CHARLOTTETOWN, P.E.I. — The Charlottetown Islanders blew a four-goal lead in the final six minutes of regulation Friday but were able to escape with both points when Brett Budgell scored in overtime.
The Isles defeated the Saint John Sea Dogs 7-6 at the Eastlink Centre in the first half of back-to-back games for the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League (QMJHL) rivals.
“Funny things happen when we play this team,” Islanders head coach Jim Hulton said. “This is three years in a row that we've had meltdown games like this against this same team. We fall into a trap, when we get a lead, where all of a sudden it turns into pond hockey.”
The late collapse almost took the shine off a career night for overage forward Kevin Gursoy, who had three goals and three assists.
“It was tough that it slipped away at the end. Obviously, we’re happy now that we got the two points out of it,” Gursoy said.
He didn’t remember ever recording six points in a game before Friday. His previous QMJHL career highs were four assists and four points on Oct. 28, 2018, and three goals on Feb. 13, 2019. Both games were against Saint John, where Gursoy started his QMJHL career in 2017-18.
He called Friday a special game.
“It was just one of those nights (where) things were clicking. The puck was finding me and finding the back of the net, so I just kept on shooting,” he said.
He credited his linemates, Nikita Alexandrov and Gaetan Jobin, for being instrumental in his career night.
“Playing with Nikita is extremely easy. He gets open, he gets the puck and he knows where to find guys,” he said. “For me, I’m just trying to create space out there and get open. And same with Jobin. He’s an elite playmaker. I am just trying to get open and if those guys find me, I’m usually getting a good look.”
The only goal Gursoy wasn’t a part of was Budgell’s unassisted goal in the second period when Budgell appeared to be trying to find Gursoy on a pass but the puck deflected in.
Budgell added two assists for a four-point night while Lukas Cormier had a goal and two assists. Alexandrov rounded out the scoring while Noah Laaouan also had an assist.
Jeremie Poirier had two goals and two assists to lead the Sea Dogs while Josh Lawrence had two goals and a helper. First overall pick Joshua Roy had a goal and an assist while overage forward Nicholas Deakin-Poot rounded out the scoring. Days Corner defenceman Charlie DesRoches added an assist.
Jacob Goobie stopped 25 shots in the victory while Noah Patenaude made 25 saves in the loss.
The Islanders led 2-1 and 5-2 period leads and looked to be comfortably ahead. Someone forgot to tell Saint John, which erupted for four goals in 4:11.
Hulton said his team panicked a bit and showed its age with a 16-year-old in goal and on the blue-line plus a trio of 17-year-old defencemen. The team’s depth, which has been key to its strong start, didn’t show on Friday and a young Saint John team kept coming after getting some life with the first goal.
“For us, when we stray from our structured system, things start to go awry,” Hulton said.
Charlottetown was 3-for-4 on the power play and killed four of the Sea Dogs five chances with man advantage.
The Isles improved to an Eastern Conference-leading 8-1-3-0 while the Sea Dogs are 4-7-1-0.
Liam Peyton received a five-minute major for kneeing late in the first period. It will be reviewed and there’s a possibility of a suspension.
The teams play Saturday at 7 p.m. in Saint John, N.B. It will be Charlottetown’s sixth game in nine days.
Related link:
• Rocket/Islanders all-time career point leaders from a single game
