Successful weekend for the Isles
It was a busy weekend for the Islanders, with three games in less than 48 hours.
There were ups and downs, but after finishing with four out of a possible six points, the Islanders are pleased with the results.
“If you had told me on Friday that we would’ve had four out of six on the weekend, I would’ve taken that,” said goaltender Mason McDonald after Sunday’s 6-0 victory over the Halifax Mooseheads.
The weekend began with road battles against the top two teams in the division.
The Islanders managed to take both games to overtime, with an 8-7 final for Saint John on Friday and a 5-4 final for Moncton on Saturday afternoon.
“Realistically, four points from six games going into two tough buildings in Saint John and Moncton, and to get the win on home ice, (we’re) happy with where it is,” said Head Coach Jim Hulton.
The players could have been disappointed with the two losses, as the team held leads in both games. But instead of dwelling on missed opportunities, they made sure not to repeat their mistakes on Sunday.
“We challenged (the players) before the game to learn from our mistakes like all good teams do,” said Hulton. “We were better in Moncton than we were in Saint John and we were much better (on Sunday) than we were in Moncton.”
On Sunday, the Isles had a 4-0 lead at the end of the first period and didn’t give the Mooseheads a chance to come back.
“Credit to the players who bought in to learning from their mistakes and playing the game in a responsible manner with the lead,” said Hulton.
McDonald said the team that laced up on Sunday was significantly improved from the team that took the ice on Friday.
“It’s like totally different teams, honestly, from Friday to (Sunday). The boys went out and put a good effort in.”
The Islanders’ coach said Sunday’s game was probably the most complete game of the season.
“Probably most impressive is we played the game the right way for 60 minutes. It was a nice reward for the weekend.”
“We were leading in the other games and kinda let off and let them back in it,” said forward Kameron Kielly after Sunday’s game. “I don’t think we let off tonight. Tonight it was a full 60 minutes.”
Another high point from the weekend was the return of some of the Islanders’ top forwards. Kielly made his return to the lineup after missing two months with an upper-body injury.
“It felt pretty good” to be back on the ice, said Kielly. “It was a big weekend for our team, taking two top teams to overtime.”
It didn’t take Kielly long to get back on the scoresheet, picking up a goal and two assists in the three games.
The amount of offence was probably the team’s biggest outcome from the weekend. Scoring had been an issue before the trade deadline, but with the return of Daniel Sprong, Filip Chlapik, Kielly, and the addition of Samuel Blais, the team is no longer struggling to score.
That was evident this weekend, with 17 goals scored by the Islanders in the three games. 13 different players picked up at least a point, but leading the charge with six points each was Oliver Cooper with four goals and two assists, Daniel Sprong with two goals and four assists, and Samuel Blais with a goal and five assists.
“Confidence creeps throughout the whole lineup,” said Hulton. “When you have a few guys that can create offence and score, suddenly it fuels confidence throughout the whole team. The nice part of the outburst all weekend was that it was spread around a lot.”
After the weekend, the Islanders are tied for 12th in the standings with Drummondville. They hope they can keep climbing with another busy weekend coming up that includes games on Thursday, Friday and Sunday.
“It’s a good weekend for the guys and we’ll keep it rolling next weekend with another three games,” said McDonald.
