CHARLOTTETOWN, P.E.I. – Daniel Hardie’s shot missed the target but found an open Keith Getson at the side of the net for the game-winning goal Friday at the Eastlink Centre.
The Charlottetown Islanders veterans teamed up midway through the third and Dakota Lund-Cornish made some key saves down the stretch to preserve a 4-3 victory over the Saint John Sea Dogs.
“As soon as I saw him over there I was like, ‘Alright, that’s a good play’, but I can’t say I saw him in the first place,” Hardie said.
The Islanders dominated the play for much of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League game, outshooting the young Sea Dogs 58-23, but the score was tight throughout the contest – largely due to Pittsburgh Penguins draft pick goalie Alex D’Orio.
“Their goalie kept them in it a bit there, but we didn't give up. We didn’t let up at all,” Hardie said.
Saint John led 2-1 after the first period despite being outshot 21-9. The Isles scored twice in the middle frame to take a 3-2 lead to the third.
Kevin Gursoy skated on a line with Getson and Hardie. Gursoy and Getson each had a goal and two assists while Hardie had a goal and a helper. Hardie also had a goal waived off after Getson drove to the net and was pushed into D’Orio.
Nikita Alexandrov also scored for the home side while Brett Budgell, Pierre-Olivier Joseph and Derek Gentile each added an assist.
Yohan Plamondon had a goal and an assist to lead Saint John’s attack while James White and Maxim Cajkovic also scored. Filip Prikryl had two assists and Days Corner’s Charlie DesRoches one.
Lund-Cornish, playing his second straight game with Matthew Welsh resting a lower-body injury, made 20 saves for the victory.
“He’s a good goalie, we all know that,” Hardie said. “His confidence is obviously rising after two wins. We’re all behind and we know he can perform.”
Saint John was 2-for-5 on the power play while Charlottetown was 1-for-5.
The Islanders have won six straight games to improve to 9-5-1-0 while the Sea Dogs have dropped six in a row to fall to 2-10-2-1.
The teams will play the second half of the rivalry weekend matchup Sunday at 2 p.m. in Saint John, N.B.
