CHARLOTTETOWN, P.E.I. – The Charlottetown Islanders (18-10-1-0) continued their meteoric and stunning rise in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League (QMJHL) standings with another victory here Thursday.
They hope to extend their three-game win streak tonight at Eastlink Centre against the Gatineau Olympic (15-10-2-2). Picked by all QMJHL pundits, and many of their own followers, as one of the two teams missing the playoffs this season, the Islanders stumbled out of the gate, which brought a chorus of “I told you so” from hockey people in the region.
The Islanders today are the biggest surprise in the Canadian Hockey League and were in eighth place overall heading into Friday’s play. They were seven points out of first place and two points behind Halifax and Acadia-Bathurst, the top teams thus far in the Maritimes, but the Islanders had a game in hand.
Head coach Jim Hulton has done an outstanding job behind the bench, as the Islanders have only one player among the league’s top 50 scorers prior to Friday's game and only four in the top 100. Two of those are defencemen Saku Vesterinen (3-19, 22 points) and Pierre-Olivier (P.O.) Joseph (3-19). Linemates Keith Getson (12-13, 25) and Matthew Grouchy (10-12, 22) are the top two snipers but neither is a household name even here in Charlottetown although both are catching attention.
Young Thomas Casey of Charlottetown epitomizes the work ethic of the Islanders and gives 100 per cent at all times. The diminutive speedster has two road goals against Cape Breton and Quebec and scored his first at home Thursday in a 4-3 win over Drummondville.
Joseph is the rock on the Islanders blue-line as the defence is among the best in the league. Unheralded defenceman Olivier Desjardins was a no-name pickup early in the season, but right now the right-handed shooting, six-foot-two defenceman has blossomed into a solid, reliable defender. The goaltending has quietly been outstanding as Matthew Welsh is among the leaders in goals-against average at 2.54 and back-up Dakota Lund-Cornish has played very well and looks to have a bright future.
It appears the extra playing time given to this collection of players has given each and every one of them and the team confidence. There is nothing tougher than playing a team that thinks it can win and Gatineau may find that out tonight. Let's get out and support our Islanders at 7 p.m.
Basketball
The Newfoundland entry in the National Basketball League of Canada, the St. John’s Edge, attracted 4,900 to Mile One Centre for their home opener on Dec. 1, a 105-103 victory over Niagara River Lions.
Hometown standout Carl English continues to lead the Edge, who have a 7-2 record, best in the league.
The Island Storm, who are on the road in Moncton tonight, impressed in last weekend's thrilling 88-85 win over ex-Storm coach Joe Salerno and the Magic.
The Storm has loads of talent with Franklin Session (aka Nitty), Chris Johnson, Du’Vaughn Maxwell, sharp-shooting guards in Andre Stringer and Tyler Scott, Kemy Osse, plus big boys like Marcus Bell, Zack Valliere and Brad States, who made a game-saving block in the final seconds of the win over Moncton.
This is the best team we've ever had here and you can see them in action Thursday, Dec. 14, against the tough Niagara River Lions.
Harness racing
Live harness racing continues today at the city track with a 16-dash card beginning at 12:30 p.m.
The $2,550 feature goes in the finale and it’s a tough group with George Riley's Heart and Soul, last week's winner for Walter Cheverie, in against Rose Run Quest, Adkins Hanover, Winter Blast and four others.
Don MacRae's top mare, Drivingthedragon N, will have her hands full with the highly competitive open mares, which includes Bo Ford's classy Prettyndangerous, Good Luck Kathy, West River Ambyr and four others.
Charlottetown's Robert Shepherd notched his 3,000th lifetime win Wednesday at Flamboro, winning the finale in 1:58:1 with open skies for trainer Jared Bothwell. Shepherd has always posted big driving numbers no matter where he races. The top-notch, talented driver posted a hat trick on Thursday at Flamboro as he heads towards another milestone.
Nirvana Seelster has the rail tonight in Woodbine's $27,000 top class while Maritime connected His Boy Elroy, Physicallyinclined and Rockin in Heaven are in the $22,000 class.
At Yonkers this past week, Electra Express was seventh in 1:54:4, a sub-par outing for her, while Bob and Jeff Skinner's The Rev was out of the money in the $40,000 top class. The Rev has banked $172,000 this year and another Maritime-bred Rancousy has $138,000.
Pigskin picks
The NFL heads into Week 14 and the key games are getting tougher to pick. Last week, we had Giants to cover and they did, San Fran and Green Bay to win outright, which they did, the road Rams to pound Arizona, correct, and the only blemish was the Bills couldn't cover in the loss to New England.
Let's take a look at this week:
Philadelphia Eagles (10-2) at LA Rams (9-3) – The Eagles are on the road after a tough loss in Seattle last week. The Rams have a top young QB in Jared Goff and a great run game with depth especially Todd Gurley. The Eagles have a top QB too in Carson Wentz, but they're on the road and have just one win against a .500 club this season. Take the Rams.
Minnesota Vikings (10-2) at Carolina Panthers (8-4) – Vikings QB Case Keenum is getting no respect and he's playing like an all-star. The Vikings have a great run defence, which will shut down the Panthers offence, their run game. Give up three points and bet the Vikings.
Seattle Seahawks (8-4) at Jacksonville Jaguars (8-4) – The Seahawks are not the same club on the road, less than .500, and the Jags are a tough, physical team. Seattle and QB Russell Wilson are three-point road dogs, which I like so jump aboard.
Oakland Raiders (6-6) at Kansas City Chiefs (6-6) – Raiders QB Derek Carr has never won at Arrowhead Stadium but the Chiefs are spiralling downwards after a 5-0 start. The Chiefs are four-point favourites but that's not for me, take the points and the Raiders.
Dallas Cowboys (6-6) at New York Giants (2-10) – The Cowboys beat the G-Men in Week 1 19-3 and a similar outcome is likely.
Fred MacDonald's column appears every Saturday in The Guardian. He can be reached at [email protected].
