McDonald sets franchise record, Getson scores game-winner in game three
Keith Getson scored the game-winner as the Islanders take a 2-1 lead in their second round series with a 4-3 win over the Shawinigan Cataractes on Monday night.
Getson scored midway through the third to give the Islanders the victory in game three.
He said it was the biggest goal of his career by far.
“100 per cent,” he said. “Game-winning goal in the playoffs… it feels unreal.”
Mason McDonald set a new franchise record in the game with his seventh career playoff win in an Islanders uniform.
“It feels great. I had no idea I was gonna break a record tonight, so I’m just glad we got the win.”
The teams exchanged leads throughout the game, with the Cataractes responding right away every time the Islanders got a lead.
Islanders Head Coach Jim Hulton said it was a bit of a sloppy game for both teams.
“It was a sloppy game with a lot of shots both ways but we found a way. At this time of the year, it’s not about analyzing how you got them, it’s about getting W’s.”
Anthony Beauvillier got the scoring going a few minutes into the contest, deking the puck around the pads of McDonald to make it 1-0.
He thought he’d made it 2-0 late in the period but the goal was disallowed as the play was deemed to be offside.
The Isles picked things up in the second period, and Mitchell Balmas evened things up just 1:48 into the period, getting to his own rebound.
Then Gabriel Sylvestre went to the box less a minute later for checking to the head and on the ensuing power play, Oliver Cooper provided a screen on Daniel Sprong’s shot and then buried the rebound to give the Isles the lead.
It didn’t last for long though, with Dmytro Timashov tying things up 58 seconds later. Timashov fanned on a one-timer off a pass from Beauvillier, but got just enough on it to throw off McDonald.
Early in the third, Sprong took a shot from the point and Balmas got a stick on it to redirect it through the pads of Philippe Cadorette.
Yet again the lead did not last long, as Beauvillier one-timed the puck past the glove of McDonald on the power play at the 3:23 mark with Getson in the box for roughing.
“I knew as soon as I took that penalty, I made a huge mistake,” said Getson. “When I got back to the bench I told the guys I needed to pick them up for that.”
He did just that midway through the period, jumping on the rebound of a shot by Filip Rydstrom for what would end up being the game-winning goal.
“It was a foot race between Nic Leblond and one of the defencemen at the blue line. Nic won the battle and Fil (Rydstrom) picked it up, shot low pad and I was lucky enough to put in the rebound.”
McDonald made 48 saves in the Islanders net as he faced 51 shots, but looked comfortable from the start.
“I felt great through the whole game,” he said. “I thought my rebound control was good, I was feeling the puck good and it just led to a good night.”
Both teams had lots of power play chances in the game, with the Cataractes going 1-for-4 and the Islanders going 1-for-5 on the man advantage.
“I think both teams know that the power plays are not gonna stay quiet. They both kind of woke up tonight and staying out of the box is a key moving forward,” said Hulton.
The series continues tomorrow night with Game 4 at the Eastlink Centre at 7 p.m.
“We’re excited with the 2-3-2 format to be able to come back home for three, where we’ve played really well in the second half,” said Hulton. “We’ve got a great crowd, a lot of energy, but it’s only a factor if you do your job. We did our job and now we’ve got to get refocused for tomorrow.”
Tickets for that game, as well as Thursday’s Game 5, can be purchased through the Eastlink Centre Box Office in-person or by phone at (902) 629-6625 from 11 a.m. tomorrow. Tickets can also be ordered online at any time at www.eastlinkcentrepei.com.
