CHARLOTTETOWN, P.E.I. — Pack the daypack as the P.E.I. Junior Islanders hit the road for two games the Alpines in Saint John, N.B., on Saturday.
Game 1 of the New Brunswick Junior Hockey League doubleheader goes at noon.
P.E.I. (10-10) sits third in the five-team circuit, five games behind the league-leading Metro Mudcats, while Saint John (5-15) is last and has lost four straight games.
The Islanders won twice over Fredericton last weekend in Charlottetown, outscoring Fredericton 22-2 in the double dip, to even its record.
Chasse Gallant leads the Isles with a .516 batting average while Josh Myers has driven in a team-high 11 runs. Tom Gogan and Dawson Griffin each have 10 RBIs to top the Alpines.
On the mound, Ryan Nason (2-1, 3.00 ERA) heads the Alpines pitching staff while Brett Hicken (4-1, 2.18 ERA) tops the Isles pitchers in wins.
P.E.I. has two games versus the Mudcats (16-4) to make up a rained-out doubleheader earlier in the year. The season ends next weekend and a league meeting Monday will determine if the games are played.
The Isles need one win over its last four games to guarantee at least a third place finish and still has a chance to catch the Chatham Ironmen (11-9) for second place. Finishing second gives the Isles home field advantage in the second versus third best-of-five playoff series.
The Isles want to avoid finishing fourth as it wouldn’t have home field advantage in the four versus five best-of-three first round matchup because the national Oldtimers championship is using all of Charlottetown’s fields the same weekend as the playoff series.
