SEA DOGS POST-GAME NOTEBOOK

SEA DOGS – MOOSEHEADS GAME AT A GLANCE
Final Score: Saint John 6, Halifax 2
Saint John Goals: Aiden Kelly (1), Stanislav Galiev (15), Zach Phillips (11), Nathan Beaulieu (8), Mike Hoffman (37), and Michael Kirkpatrick (25).
Halifax Goals: Charles Bety (12), and Tomas Knotek (24)
Winning Goaltender: SNB – Cousineau, Marco (21-15-0)
Losing Goaltender: HAL – Corbeil, Mathieu (8-32-0)
News 88.9 Top Dog: Nathan Beaulieu

THE NUMBERS
Power Play: Mooseheads 0/6, Sea Dogs 1/8
Shots on Goal: Mooseheads: 9+16+18=43, Sea Dogs: 15+10+14=39
Attendance: 4,868

SAINT JOHN SCRATCHES
Danick Gauthier was hurt in the second period of Sunday’s game against Cape Breton despite returning in the third period. Gauthier could have played but was given the night off to rest an upper body injury.

Kevin Gagne also could have played if this game had any meaning of importance. News 88.9 said that he has a minor groin injury.

THEY SHOWED UP IN TIME
It was another frustrating game from a Saint John standpoint. Despite beating Moncton, Drummondville, and Victoriaville among others this year, the Sea Dogs have struggled mightily this season against the Mooseheads.

"Against Saint John we always play well, I don’t know why," said Mooseheads forward Charles Bety to the Chronicle Herald. "Even though they’re the first team in the CHL, we always have a good game against them. Imagine if we made the playoffs, it would be a good (series) against them."

Saint lead 1-0 after one and 2-1 after two. In the third, the Mooseheads tied the game early. But Saint John got three goals in under four minutes to give them the ultimate and all-important victory.

Sea Dogs head coach Gerard Gallant said that, once again, the Sea Dogs were not prepared for the game.

COUZY TIME
Saint John net minder Marco Cousineau won his 10th straight game last night with his win against the Moose. The 20-year old made some spectacular saves to keep his team in the game and faced 43 shots, a large amount for a solid Saint John team to give up.

KELLY FINALLY GETS HIS GOAL
Finally, Saint John native and former Vito Aiden Kelly has scored his first QMJHL goal.

"Our rookies have been good all year for us,'' Kelly said after his 10th game with the Sea Dogs to the Telegraph-Journal. "I've been watching how (the other rookies) have been playing and I just wanted to try to do what they did. We didn't really have our best game as a team.''

Kelly was the only the member of the Sea Dogs’ current roster to have not scored a goal this season until last night. He recorded his first point at the Metro Centre earlier this year.

CLARKE… WOW
We’ve watched a lot of junior hockey over the years but Garret Clarke’s performance last night was one of the best we’ve seen. Looking like a young Danick Paquette at times, Clarke made the Sea Dogs just plain angry.

"Lately I’ve been playing more disciplined but I’m definitely laying the body," Clarke said to the Chronicle Herald after being a healthy scratch following the last Mooseheads' loss to Saint John. "That’s a big part of my game and it opens up a lot of room for me, too. Guys are scaring away. If they see me coming down, sometimes I don’t even have to hit them. I can just skate up and turn back and they’ll dish the puck away because they’re scared. It’s an advantage, definitely."

He took out Nicholas Petersen with a big hit and then took Halifax native Stephen MacAulay out of the game with a big hit along the boards. MacAulay skated off the ice in frustration and did not return. News 88.9 said that it is possible he may have reagrevated a shoulder injury.

The biggest play of the night came when Clarke was “sucker punched” by Yann Sauve at center ice. To be honest, we didn’t see/notice the play. Reports out of Halifax say it was a dirty play but News 88.9 called it a dive by Clarke.

“It’s part of the game,” said Sauve of his swat to Metro Halifax. “He’s sometimes diving and things like this, but he’s a good player. Every time, if it’s a cheap shot, we’ve got to tell him and say something to him.”

“I took out Petersen in the first period and it sets the tone for the rest of the game,” said Clarke. “Every time he sees me coming he’s going to turn away or give the puck away.

“It’s just the way I play.”

"I took a couple cheap shots tonight but I kept my cool," Clarke told the Herald. "It’s not worth putting the team down. I realize that. It’s going to be better for the future, too. Cam was definitely disappointed in me but that’s part of the game. It’s a learning experience for me and I’ll go from there."

OUT OF TOWN
Elsewhere in the QMJHL it was: Cape Breton 5 Shawinigan 3; Drummondville 4 Victoriaville 2; Val-d'Or 3 Gatineau 1; and Montreal 6 Chicoutimi 2.

WHAT A RETURN
Chris DiDomenico had a big night in his return to the QMJHL. He was named first star as the Voltigeurs defeated Victoriaville 4-2 in an important game in regards to the standings. DiDomenico had one goal and three assists while playing in his first game in nine months.

QUICK HITS
A random choir sang the nation anthem… about 30 centimeters of snow hit the Halifax area on Wednesday morning, one of the reasons for the light crowd… News 95.7’s Jeff Lansing did the colour with Tim Roszell last night. It’s hard to believe that not living in Saint John has really helped his Sea Dogs broadcasting skills… say goodbye to the Halifax Metro Centre for another season as this was Saint John’s last visit. The two teams play each other in Saint John on March 7… although it doesn’t sound like Clarke dove on his hit to the face, he did dive at least two other times… Gerard Gallant mixed up his lines again last night as his offense was as dry as Cypress Mountain in Vancouver. Michael Kirkpatrick joined Mike Thomas and Mike Hoffman on one line. Hey, three Mike’s are better one… we lied or something like it because Nathan Beaulieu was out with a knee injury last week, not an ankle injury… if you’re not Twitter – get on. We had quite a party last night on the social networking site.

NEXT GAME
Marc-Antoine Gelinas has some hate for Saint John after being traded in December. He returns to Harbour Station ice on Saturday at 7:00 pm with his Shawinigan Cataractes.

Market Square will be sponsoring Saturday’s game, with several exciting giveaways set to be staged throughout the evening.

In conjunction with School District 6 & 8, the Saint John Sea Dogs will have a $9 upper bowl online ticket promotion for Saturday, February 20th. To purchase tickets at this rate, simply log on to www.harbourstation.nb.ca click on purchase tickets for Sea Dogs vs. Shawinigan Catarctres and enter the promotion code CELEBRATE.