QMJHL Charlottetown Islanders

Rough Night for the Islanders in a Bout Where Tempers Flared

Published on December 11, 2021 under Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League (QMJHL)
Charlottetown Islanders News Release


With the season series sitting at one a piece entering tonight's action, both Maritime squads were going to be hungry trying to sneak ahead on the other. It was anticipated to be an exciting game as both teams had to do some lineup juggling beforehand. The Titan were without Washington Capitals 2021 First Round Pick Hendrix Lapierre, while the Isles had a few big names out in Cormier, Simoneau, Plandowski, and Horth. A hot Titan club entered the Eastlink Centre after blowing the Cape Breton Eagles out of the water in two straight bouts outscoring them 20-3. While the Isles looked to keep the mojo flowing after bouncing back into the win column with a 5-2 victory over the Drummondville Voltigeurs. Charlottetown was in full swing with holiday spirit and the Eastlink Centre was loud and ready to rumble when the puck dropped at 7:30 pm and the Isles rolled out of the tunnel.

It was very back and forth in the first ten minutes of play in the first, fast-paced skating with a bouncing puck that went from one end to the other. We almost went the full twenty minutes without a goal going up on the board but Titan captain Logan Chisholm changed that with just 1:02 left on the clock. Chisholm was able to break in one-on-one with an Isles D-man and was able to protect the puck well before tucking it in short-side between Goobie and the post. Assisting on the ice breaker was Riley Kidney.

Acadie-Bathurst took the 1-0 lead into the first intermission also leading the shots 9-5.

The second period didn't see any pucks go in the net but boy did it see tempers flare. It all started with a Jaxon Bellamy versus Ben Boyd fight after a puck drop in the Isles zone. Although, the main event came just over a minute later when Matt McQuaid tossed the mitts for a scrap with Ben Allison. Once McQuaid got his footing straightened out the haymakers went flying. Matt caught Allison right on the chin a few times causing him to stumble in a tilly that got the Eastlink Centre to their feet in a roaring fashion. Allison got a few good licks in too but it was McQuaid who ultimately dominated the brawl taking Allison down to the ice.

Shots favored the Titan 19-14 going into the final frame of a tempered bout.

The Titan found the back of the net again early in the third period when Riley Kidney managed to knock one past Goobie through traffic for his seventeenth of the season on the powerplay. The helper went to Bennett MacArthur. Just over two minutes later it was Bathurst's Jacob Melanson beating Goobie from the short-side on a quick attack. It was Zach Biggar assisting on the goal that made it 3-0 with just over fifteen to play in the final frame. That goal declared it a night for Jacob Goobie as backup Oliver Satny relieved him for the remainder of the game. Then, at 14:51 into the third, it was Cameron MacLean who found a bouncing puck in traffic and was able to send it into the open right side of the net before Satny could find it. Carter Ansems was credited with the helping hand on the tally. Finally, it was Island native Bennett MacArthur taking advantage of Noah Laaouan losing an edge, MacArthur picked the puck of Laaouan and sent one into the open net to cap off a 5-0 Titan victory.

Final shots favored the Titan 32-21.

Three Stars of the Game:

Jacob Melanson(BAT)- 1 goal.

Jan Bednar(BAT)- 21 save shutout.

Zach Biggar(BAT)- 1 assist.

"I know that I always have to work hard to get something, we want to get the win every night and we always have to work hard. Just unlucky tonight. We have a really strong team this year, definitely bounce back next game hopefully and we have some high hopes for this year." Islanders forward Keiran Gallant commented on his mentality going into tough games like tonight and his view on the team's potential.

What turned out to be a forgettable night for the Islanders still had some positive takes. We found out that Matt McQuaid can electrify a crowd and handle his own out there on the ice. As well we saw that Keiran Gallant is a workhorse out on the ice whether, in victory or defeat, he is driven to perform his best when he dawns the black and gold uniform. The Islanders are in action again tomorrow night as we had to Saint John for a 7 pm puck drop against the Sea Dogs. Oscar Plandowski will be active as he has now finished serving his four-game suspension and we'll also see Oliver Satny get the start between the pipes.

Check out the Charlottetown Islanders Statistics

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Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League Stories from December 11, 2021


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