SEA DOGS POST-GAME NOTEBOOK

SEA DOGS – MOOSEHEADS GAME AT A GLANCE
Final Score: Halifax 2, Saint John 5
Saint John Goals: Nathan Beaulieu (11), Tomas Jurco (13), Steven Anthony (18), Mike Hoffman (45), and Nicholas Petersen (38).
Halifax Goals: Konrad Abeltshauser (4, 5)
Winning Goaltender: SNB – Marco Cousineau (24-18-0)
Losing Goaltender: Mathieu Corbeil (8-37-0)

THE NUMBERS
Power Play: Mooseheads: 1/4, Sea Dogs: 1/6
Shots on Goal: Mooseheads: 10+12+5=27, Sea Dogs: 7+19+12=38
Attendance: 6,488

SAINT JOHN SCRATCHES
Mike Thomas was suspended for this game after his hit on Alex Wall of the Wildcats on Friday night. The league is expected to announce their decision on the hit today. Yann Sauve also missed this game due to a death in his family.

Gabriel Bourret and Aiden Kelly took their spots in the lineup. Mike Hoffman wore the captain’s “C” on his jersey for the fourth time this year.

WE ARE THE CHAMPIONS
With the Atlantic division already won thanks to a Moncton Wildcat overtime loss, only one point was needed to capture the QMJHL’s regular season title. The Saint John Sea Dogs pulled it off as they defeated the Halifax Mooseheads 5-2 at Harbour Station.

"I'm proud of our hockey team,'' Saint John head coach Gerard Gallant said to the Telegraph-Journal. "We worked for this and it was nice to finish it off at home. We knew we had to get one point to clinch and I thought the guys worked hard. The first period was just fair, but we picked up the momentum after that and played really well.''

"It's huge,'' said Michael Kirkpatrick, who was drafted by the Sea Dogs when they were at the opposite end of the standings. "It's great for this team and great for the organization and great for Saint John. A lot of hockey has to do with confidence and I think our team has a lot confidence. I think we'll go pretty far.''

Fans stood up and cheered with 30 seconds left in the third period. The Dogs, cool as a cucumber, celebrated like it was just another victory.

Saint John failed to clinch first overall on Wednesday night against the PEI Rocket and then came up a point short in a shootout loss to Moncton Friday. The sea Dogs will have home-ice throughout the playoffs, which begin on Friday, March 19, at Harbour Station.

WE WON A TROPHY
There is a trophy that is awarded to the regular season champion. The Jean Rougeau Trophy, named after the former QMJHL president Jean Rougeau, is awarded to the team with the most points.

Five of the last six winners have gone on to win the Presidents Cup. Saint John is only the third Atlantic based team to win the trophy.

To view a Wikipedia page on the award, click HERE.

It should be noted that if Saint John wins their last three reaming games, they will have 55 wins on the year. That would be the most wins by a Jean Rougeau Trophy winning team since the 1995-96 Granby Preateurs.

MOOSE WOES ARE OVER
The Halifax Mooseheads have had an awful season. The Saint John Sea Dogs have had an awful time with the Mooseheads this season. Luckily, Halifax will not be in the playoffs or meeting the Dogs again this season.

Saint John finishes with a record of 7-1-0-0 against the Herd this year with one of the wins coming in a shootout and another coming off a goal in the last minute of play.

The stats don’t do the eight games any justice, though. Halifax has kept most games close going into the third period and have down a good job at shutting down the teams top performers. One of the Mooseheads’ three road wins this season was in Saint John.

SCOUTS IN THE HOUSE
According to John Moore on Twitter, there was “at least a dozen” NHL scouts at Harbour Station Sunday afternoon.

Mooseheads goalie Mathieu Corbeil is on the NHL draft radar along with Sea Dogs forwards Stanislav Galiev, Danick Gauthier, and Stephen MacAulay.

THANKS FOR THE MEMORIES
The fifth annual fan appreciation day went on without a hitch on Sunday in Saint John’s final home game of the regular season. Irving noise makers were given out at the door both before and after the game as well as giveaways throughout the evening. The 97.3 The Wave “Extreme (lame) Team” handed and threw out items to the crowd.

There was a somewhat touching tribute video before the game with the song from that Blackberry commercial being played.

PACKING THEM IN
It was Saint John’s second straight sell-out with every seat and standing room ticket sold for the game. With such a dull start, it took some time for the 6,488 fans to come alive.

The Sea Dogs have said numerous times that they need 4,200 fans per game to be healthy financially. They had a solid season despite some low points and averaged 4,141 fans per game. That is the second highest average in team history.

Attendance at last 10 home games:
6,488, March 7 against Haliafx
6,488, March 5 against Moncton
5,286, March 3 against PEI
6,128, Feb. 21 against Rimouski
4,905, Feb. 20 against Shawinigan
4,186, Feb. 14 against Cape Breton
4,515, Feb. 12 against Cape Breton
3,308, Feb. 10 against Acadie-Bathurst
4,175, Jan. 30 against Val-d'Or
3,840, Jan. 29 against Val-d'Or

WE HAVE A SITUATION
About halfway through the third period Sunday, there was a medical emergency beside the Sea Dogs portion of the penalty box in the first row at Harbour Station. The paramedics, who could be seen chowing down on popcorn for much of the Sea Dogs’ home games this year, were working on an elderly lady for much of the period. After the game ended, she was rolled out on a wheel chair with an oxygen mask on.

SEADOGSTV HIGHLIGHTS


SPORTS AND MOORE HIGHLIGHTS AND INTERVIEWS


QUICK HITS
Former Sea Dog Matthew Stoddard was a scratch for the Mooseheads… this is the first season ever that the Sea Dogs have had two sell-outs. This was also the first ever Sunday sell-out… the puck bounced a lot in the game and many players fell down… Mike Hoffman broke his stick in the third period on a point shot. The piece of lumber flew up to the height of the scoreboard before falling in front of the Halifax bench… the Mooseheads have now lost 10 games in a row. They had a 12-game losing skid earlier this season… with the win, Saint John snaps a two game losing streak. The Sea Dogs have only lost two straight games three times this year, and have not lost more than two straight all year… the Dogs’ three game road trip begins Wednesday in Cape Breton. They also face PEI and Moncton to close out the regular season… seven of Saint John’s regulation loses have been at home this year. They finish their home schedule with a record of 26-7-0-1… Mooseheads head coach Cam Russel was not at this game due to a scouting trip.

NEXT GAME
Saint John and their league best home record hit the highway this Wednesday when they face the Cape Breton Screaming Eagles. Game time is 7:00 pm at Centre 200.