HALIFAX, N.S. – Filip Zadina had two goals and an assist to lead the Halifax Mooseheads to a 6-3 victory over the Charlottetown Islanders Thursday in Halifax.
The Mooseheads jumped out to a 3-0 first period lead before the Islanders stormed back in a five-minute stretch of the middle stanza to tie the game midway through the contest.
“We came out really flat in the first and they jumped on it,” Islanders head coach Jim Hulton said. “To the kids’ credit, they battled back hard in the second.”
Raphael Lavoie scored the winner five minutes after the Isles tied it and Zadina added an insurance goal with 31 seconds left in the second period of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League contest.
Hulton said Islanders forward Cam Askew made a great net drive before his shot went wide of the net when the game was tied 3-3. The Islanders turned the puck over and it led to a breakaway the other way.
“We just expended way too much energy chasing the game,” Hulton said. “It’s a 60-minute game. It rewards you play for 60 and it punishes if you don't show up for 60.”
The teams play again tonight, this time at the Eastlink Centre in Charlottetown and the head coach is looking for a team that is tighter away from the puck.
“This group has been marked by its strong bounce backs all season so I expect the same tomorrow,” he said Thursday night.
Arnaud Durandeau. Connor Moynihan and Patrick Kyte also scored in the win. Otto Somppi had three assists, Jared McIsaac two and singles went to Walter Flower, Jake Ryczek, Durandeau, Lavoie and Joel Bishop.
Rookie Brett Budgell had two goals and an assist for Charlottetown while captain Pierre-Olivier Joseph also scored. Derek Gentile had three assists while Olivier Desjardins and Nikita Alexandrov each added one.
Budgell now has four goals and two assists for six points in his first four major junior games.
“He looked young in the first period,” Hulton said, noting the coaches talked about his age and inexperience during the first intermission. “Boy, did he ever put a stop to that in the second period. He was terrific.”
Alexis Gravel made 33 saves for the win wile Matthew Welsh allowed five goals on 29 shots in the loss.
Halifax was 1-for-2 on the power play while Charlottetown was 1-for-3. The Mooseheads (27-10-4-1) moved into first place with the victory while the Islanders fall to 25-13-2-0.
