CHARLOTTETOWN, P.E.I. – The Charlottetown Islanders have defied the odds all season.
But they are about to face their toughest task of the year when they begin their Quebec Major Junior Hockey League semifinal with the Blainville-Boisbriand Armada tonight at 8:30 p.m. Atlantic.
“We’ll need our best effort of the season,” captain Pierre-Olivier Joseph said after Tuesday’s practice. “It’s an unbelievable team. We know they’ve been hot all season long and we know they have some unbelievable players.”
The top-ranked Armada won 50 games during the 68-game regular season, scored one less goal than the league leaders and allowed the fourth fewest.
“This is a different animal completely. It’s almost like a hybrid of the two teams we’ve played to this point (in the playoffs),” head coach Jim Hulton said.
He said the Armada come at teams in waves offensively similar to Halifax while playing a structured conservative style away from the puck like Quebec.
“I think patience is going to be a key,” Hulton said. “We can’t start forcing things, we can’t turn the puck over.”
RELATED: Click here for more photos from Tuesday's practice.
While the Armada’s top line of Alex Barré-Boulet, Alexandre Alain and Drake Batherson get a lot of the limelight, it’s not a one-trick pony.
“The three guys get all the headlines, but this team won 50 games for a reason,” Hulton said. “Their depth is very impressive.”
It includes Luke Henman, Joel Teasdale and Alexander Katerinakis, but, he added, the squad also always seems to find the anonymous foot soldier who contributes in different ways like on the forecheck and shot blocking.
The Islanders are back in the final four for a second straight season.
“It feels good for sure,” said Pascal Aquin, an Isles forward in his final year of junior eligibility. “It’s always fun to go far in the playoffs, but I don't think we’re done.”
The Islanders won the seventh game of the first round in Quebec before sweeping the second-round series with the Halifax Mooseheads to reach the third round.
“I don’t think anyone expected it, apart from us, but I think we’re really confident right now and I think we can push through anybody,” forward Daniel Hardie added.
Even the Armada?
“I think so. Obviously, they’re a very highly skilled team and they capitalize on their chances, but I think we can find some holes and put pucks on net,” Hardie said. “If we continue to score at this rate, I think we can do a good job.”
The Islanders last played on April 11. It allowed the team to rest some bodies and for Thomas Casey to be cleared after sustaining a bruised shoulder in Game 4 with Halifax.
But they are eager to get back on the ice tonight.
“We’re excited to get the series going,” goalie Matthew Welsh said. “We can’t wait.”
A look at the regular season statistics for the Charlottetown Islanders and Blainville-Boisbriand Armada:
Armada Islanders
Goals For 276 184
Goals Against 209 219
Playoffs
How they got here
Armada – Swept Val-d’Or in Round 1 and defeated Moncton 4-1 in the second round, outscoring their opponents 50-19 in the process.
Islanders – Defeated Quebec 4-3 in Round 1 and swept Halifax 4-0 in the second round, outscoring their opponents 45-31 in the process.
Playoff scoring leaders
GP G A Pts.
Armada
Drake Batherson 9 6 12 18
Alexandre Alain 9 9 8 17
Alex Barré-Boulet 6 8 5 13
Alexander Katerinakis 9 5 8 13
Joel Teasdale 9 5 8 13
Charlottetown
Pascal Aquin 11 8 5 13
Nikita Alexandrov 11 6 7 13
Daniel Hardie 11 3 10 13
Keith Getson 11 9 3 12
Hunter Drew 11 2 8 10
Goalies
GP W L GAA SAV%
Armada
Emile Samson 8 7 0 2.07 .915
Islanders
Matthew Welsh 11 8 3 2.53 .921
Did you know? The Armada play at the Centre d’Excellence Sports Rousseau in Boisbriand, Que., a Montreal suburb. The seating capacity of the 2009-built arena is 3,269
