CHARLOTTETOWN, P.E.I. — P.E.I.’s two major midget hockey teams will enter a New Year’s Eve rematch on a winning note.
The Charlottetown Bulk Carriers Knights will host the Kensington Monaghan Farms at MacLauchlan Arena on the UPEI campus Tuesday. Puck drop is scheduled for noon.
The Wild sit at 14-7-3 (won-lost-overtime losses) while the Knights are 6-14-3.
“It’s going to be a great game,” said Wild head coach Kyle Dunn, whose team pulled out a 4-3 overtime win over the Knights in Kensington on Boxing Day. “The last game we played went to overtime and that’s the way I expect Charlottetown and Kensington games to go.
“It’s always going to be tight games and no matter where you are in the standings it’s going to be a hard-fought battle.”
Victories
Sunday, Cameron MacLean scored with one second remaining in regulation time to lift the Knights to a 3-2 come-from-behind victory against the Northern Moose in Bathurst, N.B., while the short-staffed Wild, playing with 13 skaters due to injuries, doubled the host Fredericton Caps 6-3.
The Knights’ victory snapped a 10-game losing streak in the New Brunswick/Prince Edward Island Major Midget Hockey League.
“We are looking to build off (Sunday’s) win,” said Knights head coach Luke Beck in an interview with the Journal Pioneer on Monday. “We have gone through a tough stretch in the win-loss column, but if you break down the games individually over the last few weeks a lot of the games we felt we played pretty well in them and just struggled to get that big goal late.
“We were able to do that the last two games and are hoping our guys can build off that and keep moving forward as a group. We will certainly be using New Year’s Eve as another measuring stick for our team and our season as we progress along the way.”
Beck said one thing that stood out for the coaching staff during the Knights’ tough stretch was the team’s work ethic.
“One thing about this young group is they come to work every day, they compete every day,” said Beck. “Resiliency is something as a coach I am not worried about because they have shown nothing but being resilient over the first three months.
“That’s starting in training camp, whether it’s from guys bailing on our team or injuries and stuff, our group has continued to stay positive, continued to stay resilient throughout and I believe that will be a key factor for our success long term, both as a group and our program.”
Controlled emotions
Dunn said playing with controlled emotion will be a key on Tuesday.
“We gave up two 5-on-3 goals and we scored all three goals (in regulation time) on the power play (on Boxing Day),” said Dunn. “Both teams are going to look to be disciplined. As much as the kids are excited about the game, emotions will need to be controlled a bit and just go out and play your game.
“I think 5-on-5 it will be a great hockey game to watch.”
- RELATED:
- Click here for story on the Charlottetown Knights' game vs. Northern Moose on Sunday:
- Click here for story on Kensington Wild game vs. Fredericton Caps on Sunday:
- Click here for story on Boxing Day game between Kensington Wild and Charlottetown Knights:
- Click here for story on Kensington Wild game vs. Moncton Flyers on Saturday:
[email protected]
Twitter.com/JpsportsJason
https://www.facebook.com/jason.simmonds.180
