Bernard to make debut tonight as Islanders take on Titan
While Noah Laaouan and Jordan Maher made their Charlottetown Islanders debut in last night’s 5-2 victory over the Halifax Mooseheads, Xavier Bernard found himself watching from the sidelines.
That’s because the New Jersey Devils prospect, acquired from the Drummondville Voltigeurs as part of the package for Pierre-Olivier Joseph, received a one-game suspension in the Volts’ final game prior to the Christmas break.
That all changes tonight. Bernard is back in the line-up as the Islanders do battle with the Acadie-Bathurst Titan at the Eastlink Centre at 7:00pm.
Bernard will likely look to have the same immediate impact on the ice that his fellow new Isles had. Forward Jordan Maher added an assist on Daniel Hardie’s game-winning goal, while defenseman Noah Laaouan scored a goal and brought the crowd to their feet with a number of big hits.
With his game-winner, Hardie cracked the 40-point plateau for the second time of his QMJHL career following last season’s 53-point performance. His 23 goals sits him fifth among all QMJHL players in that category. Thomas Casey’s 3-point performance is the most points he’s posted in one game, and the 6th multi-point game he’s posted this season.
The win allowed Charlottetown (21-10-2-1) to pull in to a tie with the Rimouski Oceanic for seventh in the league standings, following Rimouski’s overtime loss to the Chicoutimi Sagueneens last night. With the Cape Breton Screaming Eagles off tonight, the Isles have an opportunity to leapfrog their Maritime Division rivals for sixth place overall.
The Titan (6-27-0-1) look to rebound from a 6-1 defeat to the Saint John Sea Dogs last night. Bathurst is another team with a new look following a slew of trades over the Christmas trading period, and they don’t appear to be done. Newly acquired Anderson MacDonald, Louis Tardif Jr, Mathieu Desgagnes, and Mathieu Samson all made their Titan debuts last night, with Desgagnes scoring the lone Titan goal off of a Samson assist.
Bathurst will be without Noah Dobson and Michal Ivan, who are both representing their home countries Canada and Czech Republic at the IIHF World Junior Championships.
Today is Cyber Saturday! Purchase your ticket at https://boxoffice.eastlinkcentrepei.com and use the promo code “2003” to get your ticket for the same price as a PEI Rocket ticket back in 2003! Can’t make it to the rink? You can always catch the game on Fair Isle Ford Isles Radio with George Matthews and Cory Arsenault. We’ll see you at the rink!
