CHARLOTTETOWN, P.E.I. — The Charlottetown Islanders are fully healthy.
“It’s been a long time since we’ve uttered those words,” head coach Jim Hulton said Wednesday.
The team plays the first of three games in three days tonight in Gatineau, Que. It is the Islanders final Quebec road trip of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League regular season.
The Islanders (27-22-5-0) play the Olympiques (19-30-4-0) today at 8:30 p.m. Atlantic, the Drummondville Voltigeurs (28-22-2-0) Saturday at 8 p.m. and the Shawinigan Cataractes (24-28-0-0) Sunday at 5 p.m.
The Islanders are playing some of their best hockey of late. They played well in a 5-3 loss against the league-leading Sherbrooke Phoenix on Saturday after defeating the Victoriaville Tigres 6-1 the night before.
“It kind of feels like we’re turning a bit of a corner,” Hulton said.
The Olympiques are near the bottom of the league standings but have played better of late.
“We’ve got to be ready for that first game of that trip,” Hulton said.
“We have to be very careful to not get wrapped up in their numbers because, No. 1, it’s a much different team since the new year and, No. 2, they’re in a playoff battle with Halifax.”
Matthew Welsh is expected to get the start tonight in the Islanders’ crease.
The Voltigeurs are a strong squad, led by captain Xavier Simoneau, while Stratford resident Gordie Dwyer took over as head coach of the Cataractes on Sunday. Dwyer is a former bench boss with the P.E.I. Rocket and was the first coach of the rebranded Islanders.
