This year will be different, says Chris Doyle.
The Charlottetown native was on the last Island team to play in a Game 7 in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League playoffs. The P.E.I. Rocket lost 4-3 in overtime to the Acadie-Bathurst Titan at the then Charlottetown Civic Centre on Tuesday, April 3, 2007.
Eleven years later, to the day, the Charlottetown Islanders will play the Quebec Remparts in tonight’s Game 7 of the first round. Game time is 8 p.m. Atlantic from Quebec City.
“We had a good team that year, so to lose in seven on a heart-breaker, it was pretty upsetting,” Doyle recalled Tuesday. “At the same time, that’s won’t happen tonight. They’re going to get it done.”
All six goals in regulation in 2007 were scored in the second period.
RELATED: Click here for the boxscore.
Brett Morrison, a Sydney, N.S., native, scored twice for the Yanick Jean-coached Rocket while Chad Locke had the other. Marc-Andre Gragnani had two assists while Benoit Gervais, Luciano Lomanno and Pascal Boutin had the other.
Spencer Jezegou scored the winner 2:54 into overtime.
Here’s an excerpt from the story the next day in The Guardian.
“We were just talking in the dressing room and we thought it was the biggest cliché, but you throw the puck on net you never know what's going to happen,” said Jezegou.
Jezegou's rising wrist shot climbed over Rocket goalie Antoine Lafleur's right shoulder for the game-winner.
“It wasn't a hard shot, it just got through somehow,” said the Titan.
Mathieu Perreault and Maxime Pomerleau gave the Titan a 2-0 lead and Thomas Beauregard made it 3-1 before Morrison tallied twice to tie it.
Antoine Tardif made 41 saves for the win while Antoine Lafleur stopped 27 shots in the loss.
Doyle said the adrenaline takes over early and then players settle in once the game starts.
“(In) Game 7s, your coach puts a certain (game plan) in place that . . . he wants you to do to succeed and get you to the next round,” he said. “It’s about doing that to a tee and to the best of your ability and just making no mistakes.”
RELATED: Islanders pair has Game 7 experience.
Doyle said the Islanders have a good coach in Jim Hulton, who will have his charges ready to go when the puck is dropped. And, Doyle said, there will an Island full of fans behind them every step of the way.
“I just hope they know that we’re cheering them on for sure,” he said.
Looking back
Here’s is a look at the Charlottetown Islanders, P.E.I./Montreal Rocket franchise history in the playoffs:
2017
– Blainville-Boisbriand defeated Charlottetown 4-1 in Round 3.
– Charlottetown defeated Cape Breton 4-0 in Round 2.
– Charlottetown defeated Baie-Comeau 4-0 in Round 1.
2016
– Shawinigan defeated Charlottetown 4-2 in Round 2.
– Charlottetown defeated Rimouski 4-2 in Round 1.
2015
– Quebec defeated Charlottetown 4-0 in Round 2.
– Charlottetown defeated Sherbrooke 4-2 in Round 1. (Spenser Cobbold scored in overtime in the clinching game).
2014
– Halifax defeated Charlottetown 4-0 in Round 1.
2013
– Val-d’Or defeated P.E.I. 4-2 in Round 1. (Cedrick Henley scored in triple overtime in the clinching game)
2012
– Missed the playoffs.
2011
– Shawinigan defeated P.E.I. 4-1 in Round 1.
2010
– Saint John defeated P.E.I. 4-1 in Round 1.
2009
– Moncton defeated P.E.I. 4-1 in Round 1.
2008
– Saint John defeated P.E.I. 4-0 in Round 1.
2007
– Acadie-Bathurst defeated P.E.I. 4-3 in Round 1. (Spencer Jezegou scored the winner 2:54 into overtime in the clinching game).
2006
– Acadie-Bathurst defeated P.E.I. 4-2 in Round 1.
2005
– Missed the playoffs.
2004
– Moncton defeated P.E.I. 4-2 in Round 2.
– P.E.I. defeated Quebec 4-1 in Round 1.
2003
– Sherbrooke defeated Montreal 4-3 in Round 1. (Jean-Francois Plourde scored the winner 9:43 into double overtime in the clinching game.)
2002
– Hull defeated Montreal 4-3 in Round 1. (Philippe Dupuis scored the winner 2:35 into double overtime in the clinching game.).
2001
– Missed the playoffs.
2000
– Drummondville defeated Montreal 4-1 in Round 1. Four of the games went to overtime.
