CHARLOTTETOWN, P.E.I. – Some people will suggest the Charlottetown Islanders are playing with house money now that they are in the second round of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League playoffs.
Those people aren’t in the Islanders dressing room.
“The mission continues,” head coach and general manager Jim Hulton said. “Other people might look at it like it’s a bonus time, but I don't think this group does.”
The Islanders were 2-5-2-0 this season against Halifax. While that gives a glimpse into the past, it doesn’t mean much now.
“We know when we play the right way we can play with them,” Hulton said.
The Islanders won Game 7 of their first-round series with the Quebec Remparts Tuesday in dramatic fashion. With the game tied 2-2 heading to the third, the Isles scored six times for an 8-3 victory. They got stuck in Quebec City until Thursday due to a winter storm, but got a skate in Thursday afternoon at UNB in Fredericton, N.B., before continuing on to Halifax for tonight’s Game 1 with the high-powered Mooseheads.
“We’re hungry,” Isles goalie Matthew Welsh said. “We want to keep winning and keep moving on. We’re in the second round, but we’re not here just to play – we’re here to win.”
Many people wrote the Islanders off before the season started, and more jumped on that narrative when the team went 1-6-1-0 out of the gate.
“We were doubted all season. No one really thought we’d be at this point back in September,” Welsh said, noting he is proud of how hard his teammates have worked to achieve success.
The team stayed committed to the game plan and turned the season around. It is now in the second round of the playoffs for the fourth straight season after years of one-and-dones.
“The group has embraced the underdog role,” Hulton said. “It became a bit of a rallying point.”
He said it is one of the most fun groups he has coached and much different than the squad that was chock-full of household names that went to the third round a year ago.
“But (these) successes tend to be a little bit more gratifying because it seems like they had to do it the old-fashion way. They had to work for absolutely everything.”
Hulton remained steadfast in his belief the team would play hard and could be successful this season despite the turnover on the roster.
“We knew the one thing we had coming in was rock-solid leadership with a lot of experience in the playoffs.”
He pointed to Pascal Aquin going to the final with Shawinigan in 2016, Keith Getson having won at least a round in each of his three seasons and Joseph playing a key role on last year’s squad. During the season, they added overage players in Cam Askew and Olivier Desjardins to provide even more experience.
“Those guys, they don't hope to win now, they expect it,” Hulton said of the leadership group.
Need to know
A look at the Charlottetown Islanders-Halifax Mooseheads playoff series.
Regular season records
Halifax – 43-18-6-1, second in the Maritimes Division and fourth overall.
Charlottetown – 37-24-7-0, third in the Maritimes Division and ninth overall.
Head-to-head
Sept. 23 in Charlottetown
Halifax 3 Charlottetown 2
Oct. 1 in Halifax
Halifax 3 Charlottetown 0
Oct. 29 in Halifax
Halifax 6 Charlottetown 2
Nov. 24 in Charlottetown
Charlottetown 3 Halifax 2 OT
Dec. 28 in Halifax
Charlottetown 2 Halifax 0
Jan. 11 in Halifax
Halifax 6 Charlottetown 3
Jan. 12 in Charlottetown
Halifax 3 Charlottetown 2 OT
Feb. 6 in Charlottetown
Halifax 6 Charlottetown 2
Feb. 21 in Charlottetown
Halifax 3 Charlottetown 2 OT
Playoff leading scorers
GP G A Pts.
Halifax
Filip Zadina 5 2 7 9
Arnaud Durandeau 5 5 3 8
Maxime Fortier 5 5 2 7
Charlottetown
Pascal Aquin 7 6 2 8
Daniel Hardie 7 1 7 8
Keith Getson 7 5 2 7
Goalies
GP W L GAA SAV%
Halifax
Alexis Gravel 5 4 1 1.81 .944
Charlottetown
Matthew Welsh 7 4 3 2.46 .917
Islanders head coach Jim Hulton said: “We really have just kind of lived day-to-day all season and we’re just happy the days get to continue.”
