KENSINGTON, P.E.I. — Two breakaway goals proved to be the difference for the Charlottetown Bulk Carriers Knights in Game 2 of the best-of-seven P.E.I. major under-18 hockey championship series Wednesday night.
Jonah Jelley opened the scoring at 7:10 of the first period, and Brett Arsenault’s short-handed goal at 17:37 of the middle frame staked the visiting Knights to a 2-0 lead over the Kensington Monaghan Farms Wild after 40 minutes. The Knights would register a 3-1 win at Credit Union Centre to open up a 2-0 series lead.
“We had a really good start,” said Knights head coach Luke Beck. “In the first period, we played how we wanted to play.
“I thought in the second period, we kind of got a little away from what gives us success, and in the third period, it was making sure we got the win.
“We are happy to be up 2-0, and we don’t take that lightly. There are areas of our game we need to improve upon moving forward to continue having success.”
Wild head coach Kyle Dunn said his team gave everything they had. He noted Kensington is a big underdog against the Knights. In regular-season play in the New Brunswick/P.E.I. Major Midget Hockey League, the Knights were 8-0-0 (won-lost-overtime losses) while the Wild went 1-7-1.
“We want to give ourselves a shot come the last period, and we’ve done that (in the first two games),” said Dunn. “I’m proud of our guys; we are banged up, battered and bruised, and we are just competing.”
Forward Bates Ling returned to the Wild lineup for Game 2 after missing the opener. Dunn said defenceman Crosby Andrews and forward Carson MacKay are unlikely to play in this series due to injuries.
Dunn said he was pleased with how the Wild responded in the second period of Game 2. He said the Wild had a great start to the period and came out playing a “more jam” than they have been. Dunn added, despite a strong work ethic, his team has been on the wrong side of some bad luck.
“We are not getting any bounces out there,” said Dunn. “You can see the bounce they got on the second goal to go on a breakaway. It was rimmed around (the glass) and off a stanchion right to the middle of the ice for a breakaway goal.
“They seem to be getting the bounces, and we hit two posts. We were right there, and this was probably one of the better games we have played as a team right from our goaltender out.”
Luke Coughlin’s power-play goal at 11:55 of the third period gave the Knights a 3-0 lead. Jelley, Jude Campbell and Cole McKeigan earned assists.
Alex Graham, assisted by Harrison James, got the Wild on the board at 13:23 of the third period.
Jelley made no mistake on his breakaway, and Arsenault made a nice move to his left before sliding the puck past Wild rookie goaltender Keifer Thompson.
“I came out to the point and finished my check,” said Jelley in explaining how his goal developed. “As I came across the (Wild) blue-line, the puck squirted out, and Jude made a beautiful pass right on the tape. I came in and tried to keep it simple and went over the blocker on the shot.”
Overall, the Knights outshot the Wild 34-26. Aiden Williams turned in a solid 25-save performance in earning the goaltending win.
“Aiden made some big saves in the third period,” said Beck. “It wasn’t easy for him with not a lot of work early, but he stayed focused and made a couple of key saves for us late to make sure we got what we needed to do here.”
Dunn also praised the play of his rookie goaltender, who held the Wild in the game early.
“He was struggling a little bit (recently), but (Wednesday), in a big game, he showed what he is made of with how he competed and battled with his rebound control,” said Dunn. “He played a heck of a game.”
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