'It's very special': Excitement grows ahead of Charlottetown Islanders first championship series

For the first time in franchise history, the Charlottetown Islanders hockey team have a shot at the President Cup - the championship trophy of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League.

The team is on home-ice for the best-of-seven series opener on Saturday – a moment players and fans have been waiting for, for 20 years.

The Islanders play the Shawinigan Cataractes Saturday and Sunday in Charlottetown, before hitting the road.

A few dedicated fans showed up at the box office at 10:30 a.m. Saturday -- an hour-and-a-half before it opened -- for a chance to pick up some of the few remaining tickets for the opening game of the QMJHL championship series.

“I already have my tickets, but I have a friend that was looking for tickets, and he’s coming over from New Brunswick,” said Sean Bryand, a season ticketholder. “So, when I found out there was tickets for sale, I hustled my rear end down here to get in line.”

A lot led up to this moment, the Islanders were stopped in the semifinals for four of the last five seasons.

“It feels amazing,” said Islanders defenceman William Trudeau. “The staff… has been waiting for this moment, and the whole community too, for a long time, and to be able to be part of the group that made this realization, I think it’s pretty special.”

That’s a tough wall for any team, but the Islanders have overcome it.

“It’s very special for all the players, especially for the organization, it’s going to be their first final,” said Islanders Centre Xavier Simoneau. “So it’s fun, and even for me, it’s my last year, so it’s fun to finish on a great note.”

The team celebrated when they secured their spot in the league final.

“The job’s not done yet,” said Jim hulton, the Islanders coach.“There’s been a mission all season here, with players and staff, and that’s to win a championship. So, we’re excited to get through here, but we know the work’s not done.”

Islanders players and coaches say they’re going to keep up that same strategy that’s brought them this far, with a focus on physicality and good fundamentals.

The game is sold out. They’ve had so much interest that they’re holding a tailgate party in the arena parking lot with TV screens where people who couldn’t get tickets can watch the game.