CHARLOTTETOWN, P.E.I. – Jim Hulton sees some good things happening with his Charlottetown Islanders and he is hoping to build on them as they take a two-game win streak into tonight’s contest.
The Islanders (5-5-1-0) host the Shawinigan Cataractes (3-7-0-0) at 7:30 p.m. at the Eastlink Centre Friday, Oct. 19, before hosting the Rimouski Oceanic on Saturday at 7 p.m.
“I like the fact that we’re shooting the puck more. There’s no coincidence that when you shoot the puck more some of the guys are starting to get the results,” Hulton said Thursday. “We finally got the shot clock over 40 on the weekend and good things happened.”
The Islanders outshot the Saint John Sea Dogs 54-35, including 21-4 in the second period, on Sunday. Veteran Derek Gentile had seven shots, and all were deemed dangerous by the league statisticians.
The Sydney, N.S., native dealt with an illness early in the season, but is rounding into form.
“It took a lot out of me,” Gentile admitted. “I really felt like myself, especially against Saint John.”
He was reunited with Nikita Alexandrov and Brett Budgell on Sunday and the trio generated numerous chances.
“That was super encouraging for us,” Gentile said.
The Islanders are back to .500 and are looking to continue to improve with games in the Maritimes until a Quebec road trip to start November.
“Now is the time, in this next 10-game segment, to kind of step to another level,” Hulton said.
The Islanders will be without rookie Xavier Fortin for the weekend as the youngster took a deflected slapshot to the ear during Wednesday’s practice. It required 14 stitches.
Matthew Welsh gets the start in the Isles crease tonight.
The Islanders still only have six defencemen on the roster. They are looking at their potential options in-house or through free agency.
Lukas Cormier will leave Oct. 29 to take part in the World Under-17 Hockey Challenge in Saint John and Quispamsis, N.B. The Sainte-Marie-de-Kent, N.B., native will miss five Islanders games. Captain Pierre-Olivier Joseph is expected to be invited to the world junior camp and could represent Canada at the tournament in British Columbia.
Zac Arsenault of the Kensington Monaghan Farms Wild and Summerside D. Alex MacDonald Ford Western Capitals blue-liner Noah Massie are both options, but it’s not cut and dry.
“We want to be cognizant of their teams as well,” Hulton said.
