RECAP | Isles drop physical game 2 to Drakkar 4-1
By Kyle Cotton
Baie-Comeau, QE – The Baie-Comeau Drakkar extended their series lead to 2-0 after defeating the Charlottetown Islanders 4-1 Saturday evening.
Carter Bickle stopped 32 of 36 shots in the loss.
Michael Horth was sidelined tonight after leaving game one last night with a lower-body injury.
Ross Campbell was also out of the lineup as he was serving a one-game suspension for a high-stick last night.
Kevin Walker and Ondrej Maruna filled in their spots.
Despite the loss, Head coach Jim Hulton still sees things to grow on after tonight, though still critical of his team.
“It’s the same result at the end of the day as last night but it was a better effort in a lot of areas. I think we made progress in some areas,” he said. “Special teams have to be better. We gotta continue to get five guys connected on the forecheck.”
Drakkar jump to early lead
It only took a minute and six seconds to get the scoring started. Baie-Comeau opened the scoring as Matyas Melovsky scored his first in the playoffs to give the Drakkar the lead early.
Kyle Powers took the game’s first penalty just three minutes later to send Baie-Comeau to the power play.
They doubled their lead to 2-0. Félix Gagnon also scored his first of the playoffs on the man advantage.
Charlottetown calmed the game down from there.
They started a push of their own headed by Simon Hughes, Owen Conrad and Marcus Kearsey but Drakkar goaltender Charles-Édward Gravel was up for the challenge.
Gravel eventually ended up taking a roughing penalty, sending the Islanders to their first power play of the game. But Baie-Comeau had more chances despite being a man down.
The Drakkar ended the opening frame outshooting the Islanders 16-9.
Isles push back, but Drakkar still up by two after two
The Isles went to the power play early in the middle frame and they capitalised, bringing the game back within one.
Isaac Vos sent a shot towards the net and Hughes got a stick on it in front of the net. The puck re-directed in front of Gravel, beating him. Matthew Butler assisted on Charlottetown’s opening goal.
Shawn Pearson and Will Allen then exchanged shots on goal, but both goaltenders stood their ground.
The Islanders held the Drakkar to just two shots in the period half-way through the second period.
As Hughes and Maruna helped keep up the physical tone, Powers was sent to the box again.
The Drakkar struck again on the man advantage. Justin Poirier scored his second goal of the series as he found a hole under Bickle’s blocker, restoring Baie-Comeau’s two-goal lead.
Bickle had to then make a series of saves against Anthony Lavoie, Raoul Boilard and Angus Booth.
Then, Alexis Michaud fired a shot on Gravel as he tried to get his second goal in the series, but Gravel denied him to end the frame.
Baie-Comeau pulls away
Bickle had to look sharp to open the final stanza in this one. He turned aside P.E.I. native Donovan Arsenault and Mattias Gilbert in the first minute.
The Isles were awarded their biggest chance to get back in the game moments later. Boilard and Melovsky each took slashing penalties within a minute of each other, but Charlottetown couldn’t convert on the five-on-three power play. Cole Huckins and Will Shields threw shots on goal, but Gravel turned them aside.
Booth and Poirier were then denied by Bickle as he gave it his all to keep the game within reach.
Then, Lavoie fired a shot towards the net and Melovsky tipped home his second goal of the game to extend the Drakkar lead to three goals.
Zachary Lessard was then called for tripping against Hughes to give the Isles one last chance to claw back in the game, but despite a chance from Huckins, the three-goal lead was sustained.
Allen drove the puck from coast-to-coast and fired it on Gravel, but was denied late.
The Drakkar closed out the game winning 4-1. They took a two games to none lead in the series outshooting the Isles 36-22.
Game three is back on home ice for the Islanders. Puck drop at the Eastlink Centre will be at 7 p.m. AST on Tuesday, April 2
Ticket packages can be purchased by calling the Eastlink Centre box office at (902) 629-6625. Single game tickets can be purchased here..