RECAP | Mooseheads top injured Isles 4-2

By Kyle Cotton

Halifax, NS – The Charlottetown Islanders lost a physical affair with the Halifax Mooseheads 4-2 despite only having four defenseman in the lineup.

Carter Bickle stopped 30 of 33 shots he faced in the loss.

Halifax jumps to early lead

Bickle was tested early but he turned away Liam Kilfoil and Peter Reynolds to keep the game scoreless.

After a missed shot on a Halifax breakaway, Will Shields snapped a shot on goal, but Jack Milner turned him aside.

Ross Campbell stole the puck from Mathieu Cataford in the slot in front of Milner, but Campbell was denied.

Just after the half-way mark of the first period, Simon Hughes took a penalty as he slashed Milner while he was behind the net.

Halifax capitalised. Reynolds fired a pass from Lou-Félix Denis into the back of the net to open the scoring 11 and a half minutes in.

Cole Huckins and Jake Furlong then each took coincidental minor penalties for roughing, while Huckins ended up receiving a 10-minute misconduct for attempting to pull Furlong’s helmet off.

Will Allen tried to tie the game with a solid shot through traffic, but Milner found it and turned it aside.

The Mooseheads carried their 1-0 lead into the second period.

Isles claw back, even after 2

Max Jardine was called for hooking early in the second period and Halifax went to the man advantage for the second time in the game.

After a broken play in front, Bickle ended up beside the goal. Simon Duguay was there to save the day though, sweeping the puck out of the crease and down the ice.

Jan Sprynar eventually broke through though. He fired a powerful shot off of an Owen Phillips pass, doubling Halifax’ lead to 2-0.

Matthew Butler and Alexis Michaud responded with high-level chances of their own, but Milner stood his ground.

Allen finally managed to light the lamp. He took a shot from the face-off circle and he beat Milner clean. James Swan and Ondrej Maruna assisted.

The Isles’ offence continued to push. Jardine fired two shots back-to-back and Michael Horth had a chance of his own.

Hughes and Brady Schultz then each went off for roughing, sparking four-on-four play.

Charlottetown took advantage of the extra space on the ice. Campbell fed the puck across for Huckins and it deflected off of him into the back of the net. The game-tying goal was also assisted by rookie Owen Conrad.

2-2 is how the score would stay going into the second intermission. Halifax led in shots 23-13.

Bad bounce puts Moosehedas ahead

Schultz took a delay-of-game penalty just two minutes into the final frame after shooting the puck over the glass.

The Isles’ power play struggled to get much going until half of it was over. Horth and Hughes had great chances on the man advantage, but Halifax managed to kill it off.

After the power play expired, Schultz let a shot fly from the point. The puck deflected off of Marcus Kearsey and it fooled Bickle. The puck ended up in the net, giving Halifax a 3-2 lead.

Then, Campbell was sent to the box for slashing after chaos in front of the net.

Bickle stood strong in goal though, turning aside chances from Cataford and Denis to keep it at just a one goal deficit.

Halifax player Jack Martin threw a hit on Anthony Flanagan that sparked a scrum at centre ice.

Kyle Powers, Hughes, Flanagan and Kearsey were all assessed with roughing minors and unsportsmanlike conducts after the scrum, as well as four other Halifax skaters.

After everything was cleared up, the Isles went back to work trying to tie the game.

Jardine blasted a shot from the point that was turned aside by Milner, while Horth was denied after a shot in the slot.

With Bickle on the bench for the extra attacker, Logan Crosby fired the puck from the neutral zone into the back of the net to seal the 4-2 win for the Mooseheads.

Before the final whistle, a hit was thrown on Jardine that Duguay took exception to. He tried to drop the gloves after the whistle with Halifax forward Denis, but the officials pulled them apart and both of them were sent to their respective locker rooms.

Final shots favoured the Mooseheads 33-23 while they also led in hits 15-12. Halifax went 2/4 on the man advantage while Charlottetown went 0/1.

The Isles return home next for a matchup with the Saint John Sea Dogs on Saturday, March 16. Puck drop at the Eastlink Centre is at 7 p.m.