Welsh starts
Goalie Matthew Welsh gets the call tonight for the Isles.
Head coach Jim Hulton said giving Welsh an opportunity to play his older brother, Nicholas, was a factor, as was his play against Shawinigan a year ago.
Hulton said he is looking for Welsh to build on his play last weekend in Sydney, N.S., against the Cape Breton Screaming Eagles.
“I just kind of want to put the challenge out to Matt to step to another level right now,” Hulton said.
Welsh is 8-6-1-0 with a 3.70 goals-against average and a .888 save percentage.
Mikhail Denisov has played the majority of Shawinigan’s games this season.
Top squad
The Cataractes are ranked sixth in this week’s Canadian Hockey League top-10 list.
They are one of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League’s top scoring and stingiest teams.
“We can’t turn it into a skill game,” Hulton said. “We’re going to have to try to control their speed and try to grind them down in the offensive zone.”
Penalty kill
The Isles went into last weekend’s action looking at improving its penalty kill.
Cape Breton went 4-for-11 with the man advantage, but Hulton said the numbers don’t tell the whole story. For instance, the team gave up a goal in the dying seconds of a two-minute 5-on-3 and a couple of bad bounces cost them.
“Our approach, our energy and our aggression was much improved,” Hulton said.
Getting healthy
The Islanders are as healthy as they have been in some time.
Shawn Boudrias is back after missing the past couple of weeks with a knee injury. Carl Gervais played last weekend and hasn't had any setbacks after missing a couple of games with a pulled muscle.
Ian McKinnon is questionable with a hand infection.
Familiar face
Former Islanders forward Samuel Guilbault is with the Cataractes this season.
The 18-year-old has four goals and six assists in 13 games.
The Isles drafted him in the second round (24th overall) in the 2014 draft. He played 49 games in his rookie season, often with fellow rookies Keith Getson and Mitchell Balmas on the team’s fourth line.
The Islanders traded Guilbault to Shawinigan in August 2015 along with a seventh-round draft pick for a fifth- and sixth-round picks. The picks were all from the 2016 draft.
He played 13 games with the Cataractes last season before joining Longueuil College Francais of the Quebec Junior Hockey League, where he had 39 points in 38 games.
Road trip
Shawinigan began a three-game road trip Thursday in Moncton. It ends Sunday in Sydney, N.S. The Cataractes defeated the Wildcats 5-1.
Welsh starts
Goalie Matthew Welsh gets the call tonight for the Isles.
Head coach Jim Hulton said giving Welsh an opportunity to play his older brother, Nicholas, was a factor, as was his play against Shawinigan a year ago.
Hulton said he is looking for Welsh to build on his play last weekend in Sydney, N.S., against the Cape Breton Screaming Eagles.
“I just kind of want to put the challenge out to Matt to step to another level right now,” Hulton said.
Welsh is 8-6-1-0 with a 3.70 goals-against average and a .888 save percentage.
Mikhail Denisov has played the majority of Shawinigan’s games this season.
Top squad
The Cataractes are ranked sixth in this week’s Canadian Hockey League top-10 list.
They are one of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League’s top scoring and stingiest teams.
“We can’t turn it into a skill game,” Hulton said. “We’re going to have to try to control their speed and try to grind them down in the offensive zone.”
Penalty kill
The Isles went into last weekend’s action looking at improving its penalty kill.
Cape Breton went 4-for-11 with the man advantage, but Hulton said the numbers don’t tell the whole story. For instance, the team gave up a goal in the dying seconds of a two-minute 5-on-3 and a couple of bad bounces cost them.
“Our approach, our energy and our aggression was much improved,” Hulton said.
Getting healthy
The Islanders are as healthy as they have been in some time.
Shawn Boudrias is back after missing the past couple of weeks with a knee injury. Carl Gervais played last weekend and hasn't had any setbacks after missing a couple of games with a pulled muscle.
Ian McKinnon is questionable with a hand infection.
Familiar face
Former Islanders forward Samuel Guilbault is with the Cataractes this season.
The 18-year-old has four goals and six assists in 13 games.
The Isles drafted him in the second round (24th overall) in the 2014 draft. He played 49 games in his rookie season, often with fellow rookies Keith Getson and Mitchell Balmas on the team’s fourth line.
The Islanders traded Guilbault to Shawinigan in August 2015 along with a seventh-round draft pick for a fifth- and sixth-round picks. The picks were all from the 2016 draft.
He played 13 games with the Cataractes last season before joining Longueuil College Francais of the Quebec Junior Hockey League, where he had 39 points in 38 games.
Road trip
Shawinigan began a three-game road trip Thursday in Moncton. It ends Sunday in Sydney, N.S. The Cataractes defeated the Wildcats 5-1.