Charlottetown Pride off to a quick start

Major midget team looking to go 3-for-3 on the road to begin season

CHARLOTTETOWN, P.E.I. – The Charlottetown Bulk Carriers Pride is looking to keep a good thing rolling.

The Pride (2-0) is in Bathurst, N.B., tonight for a 7:30 p.m. contest with the Northern Moose after starting the New Brunswick/Prince Edward Island Major Midget Hockey League with a win at Fredericton, N.B., and a regulation victory at Saint John, N.B.

Third-year head coach Luke Beck credited the leadership group for the early season success.

“They’re hungry and they’re leading the way with our young guys,” he said. “I really liked how our practices have been over the last two or three weeks.”

The Pride’s captain is Nick Reeves with Cole Larkin and Declan MacEachern as the assistants.

“Those are the guys that you’ll see with letters, but our leadership group expands well beyond that,” Beck said.

Erik MacInnis is the only player on the roster who was with the Pride in its inaugural season three years ago. Noah Griffin and Seth Morris are returning players who have stepped up.

“They’ve come to the rink with the right attitude and the young guys are not tip-toeing into it, they’re jumping right in with them,” Beck said. “It’s been a good two weeks, but we have a lot of work to do.”

Beck said it will continue to build towards establishing an identity that starts with strong goaltending from MacInnis and Jonah Arbing, a mix of experienced and young defence and four lines that can score and check.

Larkin is one of the Pride’s pillars.

The defenceman was selected in the second round of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League draft in June by the Halifax Mooseheads, who traded him to the Acadie-Bathurst Titan a week ago.

“For a kid who got traded for the first time in his life, it could be a bit of a shock for some guys,” Beck said. “Over in Saint John on Friday night, he was dominant. He had two goals and two assists and probably played about 30 minutes.”

Major midget presents a new challenge for the first-year players. They are in school on Friday morning, get on a bus for three or four hours and step on the ice that night.

Beck was pleased with how they showed up in Saint John.

“To a man, they were ready. It goes back to our leadership group and having the kids dialed in the whole way through.”

The Pride hosts the Kensington Monaghan Farms Wild in their home opener Friday, Oct. 5, at 7:30 p.m. at MacLauchlan Arena.

The Atlantics will be hosted in Prince Edward Island in early April. It means both Island squads will get to attend, but a host has not been announced.

“I don't think our approach as a team will change because we know we’re going there. We want to find a way to get better every day we come to the rink,” Beck said. “We’re excited about the Atlantics but we’re not looking past the short-term goals of getting better.”

ROSTER

A look at the Charlottetown Bulk Carriers Pride roster and staff.