QMJHL Charlottetown Islanders

Islanders Open the 2022 Side of the Campaign with a Victory over the Drakkar

Published on February 5, 2022 under Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League (QMJHL)
Charlottetown Islanders News Release


Well, after 48 days of no hockey, the Islanders were finally back in action at 4 pm this afternoon when they entered the Centre Henry-Leonard for a battle with the sixteenth place Baie-Comeau Drakkar. It was an exciting day too for Isles fans and the Charlottetown lineup as all five new faces made their debut with the organization. After such a long break and having to get acquainted with new teammates it would be expected to have a little rust and team chemistry to build. When the puck finally dropped to begin the second half, there were some spider webs to shake off but that wasn't going to stop the Isles from asserting themselves in this game. George Matthews didn't skip a beat though getting Isles fans listening all fired up for hockey to be back.

Just two minutes and forty-three seconds is all it took for the Isles to strike the board. Lukas Cormier looked to be as fresh as day one when he took the puck coast-to-coast and sniped one past Adam while being tripped up. This was Cormier's fourteenth gino of the season and he is currently second among defensemen in scoring. The play went unassisted as it was the Cormier show all the way. Things were a bit chippy in the opening frame too as it was Elliott, Boyd, and new blood Zachary Roy tossing the body around trying to set the tone. Cormier's stood as the only tally in the first frame and Lapenna made four stops to take us into the break.

Shots after one favored the Isles 8-4.

The second period contained plenty of whistles and trips to the scorer's box as there were eight penalties called in total. Surprisingly though, out of all the man advantages that were had only one score came out of it. That tally was credited to Benjamin Corbeil who cashed in on the 5-on-3 for the Drakkar at 6:25 into the middle frame. Helpers on the tally that evened it up were Marc-Antoine Pepin and Evgeny Sapelnikov. The after-whistle shenanigans continued into the second as both squads were trying to spark some life in a low-scoring affair after the long hiatus.

Shots remained in the Isles favor through two at 18-11.

The final frame is when the scoring bug really got into the Islanders. The first tally of the period was Lukas Cormier lasering his second of the game short-side on Adam to break the deadlock. Once again it was Corms doing all the work sticking with the puck through the play and sending it home unassisted. Next, with just under five left in the closing frame, Oscar Plandowski sent it nearly the length of the rink while short-handed to put Xavier Simoneau on the breakaway. Simoneau dangled Adam right out of his pads to bury his fourteenth of the season and give Charlottetown some insurance coming down to the wire. Assisting on the goal were Oscar Plandowski and William Trudeau. Finally, with a bit over two minutes left to play, Lukas Cormier sent it down the rink from his own end where it landed in the open net to cap off the hat-trick. Cormier did this while short-handed for his sixteenth of the season which was once again unassisted.

Final shots were 28-15 in the Islanders favor.

Three Stars of the Game:

Lukas Cormier- Hat-Trick. (14,15,16)

Olivier Adam- 25 Saves.

Benjamin Corbeil- Goal

Even after the slow start, the Islanders continued to build on their first-place standing now up to 48 points on the year after opening the 2022 side of the campaign with a victory. All five new Isles faces looked solid in their debuts as well and will only look to build from there. With Lukas Cormier notching his first hatty of the season and Lapenna making fourteen stops it was an overall successful bout for Charlottetown.

The Isles are back in action tomorrow afternoon when they visit the Centre Georges-Vezina for a 5 pm date with the Chicoutimi Sagueneens!

Check out the Charlottetown Islanders Statistics

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Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League Stories from February 5, 2022


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