Key takeaways:
- Squad ‘on a mission’ after making franchise history Monday evening.
- Charlottetown Islanders players lift equipment coach Andrew “Spider” MacNeil in celebration after triumphing in their QMJHL semifinal Monday evening.
When the Charlottetown Islanders made history by reaching the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League final for the first time in the franchise’s 23-year record, one of the first things the players did was hold their longtime equipment manager and heave him in the air.
Andrew “Spider” MacNeil has been with the team since the start, and when the Islanders beat the Sherbrooke Phoenix in their best-of-five-semifinal series on Monday evening, the players made sure he was part of the celebration.
“It was a lot of euphorias,” Islanders manager and general manager Jim Hulton stated in an interview with Mainstreet P.E.I. host Matt Rainnie.
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“There was a little bit of general surfing. They captured Spider, tossed him up in the air, and danced around. But you know what? That’s the magnificence of it. I love coaching junior hockey, to see the pleasure and joy in those children’s faces.”
The Islanders will play the winner of Wednesday evening’s match between Shawinigan and Quebec in the best-of-seven President’s Cup final.
If Shawinigan prevails, the Islanders will host Game 1. If Quebec succeeds, they will begin on the road.
Source – cbc.ca
