QMJHL's Islanders end losing streak with dominant 6-2 win against Sea Dogs
- reegmacaulay
- Mar 17, 2024
- 4 min read
March 17, 2024
A hot start by the Charlottetown Islanders (25-32-5-2) in front of an electric Eastlink Centre crowd of 3063 fans led them to a dominant 6-2 win against the Saint John Sea Dogs (18-38-5-3) in Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League action on St. Patrick's Day Eve, Saturday, March 16.
The Islanders, a young squad known for good starts and rough endings, maintained a consistent game on Saturday night, scoring three goals in the first 14 and a half minutes and only allowing two goals. It was the team's first win since Feb. 25, ending its seven-game losing streak.
Head coach Jim Hulton said the win was nice to get after a plethora of injuries and adversity.
"We had some depth scoring tonight, a lot of lines chipping in, which is going to be important. Some guys have gone through some ups and downs and struggles, but a lot of lines contributed tonight.
"It was nice to get over with, get some smiles back in the room, and it builds your confidence," Hulton said.
Souris native Ross Campbell had his first multi-point game since the team's last win, scoring one goal (his 10th of the season) and two assists. He is now on a four-game point streak which includes six points.
"We were on a losing streak and we felt good tonight. It was nice to come out with the W," Campbell said.
Hulton mentioned Campbell as one of the more noticeable players on the ice.
"He's getting his mojo back which is really important for us," Hulton said.
Rookie Matthew Butler stepped up after a two-game point drought with one goal (his 10th of the season) and one assist. He experienced a seven-game point drought in January but has since scored six points in the last seven games.
"Everyone in the dressing room was ready to go and we just got to keep building this and it's been good. One thing I've been trying to do is be more consistent. Game after game, do the same things and don't get into bad habits and play the way I can," Butler said.
Veteran Cole Huckins got the Islanders on the board first at 3:58 in the first period, collecting a cross-ice pass from Campbell and one-timing the puck past Sea Dogs goaltender Patrick Leaver for a power-play goal. It was Huckins' 19th goal of the season.
Forward William Shields scored his 11th goal of the season at 10:24 while Campbell added the team's third goal, also on the power play, at 14:25 with passes from rookie defenseman Owen Conrad and Huckins.
Huckins is now two points away from 200 career QMJHL regular-season points.
Saint John had a better awakening in the second period and took advantage with their first goal of the game at 5:54. Coen Miller attempted to feed Tyler Peddle on an offensive rush, and when Islanders goaltender Aksels Ozols tried to poke check the puck away, he ended up feeding the puck to Peddle, who scored his 12th goal of the season to close the score gap to two.
Charlottetown responded 18 seconds later, as rookie forward Kyle Powers rushed up the ice along the team's benches and fed a backhand pass in front of the net to Stratford native Simon Hughes, who scored his 17th goal of the season to make it a 4-1 game. Conrad collected the secondary assist.
The Sea Dogs would pull off one more goal as veteran Brody Fournier scored a rebound shot with 48 seconds remaining, closing the score gap once again. The third period was relatively quiet to start, but Matthew Butler riled the atmosphere back up with a snipe goal at 9:22 to extend Charlottetown's lead back to three. Alexis Michaud sealed the deal with a feed from Ross Campbell, scoring an empty-net goal at 19:06 to give his team a 6-2 win.
Campbell, Butler, and Conrad were named the three stars of the game. Islanders goaltender Aksels Ozols stopped 23 of 25 shots while Sea Dogs goaltender Patrick Leaver stopped 38 of 43 shots. Ozols earned his 10th win of the season in his 28th game. Charlottetown went 2-for-4 on the power play and Saint John went 0-for-4.
The Islanders now lead the season series 6-2 and will play a rematch at the TD Station in Saint John, N.B. on Sunday, March 17 at 3 p.m. It'll be Charlottetown's last road game of the regular season. The squad previously beat Saint John on the road 6-3 on Jan. 17. After Saturday's game, they lead the season series 6-2.
With four games remaining in the regular season, three at home, the Islanders will focus on building confidence and momentum heading into the 2024 President's Cup Playoffs, which begin on March 29. Charlottetown is set to face the first-ranked Baie-Comeau Drakkar (51-11-2-1) in the first round.
Coach Hulton said the team will need to be confident and focus on the details of the game going into the series.
"Faceoffs, faceoff coverage. Just playing to our identity on a nightly basis. We wanted to play fast and forecheck heavy tonight, and I thought we did. The forecheck's the one area of emphasis. It's kind of slid with the injuries," Hulton said.
Injury-wise, the team has been without veterans Giovanni Morneau and Carl-Etienne Michel for some time. Morneau has 17 goals and 40 points in 54 games played while Michel has 10 assists and 11 points in 61 games played. Both are expected to be back for the playoffs.
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