Charlottetown Islanders take playoff series lead with win at home

Brendon Clavelle scored his first career goal in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League and goalie Matthew Welsh made 41 saves for the Charlottetown Islanders as they defeated the Quebec Remparts 3-1 at the Eastlink Centre on Saturday.

The win gives the ninth-ranked Islanders a 3-2 lead over the eighth-ranked Remparts in their best-of-seven opening-round playoff series.

The series heads back to Quebec on Monday for Game 6 and, if necessary, Game 7, which would be on Tuesday.

Clavelle, an 18-year-old defenceman from Kapuskasing, Ont., broke a 1-1 tie with just over five minutes left in the third period. Keith Getson, with his fifth goal of the series, added an empty-netter with less than a minute left to seal the victory.

Nikita Alexandrov opened the scoring for the Islanders in the second period, before Jesse Sutton responded for the Remparts early in the third.

Welsh, who lowered his goals-against average to 2.23 in the five playoff games, was named the first star on Saturday.

More P.E.I. News