PREVIEW | Isles come home for games three and four against the Drakkar
By Kyle Cotton
The Charlottetown Islanders return home for games three and four in their first-round playoff matchup with the Baie-Comeau Drakkar Tuesday and Wednesday night.
Baie-Comeau leads the series 2-0 after taking both games at the Centre Harvey-Leonard this past weekend both by a score of 4-1.
Islanders report (0-2)
Carter Bickle has been rock-solid in goal for the Isles despite not coming away with a win after the first two games, stopping 72 of 80 total shots for a .900 save percentage and a 4.0 goals against average.
Simon Hughes was the lone goal scorer of game two for the Islanders. His physical presence allowed him to get to the front of the net and tip his first career playoff marker past goaltender Charles-Édward Gravel. The P.E.I. native will be looking to impress in front of family and friends on home-ice.
Ross Campbell will be returning to the lineup tonight after missing most of game one and all of game two after receiving a game-misconduct and a one-game suspension for cross-checking in game one. Campbell will be a much needed extra chippy, physical addition to the lineup. Campbell scored 12 goals and 24 assists for 36 points in 55 games in the regular season.
Captain Michael Horth will remain out of the lineup for game three and is listed as day-to-day with a lower-body injury suffered in game one. The final lineup will be a game-time decision.
Regular season leading scorers
Michael Horth | 32-18-50 |
Marcus Kearsey | 7-42-49 |
Cole Huckins | 19-28-47 |
Playoff stats:
Power play – 1/10 (10%)
Penalty kill – 3/7 (57.14%)
Goals for – 2
Goals against 8
Drakkar report (2-0)
Baie-Comeau was the regular season champion, finishing atop the standings with 53 wins.
17-year-old forward Justin Poirier became the first player at that age to score 50 goals since Sidney Crosby did it 19 years ago. Poirier has a goal in each of the opening two games of the season, including a highlight reel goal to seal the deal in game one.
Matyas Melovsky leads the series in scoring after a four-point performance in game two (two goals/two assists), including the opening goal. Melovsky’s five points in the series puts him in a tie with three other players for second in the league.
Former Islander Justin Gill is coming off of a hat trick of assists in game two. The team’s leading scorer in the regular season has shown now signs of slowing down entering the playoffs.
Regular season leading scorers
Justin Gill | 40-58-98 |
Justin Poirier | 51-31-82 |
Raoul Boilard | 22-40-62 |
Playoff stats:
Power play – 3/7 (42.86%)
Penalty kill – 1/10 (90%)
Goals for – 8
Goals against – 2
Final notes – Puck drop for both games three and four will be at 7 p.m. at the Eastlink Centre.
If the Islanders win one of the two games on home-ice, there will be a third home game (game five) taking place on Friday, April 5.
Ticket packages can be purchased by calling the Eastlink Centre box office at (902) 629-6625. Single game tickets can be purchased here.