CHARLOTTETOWN, P.E.I. - The Charlottetown Islanders will be playing the Halifax Mooseheads in the first round of the playoffs.
Game 1 goes tonight at the Metro Centre in Halifax, N.S. and can be seen live on Sportsnet at 8 p.m. Game 2 is in Halifax tomorrow night at 7 p.m. The teams return to the Island on Tuesday March 25 for Game 3 and then Wednesday March 26 for Game 4.
The Mooseheads dominated the Islanders in the regular season this year going 8-1-0-0. On top of that, the Islanders have only beaten the Mooseheads twice since last season. Charlottetown's lone win against the Mooseheads came on Sept. 13, 2013 during the season home opener in a 5-2 win. Since then, the Mooseheads went on to win eight straight games. The latest game between the two teams was a close game back on March 11, when Jonathan Drouin scored in overtime for a 3-2 Moose victory.
Charlottetown was led by rookie sensation Daniel Sprong in scoring. The 16-year-old during the season (he turned 17 on Monday), scored 30 goals and helped on 38 others for 68 points in 67 games and finished second among rookie scoring - behind Halfiax's own Nikolaj Ehlers. Also adding to scoring charge was another rookie in 17-year-old Alexandre Goulet. Goulet finished the season with 26 goals and 48 points in 66 games.
In goal, the Islanders had goaltending from both Mason McDonald and Eric Brassard since the departure of Antoine Bibeau. Brassard, 18, posted a 7-21 win-loss record with a 3.56 goals against average and a 0.901 save percentage. Against the Mooseheads this season, Brassard started five games going 0-5 with a 5.29 goals against average and a 0.871 save percentage. Bibeau and Darryl MacCallum had the other starts against Halifax this season. McDonald had a 5-10 win-loss record with the Islanders with a 3.35 goals against average and a 0.907 save percentage.
For Halifax, they were led by Drouin and Ehlers who both posted 100-point seasons. Drouin, 18, scored 29 goals for 108 points in 46 games. Ehlers, 17, scored 49 goals and helped on 55 others for 104 points.
Zachary Fucale was the main man between the pipes for the Mooseheads posting a 36-12 win-loss record for a 2.26 goals against average and a 0.907 save percentage. In six starts against the Islanders this season, Fucale went 6-0 with a 2.16 goals against average and a 0.909 save percentage.
It is going to be a tough series for the Islanders being the underdogs. Can Charlottetown stay out of the box? Will Halifax get distracted from Charlottetown getting under their skin? Will Sprong lead the way for Chalottetown? We will found out very soon.
As per the Charlottetown Guardian, McDonald gets the start tonight.
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