SHERBROOKE, Que. — The Charlottetown Islanders are one step closer to a berth in the 2022 Memorial Cup.
The Islanders built up a big lead Monday then held on to defeat the host Sherbrooke Phoenix 4-3 to win their best-of-five semifinal series in four games and advance to the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League championship. The winner of that series will represent the QMJHL in the June 20-29 Memorial Cup at the TD Station in Saint John, N.B.
Brett Budgell paced Charlottetown's attack with two goals -- one on the power play, the other short-handed -- while Keiran Gallant and William Trudeau added singles. Patrick Guay had two assists.
Xavier Parent scored twice and Joshua Roy netted a single for the Phoenix, who trailed 4-1 entering the final frame but made a valiant comeback. They came up short despite peppering 21 third-period shots at netminder Francesco Lapenna. Roy and David Spacek each chipped in with two assists.
The Phoenix, whose only win in the series was a 4-3 overtime decision in Game 2, outshot the Islanders 39-18. Roy and David Spacek each chipped in with two assists in the loss.
Meanwhile in Shawinigan, Mavrik Bourque's goal at 15:41 of overtime lifted the host Cataractes to a 3-2 win over the Quebec Remparts to force a fifth and deciding game in the semifinal series.
Pierrick Dube and Angus Booth also scored for the winners, who outshot the Remparts 46-41. Zachary Massicotte and Olivier Nadeau each had two assists for Shawinigan.
Zachary Gravel and Vsevolod Komarov scored for the Remparts, who will host Game 5 on Wednesday. Xavier Filion had two assists in the loss.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 30, 2022
The Canadian Press
