Penalties hurt Islanders in 4-1 loss to Wildcats

Penalties cost the Charlottetown Islanders in a 4-1 loss to the Moncton Wildcats Saturday night at the Moncton Coliseum.

The Wildcats scored twice on eight power play opportunities in the win. Ivan Barbashev led the way offensively for the Wildcats with three goals and an assist.

With the loss, the Islanders have lost three straight games and fall to 28-27-1-3 on the season. Moncton improves to 40-17-0-3.

Focus and composure was lost in the second and third periods with penalties, said Islanders captain Ryan MacKinnon.

"Especially playing a Moncton team like this. They're going to capitalize and they obviously did."

MacKinnon said emotions got the best of the team which resulted in eight penalty kills, including three 5-on-3's.

"We are going through a little tough spurt right now. It's not just stuff going on, on the ice...with that we have to show a lot more maturity and have to be more composed than that."

The three-game losing streak is tough, said MacKinnon.

"When you go on stretches like this guys start holding their sticks tighter and look for an easy way out. The only way out of this is hard work on and off the ice. It's not going to come easy."

Moncton opened the scoring with 12.7 seconds left on the clock in the first period with Barbashev's first of the game and 37th of the season. Conor Garland an Taylor Burke drew assists. Islanders a held a 15-5 shot advantage.

In the second period, the Wildcats took a 2-0 lead with a power play marker from Dominic Talbot-Tissi at 7:20 for his seventh of the season. Garland and Barbashev drew assists.

Barbashev made it 3-0 with his second of the game with a power play goal at 10:47. Jacob Sweeney and Stephen Johnson drew assists.

Barbashev capped off the hat-trick in the third period at the 2:04 mark. Garland drew the lone assist.

Charlottetown got on the board with Filip Chlapik's 27th goal of the season. Daniel Sprong an Samuel Guilbault drew assists.

Alex Dubeau made 38 saves in the win for Moncton. Mason McDonald took the lose making 29 saves.

The two teams meet again Monday March 2 in Charlottetown in a rescheduled game from Wednesday Feb. 25. Game time is 7 p.m.

Game day: Islanders @ Sea Dogs

Date: Friday Feb. 27, 2015

Match: Charlottetown Islanders @ Saint John Sea Dogs

Where: Harbor Station, Saint John, N.B.

Time: 7:30 p.m. AST

TV: Webcast

Live Tweets: IslesLive

Pre-game stats:

Last meeting this season:	Feb. 20, SNB 2 @ CHA 4
Next game between two teams:	Mar. 20 in Saint John
Head-to-head record this season:	Charlottetown 5-1-0-1, Saint John 2-3-1-1
Head-to-head record for 2013-14:	Charlottetown 5-3-0-1, Saint John 4-4-0-1
Last 5 years between teams:	Saint John 21-15-1-3, Charlottetown 19-17-1-3
Last 5 years at Saint John:	Saint John 13-4-1-2, Charlottetown 7-9-1-3

Wildcats/Islanders game rescheduled for March 2

Last night's cancelled game between the Charlottetown Islanders and Moncton Wildcats has been rescheduled.

The game will now be played Monday March 2, 2015 at 7 p.m. at the Eastlink Centre.

The Islanders announced the news via Twitter.

Last night's cancelled game against the @monctonwildcats has been rescheduled for Monday, March 2nd at 7pm at @EastlinkCtrPEI.
— IslandersHKY (@IslandersHKY) February 26, 2015

The game was originally cancelled due to weather. This is the second rescheduled game this season as a Feb. 15 game in Bathurst was cancelled due to weather and has been rescheduled for Wednesday March 11, in Bathurst, N.B.

Tonight's game cancelled

The Charlottetown Islanders announced moments ago via Twitter that tonight's game against the Moncton Wildcats at the Eastlink Centre has been cancelled due to weather.

Tonight's game against the @monctonwildcats is cancelled due to weather. A make up date will be announced at a later date. @QMJHL
— IslandersHKY (@IslandersHKY) February 25, 2015

A make up date will be announced at a later date.

Mother nature sure hasn't been pleasant in Prince Edward Island the last few weeks.

Game day: Wildcats @ Islanders - CANCELLED

Date: Wednesday Feb. 25, 2015

Match: Moncton Wildcats @ Charlottetown Islanders

Where: Eastlink Centre, Charlottetown, P.E.I.

Time: 7 p.m. AST

TV: Webcast

Live Tweets: IslesLive

Pre-game stats:

Last meeting this season:	Dec. 6, MON 3 @ CHA 4 (SO)
Next game between two teams:	Saturday Feb. 28, 2015 in Moncton
Head-to-head record this season:	Moncton 4-0-0-1, Charlottetown 1-4-0-0
Head-to-head record for 2013-14:	Moncton 4-2-0-2, Charlottetown 4-3-0-1
Last 5 years between teams:	Charlottetown 23-12-1-1, Moncton 14-19-0-4
Last 5 years at Charlottetown:	Charlottetown 13-5-0-1, Moncton 6-11-0-2

Mooseheads take two important points from Islanders

The calls just weren’t in the favour of the Charlottetown Islanders in a 2-1 loss to division rival Halifax Mooseheads Saturday night at Eastlink Centre.

With the loss, the Islanders fall two points and a spot back of the Mooseheads in the Maritimes Division with a 28-25-1-3 record. The Mooseheads improve to 28-23-4-2 on the season and are now third in the Maritimes Division.

“You can’t really bank on games that don’t go your way with the ref,” said Islanders captain Ryan MacKinnon. “That’s something you can never control.”

It is tough and frustrating, said the 20-year-old, Summerside, P.E.I., native.

“That stuff gets you away from your game and that’s what killed us tonight. Once we focused on our game I felt we executed well. A lot of negatives but we can take a lot of positives out of the game too. We have to be optimistic about it.”

It was a tough loss, said Daniel Sprong who scored the Islanders’ lone goal.

“That means Wednesday when we play Moncton we just got to win and get those points back. We just have to keep playing Islanders hockey and we should be fine.”

McDonald’s 50 saves too much for Sea Dogs

The Charlottetown Islanders built a 3-0 first period lead and hung on for a 4-2 win over divisional rival Saint John Sea Dogs Friday night at Eastlink Centre.

Islanders goalie Mason McDonald played a big part in helping the Islanders snap a three-game skid by making 50 saves only to earn second star honours.

“I was seeing the puck great tonight,” said McDonald. “I just felt good out there and even better to get the two points.”

It felt good to snap the losing streak, said McDonald.

“The last few games haven’t been the type of games we wanted to play. We haven’t been playing our best.”

Islanders forward Oliver Cooper said it is a relief to snap the losing streak.

“You never like losing three games in a row but sometimes that happens and it’s just how you respond and bounce back.”

The 19-year-old, Fredericton, N.B., native was named the game’s third star with a goal and an assist.

The Islanders improve to 28-24-1-3 on the season. Saint John falls to 28-20-3-6.

Cooper said the two points are huge.

“We are right behind Saint John in the standings. Those are definitely the points you want to be able to grab.”

Game day: Sea Dogs @ Islanders

Date: Friday Feb. 20, 2015

Match: Saint John Sea Dogs @ Charlottetown Islanders

Where: Eastlink Centre, Charlottetown, P.E.I.

Time: 7 p.m. AST

TV: Webcast

Live Tweets: IslesLive

Pre-game stats:

Last meeting this season:	Jan. 4, SNB 4 @ CHA 5
Next game between two teams:	Feb. 27 in Saint John
Head-to-head record this season:	Charlottetown 4-1-0-1, Saint John 2-2-1-1
Head-to-head record for 2013-14:	Charlottetown 5-3-0-1, Saint John 4-4-0-1
Last 5 years between teams:	Charlottetown 18-17-1-3, Saint John 21-14-1-3
Last 5 years at Charlottetown:	Charlottetown 11-8-0-0, Saint John 8-10-0-1

Feb. 15 game rescheduled

The game between Charlottetown Islanders and Acadie-Bathurtst Titan in Bathurst, N.B., that was cancelled due to a snow storm on Sunday Feb. 15, 2015 has been rescheduled.

The game will now take place Wednesday March 11 at the K.C. Irving Regional Centre with a 7:30 p.m. puck drop.

Taking a look at Islanders' impressive January: Part 2

Shot Differential/Fenwick

Average: 55%
Wins: 57%
Losses 45.64%










Slight improvement from December.  Charlottetown is able to get on opponents early.  Even in losses they are posting numbers that would have been the norm in earlier months.

Average: 52%
Wins:  51%
Losses:  52.98%










Although it almost looks like a 50/50 split (which is what it was in December), having a four per cent differential in arguably hockey's closest period is crucial.

Average: 58%
Wins;  54.62%
Losses: 70.18%










Average numbers are down slightly from the last month but are still so impressive that it has not caused much harm.  What is surprising is that the Islanders refuse to go into a "defensive shell" in the third period and still are able to dictate over 50 per cent of the play.  The norm is this is to be under 50 per cent when leading.  That explains why the numbers jump so high in losses.  Teams are either protecting leads or playing younger players in blowouts while the Islanders scratch and claw to get back in to the game before the end of regulation.

Average: 52%
Wins: 54%
Losses 49%










Mirrors December almost exactly down to the last decimal point.  In future blog posts I am going to try to attempt to compare these numbers to other teams in the QMJHL just to get a sense of how we compare and what teams are performing similar.

PDO

Average: 99.72
Wins: 105.3
Losses: 93.0










Continue improvement for Charlottetown.  An average of almost 100 means that this team has not been winning games out of luck which the previous numbers support.

Estimate Fenwick Close

Average: 51.59%
Wins: 53.3%
Losses: 49.15










Looking at December's numbers (HERE) These numbers suggest that the shot differential in wins is a little less while losses being games that are more even aside from shooting percentage an save percentage.

January's Top Performers
1) Mason McDonald 5-4-0 1S0 2.30GAA .922SV%
2) Daniel Sprong  4g 11a 15pts +/- +4
3) Dexter Weber 0g 7a 7pts +/- + +2

Lazarev, Screaming Eagles dominate Islanders

Maxim Lazarev scored four goals and an assist as the visiting Cape Breton Screaming Eagles took a 6-2 Friday the 13th victory over the Charlottetown Islanders.

Cape Breton held a 3-2 lead after two periods and exploded for three goals in the third period to improve to 24-24-2-3 on the season. The Islanders drop to 27-23-1-3.

Islanders captain Ryan MacKinnon said the team came out flat in the third period.

“We talked about it all game between periods to get back to our simple game and get back to shots on net. We constantly kept turning the puck over and that’s the result you’re going to get.”

It’s a tough way to lose at home, said MacKinnon.

“We had all week to prepare for this game. It’s unfortunate that we showed all the fans tonight that’s the performance we gave.”

The Islanders are now on a minor two-game losing streak.

“The guys are maybe grabbing the sticks a little too hard,” said MacKinnon. “In times like this you just got to get back to basics and start working harder. This late in the season teams are grinding out to make that playoff run and points are very hard to come by. Once we realize that, we should be alright.”

Game day: Screaming Eagles @ Islanders

 

Date: Friday Feb. 13, 2015

Match: Cape Breton Screaming Eagles @ Charlottetown Islanders

Where: Eastlink Centre, Charlottetown, P.E.I.

Time: 7 p.m. AST

TV: Webcast

Live Tweets: IslesLive

Pre-game stats:

Last meeting this season:	Jan. 2, CHA 1 @ CAP 2
Next game between two teams:	March 4 in Cape Breton
Head-to-head record this season:	Charlottetown 3-2-0-0, Cape Breton 2-3-0-0
Head-to-head record for 2013-14:	Cape Breton 7-1-0-1, Charlottetown 2-6-1-0
Last 5 years between teams:	Charlottetown 22-13-2-1, Cape Breton 16-20-0-2
Last 5 years at Cape Breton:	Cape Breton 11-9-0-0, Charlottetown 9-10-0-1

Taking a look At Islanders' impressive January: Part 1

Last Month Keys To Success Check

1) Improved Save Percentage - Check

2) Keep out-shooting opposition early - Check

3) Veteran players continue to take pressure away from first line - Check

Month By Month Performance

Feedback: 

Islanders hockey is coming off of its best statistical month this season.  The power play has improved for the fourth consecutive month.  Penalty killing for the third, and the best GF/GA differential this season.  January also boasts the first month where the Isles consistently out-shot its opponents in the early going with a Estimated Fenwick Close of 53.154.  The question, however is how much of this can be sustained going forward.

Shot & Saves Analysis

The differentials are slimmer than what they were in December but that is not cause for alarm.  This team has been shifting from routinely getting out shot to one that is doing more of the shooting, even on losses.  Shooting percentage was down this month from its' season average of 10.48 per cent. 

Trend: Save percentage

Mason McDonald saw his best month as a QMJHL goalie in January.  Posting numbers of 2.30 goals against average and .922 save percentage including one shutout.  McDonald played a key role in reducing this teams goals against average which helped them gain points on eight of eleven games.

PIM & HIts

Charlottetown averaged almost nine less penalty minutes a game in January with an average of 14 and saw the number of hits increasing to 18.54 (Up 2.3).  Less penalty minutes means less work for the penalty kill crew had a great month.

Special Teams

Power Play

Sprong - Chlapik - Goulet - Kennedy - MacKinnon

Johnston - Kielly - Cooper - Deschenes - Weber/Thompson

The Power Play has been very respectable the last two months.  Utilizing the opportunity to play four forwards against the lessened risk of a goal against has allowed coach Gordie Dwyer the opportunity to have forward Daniel Sprong play among the best offensive facilitators this team has to offer.  The first power play unit has been very successful this past month while the second has chipped in on occasion. The result?  Charlottetown now has the seventh best power play in all the QMJHL

Penalty Kill

Getson - Quinn - MacKinnon - Rioux - Legault

Quinn - Rydstrom - Henley - Weber

Cobbold/Getson - Quinn - Thompson/MacKinnon - Henley

As mentioned earlier,  Charlottetown for at least one month was able to significantly diminish the amount of penalty minutes occurred by the team.  The result?  A penalty kill that works more effectively because it works less often. The penalty kill has almost always been respectable unless it is at home.  Charlottetown owns the sixth best Penalty Kill in the QMJHL and is first overall on the road. 

QUICK 'CAP: Islanders drop 4-3 decision to Huskies to wrap up road trip

ROUYN-NORANDA, QUE. - The Charlottetown Islanders witnessed a 3-1 second period lead evaporate into a 4-3 Rouyn-Noranda Huskies win Sunday evening at Arena Iamgold.

The Islanders wrap-up their final roadtrip through Quebec with a loss, going 2-1-0-0 on the road trip and falling to 27-22-1-3 on the season. Huskies improve to 26-23-2-1.

Ryan Penny scored a pair of goals to the lead the way for Rouyn-Noranda.

Scoring Summary:
1st period
ROU - Ryan Penny (24)(Jean-Christophe Beaudin, Jeremy Lauzon) 00:56
CHA - Daniel Sprong (28)(Filip Chlapik, Bradley Kennedy) 9:40 (PP)
Shots 19-5 ROU

2nd Period
CHA - Chris Chaddock (3)(Quinn O'Brien, Keith Getson) 8:13
CHA - Ryan MacKinnon (10)(Daniel Sprong, Bradley Kennedy) 10:26 (PP)
ROU - Jean-Christophe Beaudin (9)(Francis Perron, Justin Guenette) 19:51 (PP)
Shots 13-12 ROU

3rd Period
ROU - Ryan Penny (25)(Francis Perron, Justin Guenette) 0:44 (PP)
ROU - Jeremy Lauzon (12)(Allan Caron, Julien Nantel) 5:46
Shots 10-6 ROU

Goaltenders:
CHA - Mason McDonald (L) - 38/42
ROU - Jeremy Belisle (W) - 20/23

Islanders are back in action Friday Feb. 13, 2015 at home against the Cape Breton Screaming Eagles. Puck drops at 7 p.m. AST.

Islanders drop Foreurs 4-3

The ‘Road Warriors’ were back at it again - this time in Val-d’Or, Que.

Kameron Kielly scored a goal and an assist to the lead the visiting Charlottetown Islanders to a 4-3 win over the Val-d’Or Foreurs Saturday evening at Centre Air Creebec.

The win is Charlottetown’s sixth-straight while on the road in Quebec and has compiled an 8-3-0-0 record when playing on the road in Quebec. Charlottetown also improves to 27-21-1-3 on the season. Val-d’Or falls to 22-22-3-5.

The first period ended scoreless with the Foreurs leading in shots 14-8.

Fast forward to the 5:36 mark of the second period where Daniel Sprong’s 27th goal of the season opened the scoring to give the Islanders a 1-0 lead. David Henley and Kameron Kielly drew assists.

Henley was playing in his hometown for the first time since being traded by the Foruers last season.

Val-d’Or tied the game at 11:17 with former Islander Alexis Pepin netting his 14th goal of the season. Jan Mandat and Yan Dion drew assists.

Ex-Islanders netminder gets recalled by Toronto Maple Leafs

Antoine Bibeau as a member of the Charlottetown Islanders. Photo by Darrell Theriault.

Charlottetown Islanders goaltender Antoine Bibeau has been recalled from the Toronto Marlies by the Toronto Maple Leafs today on an emergency basis.

Bibeau, 20, has posted an 8-7-5 record with the American Hockey League’s Marlies this season in 20 games. He has maintained a 2.58 goals against average and a 0.917 save percentage with four shutouts.

The Maple Leafs drafted the Victoriaville, Que., native in the sixth round, 172nd overall, in the 2013 NHL Entry Draft.

Toronto visits the Edmonton Oilers tonight at 7 p.m. EST.

Bibeau was originally drafted into the QMJHL in 2010 by the now-defunct Lewiston Maineiacs in the fifth round, 73rd overall. He was acquired by the P.E.I. Rocket from Gatineau in 2011, and was then traded to Val-d’Or in December 2013.

In 101 appearances with the the Rocket/Islanders, Bibeau posted a 43-40 record with a 3.32 goals against average and a 0.901 save percentage.

Game day: Islanders @ Foreurs

Date: Saturday Feb. 7, 2015

Match: Charlottetown Islanders @ Val-d'Or Foreurs

Where: Centre Air Creebec, Val-d'Or, Que.

Time: 5 p.m. AST

TV: Webcast

Live Tweets: IslesLive

Pre-game stats:

Last meeting this season:	Oct. 3, 2014, VDO 1 @ CHA 3
Next game between two teams:	No more meetings
Head-to-head record this season:	Charlottetown 1-0-0-0, Val-d’Or 0-1-0-0
Head-to-head record for 2013-14:	Charlottetown 1-1-0-0, Val-d’Or 1-1-0-0
Last 5 years between teams:	Charlottetown 5-3-0-1, Val-d’Or 4-5-0-0
Last 5 years at Val-d’Or:	Val-d’Or 3-1-0-0, Charlottetown 1-2-0-1

Islanders begin road trip with 5-1 win over Cataractes

Daniel Sprong’s three points and Mason McDonald’s 39 saves led the visiting Charlottetown Islanders to a 5-1 victory over the Shawinigan Cataractes Thursday night at Centre Gervais Auto.

Charlottetown picks up a win in its first game of a three-in-four road trip and improve to 26-21-1-3 on the season. The Cataractes fall to 27-20-1-2.

It didn’t take long for the Islanders to draw first blood as Oliver Cooper found the back of the net just 16 seconds into the contest for his 12th of the season. The goal was unassisted.

The Islanders increased their lead at the 11:44 mark with Ross Johnston’s eighth goal of the season. Spenser Cobbold and Cooper drew assists.

Shawinigan held a 20-8 advantage in shots.

Shawinigan replaced starting goaltender Antoine Samuel with 20-year-old Marvin Cupper to begin the second period.

The Cataractes cut the Islanders lead in half with a power play goal at 6:50 from Gabriel Slight for his 12th of the season. Alexis D’Aoust and Anthony Beauvillier drew assists.

Game day: Islanders @ Cataractes

Date: Thursday Feb. 5, 2015

Match: Charlottetown Islanders @ Shawinigan Cataractes

Where: Centre Gervais Auto, Shawinigan, Que.

Time: 8 p.m. AST

TV: Webcast

Live Tweets: IslesLive

Pre-game stats:

Last meeting this season:	No meetings
Next game between two teams:	Feb. 14 in Charlottetown
Head-to-head record this season:	No meetings
Head-to-head record for 2013-14:	Shawinigan 1-0-0-1, Charlottetown 1-1-0-0
Last 5 years between teams:	Shawinigan 5-2-1-1, Charlottetown 4-5-0-0
Last 5 years at Shawinigan:	Charlottetown 1-4-0-0, Shawinigan 4-1-0-0

Ex-Islanders defenceman honoured in NAHL

Anthony Cortese. Photo by The Charlottetown Guardian.

Former Charlottetown Islanders defenceman Anthony Cortese was named the NAHL Defenceman of the Month for January, yesterday.

The 20-year-old, Pierrefonds, Que., native has been suiting up for the Corpus Christi IceRays of the North American Hockey League this season.

He earned the honours after collecting three goals and 15 points in 11 games during the month of January. Cortese earned a point in nine of the 11 games and is currently riding on a nine-game point streak.

Cortese currently has 13 goals and 43 points in 41 games which ranks him first in league scoring amongst defencemen. He is also second in team scoring with the IceRays.

Pair of Islanders goaltending prospects receive major midget honours

Luke House. Photo by The Packet.ca.

A pair of Charlottetown Islanders goaltending prospects have received honours in their respective major midget leagues over the weekend.

Luke House, 16, was named the the Newfoundland and Labrador Major Midget Hockey League's top goaltender.

The Corner Brook, N.L., posted an 11-3-1 record with one shutout and maintained a 1.66 goals against average.

Charlottetown drafted House in the third round, 55th overall, in 2014.

Nicolas Dawe, 17, of the South Shore Mustangs was named to the Nova Scotia Eastlink Major Midget Hockey League second all-star team.

The Bedford, N.S., native posted a 2.49 goals against average in 17 games played.

Dawe was originally drafted by the Chicoutimi Sagueneens in the 11th round in 2014. The Islanders acquired his rights on trade deadline day for a ninth-round pick in 2015.