Isles kick off regular season on the road against Wildcats
The 2020-2021 regular season is finally here, and the Charlottetown Islanders kick off their quest for the 2021 President’s Cup with a trip to Moncton to battle the Wildcats in their regular season opener.
It’s the first of a six-game road trip to begin the season for the Islanders, who will await the use of the Eastlink Centre after it was used as a COVID-19 testing clinic throughout the pandemic.
Colten Ellis will get the start in his first regular season appearance between the pipes for the Islanders. The 20-year-old netminder was acquired over the offseason from the Rimouski Oceanic and comes to Charlottetown with a high pedigree; last season, he set the QMJHL record with the lowest recorded career Goals Against Average in league history (2.41). The St. Louis Blues selected Ellis in the third round of the 2019 QMJHL Draft.
Speaking of NHL Drafts, many eyes will fall on Lukas Cormier this week starting tonight. The high-scoring defenseman is likely to hear his name called next week at the 2020 NHL Draft, which will be held over two days starting October 6th and 7th. The 18-year-old defender will look to build upon his strong season last year, in which he recorded 36 points in just 44 games.
Forward Justin Gill will not dress in tomorrow’s game, as he’s day-to-day with an upper body injury.
Meanwhile, the Moncton Wildcats will have a new-look team when they take to the ice tomorrow night. After adding major pieces during the 2019-2020 season, many of those players have either graduated to professional opportunities or been traded to other teams. Two of the players who remain, though, are Cornwall native Jordan Spence and Tampa Bay Lightning prospect Gabriel Fortier. The pair will share the burden of leading a young Moncton team offensively alongside 19-year-old breakout player Philippe Daoust and 2020 QMJHL Draft first round pick Yoan Loshing.
In goal, expect former Islander Dakota Lund-Cornish to get the nod. The veteran netminder will look to build on a strong 2019-2020 season that saw him post a career-best .897 save percentage in 29 games split between Moncton and Baie-Comeau.
All of tomorrow’s exciting hockey action can be heard live on the all-new Fair Isle Ford Isles Radio! Click HERE to follow the action. Want to make a night out of it? Head over to the Factory Downtown, where they’ll be showing the game live starting at 7:00pm!
