Recap: Charlottetown Islanders vs. Victoriaville Tigres (2024-10-11)
The Charlottetown Islanders secured a 4-2 victory over the Victoriaville Tigres Friday night at the Eastlink Centre, powered by a 2-goal effort from F Will Shields and strong goaltending from G Nicolas Ruccia.
After an early hooking penalty on F Ross Campbell, the Islanders were tested but successfully killed off the powerplay, with Ruccia making some key saves. The Isles had two dangerous shorthanded chances, showing early offensive spark despite the penalty.
Both teams traded opportunities until the Islanders broke the deadlock late in the 1st. With just 1:34 remaining, F #72 Will Shields found the back of the net with a slick move into the slot set up by F #11 Kyle Powers. The period ended with the Isles leading 1-0 and outshooting Victoriaville 9-7.
The Isles extended their lead early in the 2nd, taking advantage of a delay-of-game penalty. D #7 Marcus Kearsey netted his first goal of the season on the powerplay, assisted by F #15 Ross Campbell and F #13 Matt Butler.
A defensive lapse midway through the period allowed Victoriaville to get on the board, with F Olivier Houde scoring in his Tigres debut. Ruccia responded with some stellar saves, including a big stop on a 2-on-1 keeping the Isles in the lead.
With 1:40 left in the period, Shields struck again, scoring his second of the night on a feed from F #82 Egor Goriunov. Egor played an impressive two-way game against his former team, with hard back-checking and solid pressure on offence. The Isles led 3-1 heading into the 3rd, outshooting Victoriaville 20-14.
Victoriaville clawed back early in the 3rd, scoring on the powerplay through F Eliot Simard to make it 3-2. The Tigres continued to pressure, even having a goal called back for goalie interference.
Powers sealed the win at 11:14, scoring a hard-fought goal in front of the net, assisted by F #19 Brett Yuzik and D #27 Alexis Jacques. This gave the Isles a crucial 4-2 cushion. Despite a strong 3rd period from Victoriaville, the Isles managed to close out the game. Finishing with a 26-25 edge in shots and a 15-8 lead in hits.
“Well, I thought our defensive game-play away from the park was really really good tonight our attention to detail on the defensive side was there throughout the 60 minutes,” said Head Coach Jim Hulton post-game.
“Then obviously to get 4 goals is a bit of an outburst for our club and 3 of them at regular strength. So it’s nice to see some guys get the monkey off the back – Will Shields with 2 even strength goals which we need will to be [a recurring theme] and then Kyle Powers is another guy who plays a lot of tough gritty minutes for us. Good to see that reward and just the relief in the smile on our guys faces.”
“I think we’ve got a lot of good players on this team and when we work together, we get results like this. So if we can stay consistent it is going to bring a lot of wins here and for myself as well, just trying to stay consistent and continue to work,” said #72 F Will Shields.
“I mean 1st goal of the year it takes a bit of a weight off the shoulders and I’m glad I contributed to a big win tonight,” said Team Captain #7 D Marcus Kearsey.
“We were doing the right things and we were learning a lot in those games [away vs. Moncton & Saint John] and we applied a few different things this game and we found a way to win.”
The Islanders improve their record as they continue to gain momentum with a well-rounded team effort.
Special Teams: The Isles went 1-for-2 on the powerplay, while killing off 3-of-4 Victoriaville chances.
