QMJHL Charlottetown Islanders

Islanders Road Swing Hits the Maritimes with a Matchup against Moncton

Published on November 10, 2023 under Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League (QMJHL)
Charlottetown Islanders News Release


The Islanders five-game road-trip rolls into the Avenir Centre in Moncton tonight to take on the 13-4-1-0 Wildcats.

This is the third meet up of these teams this season. The first game went to Moncton 6-2, and The Isles took the second one 3-2 in overtime.

Charlottetown is coming off of a 4-3 win in Val-d'or last weekend for their first win of the road-trip.

The Wildcats are riding a one game winning streak coming off of a 7-4 win in Gatineau.

Moncton is 8-1-1-0 in their last 10 games as the Islanders are 5-5 in their last 10.

Simon Hughes will return to the lineup tonight, as well as newly acquired defenseman, Coen Strang.

Strang, a Moncton native, will make his debut wearing the black and gold tonight. General Manager Jim Hulton acquired him in a trade with the Rouyn-Noranda Huskies this past week for a tenth round pick in 2024.

Lucas Romeo will miss tonight's game due to illness and Jarett Todd is nearing a return, but is still day-to-day. Sam Bowness is still sidelined for the foreseeable future.

Owen Conrad will not be in the lineup either as he is still playing in the U-17 World Hockey Challenge.

Aksels Ozols will start in goal for the Islanders tonight. This will be his eleventh appearance and tenth start of the season.

Ozols is posting a 3.41 GAA and an .889 SV% in his first 10 appearances.

Moncton will be without last year's first overall pick, Caleb Desnoyers and sixth overall pick, Shawn Carrier as they are still with their respective World U-17 rosters.

Keys to victory

Charlottetown can't come out flat-footed. Moncton's high-flying offense will make them pay for any mistakes made. The Isles need to be ready to go right from puck-drop if they want to skate stride-for-stride against division rivals.

On top of needing to come out of the gates strong, they also need to play a complete 60 minutes. The offense was hot early against the Foreurs, scoring four unanswered goals. Then, they let their foot off the gas, allowing Val-d'or to gain momentum. They can't afford to do that against Moncton as they have the second-most goals of any team in the Q.

Players to watch

CHA - Coen Strang will be playing in front of his hometown crowd in his Islanders debut. The defenseman has 16 points in 15 games with the MHL's Amherst Ramblers so far this season. Strang has suited up in the Q 94 times, all with the Huskies. This will be his first game in the league this season. He will look to make an immediate impact, trying to secure a spot in the lineup.

Souris native, Ross Campbell has just one assist in his last four games and there's no better time than the present to come out of a slump. Campbell has three goals to go along with his seven assists for 10 points in 17 games so far this season. It's only a matter of time before Campbell's hard play turns into results on the scoreboard.

MON - Former Islander Oscar Plandowski has just one goal this year and it came against Charlottetown. The defenseman will be looking to add to his total against his former team. Plandowski is on pace for a new career high as he has 12 points. His previous best came last year, split between Drummondville and Moncton at 19 points.

Nathan Dubreuil has just three games in the Q and is still looking for his first marker. Dubreuil scored his first point against Val-d'or on Nov. 1 with an assist and will be looking to add to his total tonight against the Isles.

Puck drop at the Avenir Centre is at 7 p.m. Fans can tune in at MAX 93.1FM.

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Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League Stories from November 10, 2023


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