we've got a full week of practice and prep ahead of us. We'll take tomorrow off to rest, get back at the fun stuff on Monday," Hulton said.
Horth said the team has no pressure as underdogs.
"We're going to play our best games of the season, we'll play well defensively, get the forecheck going. We're the underdogs, no pressure for sure," Horth said.
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