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Monday, June 6, 2022

Islanders in trouble

CHARLOTTETOWN - The series isn't over, but the Charlottetown Islanders find themselves in a major hole as the President Cup final shifts to Shawinigan.

The Islanders now trail the Shawinigan Cataractes 2-0 in the best-of-seven series following a hard fought and controversial 4-3 overtime loss in Game 2 on Sunday night at Eastlink Centre. The series now moves to Shawinigan for both Games 3 and 4. Both of those games will air on TSN and RDS.

Former Saint John Sea Dogs forward Dawson Stairs scored with 1:17 remaining in regulation to give the Islanders a 3-2 lead. But on the ensuing centre ice faceoff, Charlottetown's Xavier Simoneau was called for a faceoff violation after grabbing the puck in the air with his hand. The bizarre sequence led to some heated exchanges with the on-ice officials. The penalty was called by linesman Mat Hicks.
Shawinigan's blazing hot power play went to work and, with goaltender Charles-Antoine Lavallee on the bench, Pierrick Dube scored with six seconds remaining to send the match into overtime.
Just 2:50 into the extra frame, Xavier Bourgault scored to give Shawinigan a 4-3 win and a commanding lead in the series. Plastic bottles and other garbage were tossed onto the ice by Charlottetown fans.

The QMJHL's director of officiating, Richard Trottier, told Saltwire Monday that the correct call was made on the ice - and he's right. By the book, what Simoneau did was indeed a penalty. The issue is that most of the game was not called by the book which, as we all know, is the norm come playoff time. To see an unusual penalty called at this moment in such a high stakes game is, well, unusual.
This all relates to a much bigger issue and it really feels like the sport as a whole is near a breaking point with playoff officiating. Leagues need to a pick a lane: call it like you have all year or create a standard that won't be strayed from in the playoffs. 

Even if that call wasn't made, the Cataractes still could have won the game, especially with Lavallee pulled for an extra attacked. Shawinigan has been deadly on the man advantage in this series, going 3/4 in Game 1 and 2/3 in Game 2.
Charlottetown has done a decent job at limiting Shawinigan's scoring chances but it just hasn't been enough. The Cataractes' big guns - Bourgault, Dube, Mavrik Bourque and Olivier Nadeau - have made the most of their opportunities.

Shawinigan, meanwhile, has done an excellent job at limiting dangerous scoring chances. The Islanders had 38 shots in Game 2 but only 13 were listed as dangerous.

The Islanders have a tall task in front of them as they face an essentially must-win scenario in one of the league's most hostile environments on Wednesday.
A few other notes...
  • Great atmosphere at Eastlink Centre this weekend (and great to see so many Cataractes fans make the trip). Shawinigan will be a mad house this week.
  • Mat Hicks and the Eastlink Centre don't seem like a good match. Hicks was the lineman who busted the ice a few years ago.
  • The CHL TV stream had a technical issue and wasn't able to air the overtime period live.
  • All three road teams won Game 1 of the league finals: Shawinigan beat Charlottetown 5-1; Windsor beat Hamilton 4-3 in overtime; and Seattle beat Edmonton 2-1.
  • The OHL final (Hamilton and Windsor) and WHL final (Edmonton and Seattle) are both tied 1-1 heading into play Monday.
  • The "OHL Championship Series" signage on the ice in Hamilton is simply not large enough, folks.
  • The first game of the 2022 Memorial Cup is two weeks from today. The Saint John Sea Dogs will host the OHL champion (either Hamilton or Windsor) in the tournament's opening contest.
  • Spencer Smallman and the Chicago Wolves continue the AHL's Western Conference final Monday night. The Wolves lead the series 1-0 over the Stockton Heat.
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