KENSINGTON, P.E.I. — The Charlottetown Bulk Carriers Knights could not have picked a better time to earn their first win of the 2019-20 season against the Kensington Monaghan Farms Wild.
The Knights, who lost all seven regular-season meetings against the Wild in the New Brunswick/Prince Edward Island Major Midget Hockey League, built a 2-0 lead and held on for a 2-1 win in Game 1 of the provincial playoff series on Saturday night.
“Regardless of the season series, we were pretty confident coming in with how we played against these guys, especially since Christmas,” said Knights head coach Luke Beck, whose team finished 22 points behind the Wild. “Our guys have done a great job all year.
“They have stayed positive through the lows and built off the highs. Credit to our group for showing up here in Game 1.”
Next game
The best-of-seven series is scheduled to resume at MacLauchlan Arena in Charlottetown on Tuesday at 7:45 p.m. The third game will be back in Kensington on Saturday at 7:30 p.m.
Wild head coach Kyle Dunn credited the Knights for playing hard for a full 60 minutes and was not surprised at the nail-biting opener, which had fans on the edge of their seats until the final buzzer.
“It’s the kind of hockey I expected – a 2-1 game that comes right down to the last minute and final seconds,” said Dunn. “It’s going to be a long series.
“We have been in this boat before and we just have to have a short memory, get ready for (practice) Monday and move on.”
Dunn, however, gave a blunt and honest answer when asked if he was pleased with his team’s work ethic.
“Straight up no,” he said. “All 20 guys can be better at the work ethic, but that will come.
“Hopefully, this is a good message for the guys, let it sting for a day and get right back to work.”
Goals
Before an estimated 500 fans at Credit Union Centre, the Knights received a strong 29-save performance from goaltender Aiden Williams, who delivered a number of big saves at key times.
“It was a really good game,” said the 16-year-old Williams, who is from Springhill. “All the boys pulled together to make it a good game to watch and play.”
Simon Hughes, who played with the Wild as an under-age player last year, scored off a rebound from the top of the crease at 11:39 of the first period to stake the Knights to a 1-0 lead. Nolan Stewart’s wrap-around goal at 7:41 of the second period gave the Knights a 2-0 advantage after 40 minutes.
The score remained that way until Austin Arsenault beat Williams through the legs at 9:05 of the third period, setting the stage for a nail-biting finish.
Just when it looked like the Wild may be building momentum with Arsenault’s goal, the Knights answered with a couple of strong shifts.
“The first shift after they made it 2-1 we came down and had a couple of opportunities,” said Beck. “We are not expecting to shut out a high offensive team like (Kensington) every night and they are going to score goals, but it’s the ability to respond to them.
“Like I said, credit to our guys for sticking with it and grinding out a big win.”
Key save
And when the Wild did press, Williams shut the door, including a glove save on a point-blank shot from the slot off the stick of Reid Peardon with under five minutes remaining in regulation time.
“I didn't know really know what was happening at the moment and I threw my glove out there and luckily it hit it,” said Williams.
The Wild pulled goaltender Jonah Arbing with the faceoff deep in Charlottetown’s end with 1:48 remaining in regulation time. Although Kensington held possession of the puck for most of this time, they were unable to generate any real quality scoring chances. The Wild also had a faceoff deep in the Knights’ zone with 38.1 seconds and just under two seconds left.
- RELATED:
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- Click here for Charlottetown Knights' series preview:
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