SYDNEY, N.S. — The Charlottetown Islanders season is over.
Egor Sokolov scored 11 minutes into overtime Sunday night at Centre 200 in Sydney, N.S., as the Cape Breton Screaming Eagles defeated the Isles 4-3. Cape Breton won the best-of-seven Quebec Major Junior Hockey League first-round series 4-2. Four of the six games were decided by one goal and Cape Breton won four straight after dropping the first two in Charlottetown.
“Their depth and experience were the tipping point in my eyes,” Islanders head coach Jim Hulton said Sunday night. “They’re a veteran team that loaded up to build for the now and, as the series went on, you started to see it.”
Sunday’s winner came on a power play after the Isles took a too many men penalty when an Islanders player turned to jump back into the play while on his way to the bench. Mathias Laferriere and former Isles first-rounder Shawn Boudrias had the helpers on the series-clinching goal.
Charlottetown’s Thomas Casey scored 1:16 into the third period to break a 2-2 tie and it looked like it might force a Game 7 Tuesday in Charlottetown before an odd bounce late led to the equalizer. Mitchell Balmas, another former Islanders first-round pick, tied it for the Screaming Eagles with 1:55 left in regulation and goalie Kevin Mandolese on the bench for the extra attacker.
Balmas had shot the puck high and wide. It bounced off the glass, hit Isles goalie Matthew Welsh in the back and ended up in the crease. A scramble occurred before the puck crossed the goal-line.
“It was an indescribable bad bounce, but that’s sports,” Hulton said, refusing to blame the loss on bad luck and bounces.
Gabriel Proulx and Sokolov scored 37 seconds apart in the first period. Adam McCormick, Balmas, Wilson Forest, Laferriere and Proulx had the helpers.
Rookies Zac Beauregard and Xavier Fortin also scored for the Islanders. Colin Van Den Hurk, Lukas Cormier, Cole Edwards, Liam Peyton and Brett Budgell had assists.
Hulton said his team had jump and played with aggression.
“It was Islanders hockey tonight,” he said, noting it made the loss sting that much more. “It was one of our best efforts of the series. We had looks, (but) Mandolese was extremely good again tonight.”
Mandolese made 33 saves for the win while Welsh stopped 25 shots in the loss.
The Screaming Eagles led 2-1 after the first period despite being outshot 11-7. The Isles outplayed the host squad in the second, outshooting them 12-3 and tied the game.
“This was a hard-working group of kids that was very, very fun to coach,” Hulton said. “It’s always sad when the ride ends, in particular for your overage players – Hunter (Drew), Daniel (Hardie) and Jordan (Maher).”
While the season is over, the Islanders youth earned valuable experience that is hoped to help them moving forward.
“Our young players probably learned more in six games than they did in the first half of the season just because of the intensity and everything that goes on around playoffs. I am extremely proud of the young guys and how much they improved even in this short span,” Hulton said. “The sour taste in their system right now has to be the fuel that drives them all off-season.”
Cape Breton will wait to see the outcome of the Halifax/Quebec as well as the Baie-Comeau/Moncton series to determine their opponent in Round 2. Both series resumed on Monday with Game 6s.
