.BOISBRIAND, QUE. – The Charlottetown Islanders can make some more franchise history tonight.
“We’re in a one-game series to go to the finals,” head coach Jim Hulton said Sunday night. “That’s pretty damn exciting for all of us.”
The Isles can advance to their first Quebec Major Junior Hockey League championship series with a road victory over the top-ranked Blainville-Boisbriand Armada. Puck drops at 8 p.m. in Boisbriand, Que.
The teams have split the first six games of the series with each squad winning their games on home ice.
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Charlottetown forced the deciding game with some more late-game heroics Sunday as Nikita Alexandrov tied it with two minutes to go in regulation and Cam Askew won it in overtime.
Isles right-winger Derek Gentile said it’s difficult to put the team’s success into words and acknowledged players look around the dressing room speechless after some games.
“It’s an incredible ride and we’re trying to keep it going.”
Five of the six games have been decided by a goal with three taking overtime. The other game was a 2-1 contest with 1:15 to play that ended 3-1, so it’s not surprising the series will take seven games to determine a winner.
Armada forward Drake Batherson said his team would be ready on home ice.
“We’re going to have a good crowd there and hopefully momentum will be on our side, so we’re pretty fired up,” he said after Sunday’s contest.
Hulton said it’s been a full team effort from top to bottom to put the squad in the position it finds itself.
He mentioned defenceman Noah Massie and forward Nathaniel Doyon, who have played a combined three games during the playoffs, at Sunday’s news conference. He acknowledged how tough it is sitting and watching, but said both have been great teammates and added it is an example of how close-knit the group is.
“They play so damn hard for each other, it’s really, really fun to watch,” he said.
Tonight won’t be the Islanders first Game 7 this year. They walked into the Videotron Centre in Quebec City in Round 1 and blew open a 2-2 game with a six-goal third period en route to an 8-3 victory.
Hulton said the experience does help and it’s about using the excitement as energy whether than letting it lead to anxiety.
The Armada also has experience playing in Game 7s.
They were trailing the Acadie-Bathurst Titan 3-1 a year ago before rolling off three straight victories to advance to the third round. The Armada won the deciding game 7-1 with Alex Barre-Boulet having three goals and an assist.
Batherson was playing in Cape Breton a year ago when the Screaming Eagles defeated Gatineau in the first round on Jordan Ty Fournier’s overtime goal.
“In the playoff there (are) a lot of ups and downs,” Batherson said. “In that series, we were up 3-0 and then ended up going to Game 7 overtime. Playoffs are a rollercoaster, so I think we’re prepared for that and we’ll be ready to go.”
