SEA DOGS POST-GAME NOTEBOOK

SEA DOGS –ROCKET GAME AT A GLANCE
Final Score: PEI 6, Saint John 3
Saint John Goals: Zach Phillips (1), Nicholas Petersen (1), and Mike Hoffman (2)
PEI Goals: Louis-Philippe Lacroix (2), Jarrad Struthers (1, 2), Benjamin Casavant (1, 2), and Jonathan Bonneau (1)
Winning Goaltender: PEI – Evan Mosher (1-1-0)
Losing Goaltender: Marco Cousineau (1-1-0)
News 88.9 Top Dog: Tomas Jurco

THE NUMBERS
Power Play: Rocket: 1/6, Sea Dogs: 3/7
Shots on Goal: Rocket: 11+16+9=36, Sea Dogs: 15+12+17=44
Attendance: 4,232

SAINT JOHN SCRATCHES
Mike Thomas served the sixth and final game of his suspension on Saturday night and could be seen walking around the concourse. Thomas is eligible to play on Tuesday in Charlottetown.

Aiden Kelly missed the game with a concussion and Steven Anthony was out with a reported groin injury.

WHAT WAS THAT?
Referee Jeff Hopkins said it best on his Twitter page.

“Saint John forgot to show up tonight..Good for us that there will be a game 5.. Off to the Alehouse for a few.”

The Saint John Sea Dogs, the number two team in the country, simply did not bring their best for game two of the playoffs. The series is now tied at 1-1 as it shifts over to Prince Edward Island.

The PEI Rocket did just about everything right. They didn’t score many pretty goals, in fact two of them were reviewed, but they beat Saint John when they had the opportunity. It was the gritty kind of performance that is needed to win in the post-season.

Saint John didn’t play horrible, but they certainly did not play the type of style they did during the regular season. The Sea Dogs played with the Rocket up until Zach Phillips’ goal in the second period. But unlike what usually happens with the Dogs, they did not take over from there.

PEI battled hard and it worked, giving them a two goal cushion heading into the third period.

ROCKET ALMOST BLOW IT

With under nine minutes to go in the third, PEI had a 5-1 lead and looked like they would cruise the rest of the way back to the Island. With most fans already through the exit, Jordon Southorn took a five minute major penalty for charging.

It didn’t feel like the Dogs would get in back in the game until Nicholas Petersen and Mike Hoffman notched two quick ones, giving Saint John some hope with just under three minutes to play.

“Just don’t let them score four goals,” said Rocket net minder Evan Mosher to The Guardian about the Saint John power play.

Mosher was tested and made two great saves but Saint John could not score, giving way to Louis-Philippe Lacroix’s rare shorthanded-empty net goal at 18:51.

MOSHER WAS NO HOSER
After allowing six goals in 31 shots on Friday night, Evan Mosher had a great bounce back performance for the Rocket.

“My game was better tonight and as a whole we were sharper,” said Mosher after the game. He was named second star for his performance.

Backup goaltender Wendell Vye allowed two goals on 10 shots in the third period on Friday. It looked like he may get the start in goal after he headed to dressing room first following warm-up.

IMPORTANT NOTICE
If you missed the game, Guardian reporter Charles Reid still has his live blog up. Simply click “replay” and relive an epic Saint John loss.

DOUBLE TAKE
Both the first and second Rocket goals went under review by the officials.

The first goal went under a lengthy review before being declared a goal. Marco Cousineau was furious and thought that he had been interfered with. But sense you cannot review goaltender interference we are not really sure why it was reviewed. Kicking motion?

The second goal hit something on the way in and was reviewed to see if it was tipped by a high stick. It wasn’t, and the Rocket took a 2-1 lead.

IMPORTANT NOTICE
Sea Dogs playoff bracelets were given out at the door and were, of course, sponsored by Bell Aliant FibreOP. The bracelets were of the same style as the Lance Armstrong cancer rings that were all the rage a few years ago.

It really felt like 2006 when a young fan was spotted holding some thunder sticks.

CRAZY STAT TIME
Four of Saint John’s 13 regulation loses (playoff and regular season loses) this year have been against PEI. Three of those four wins by PEI were at Harbour Station. The only home win for the Rocket was a 4-0 shutout win thanks to current Saint John net minder Marco Cousineau.

Saint John is 3-1 at the Charlottetown Civic Centre this season. They have a league best road record of 27-5-1-1.

IT COULD BE WORSE
If you are still feeling down about the loss, here are a few things that will make you think twice prior to jumping out a window.

• Saint John could be Calgary Hitmen, who are down 2-0 in a best-of-seven series against the Moose Jaw Warriors. The Hitmen finished the season ranked fifth in the country while the Warriors snuck into the post-season with the eighth seed in the conference.
• “Greatbiggeek” sent us this on Twitter: @station_nation I was at the game last night, one of the few Rocket fans in the building. Sea Dogs org knows how to give fans there $ worth!
• The Dogs could also be the Cape Breton Screaming Eagles, who have played about one period of hockey in two games against the Moncton Wildcats.

SCHEMBRI GETS ROCKED
“Rock the Schembri” must be PEI’s playoff slogan. Jordan Southorn destroyed the Saint John call-up with a huge hit along the boards late in the third. Christian Morin wanted to fight Southorn after the hit but it was broken up.

Schembri was okay and played a solid game in his Dogs debut. He had no points, no shots, was a -1, and laid three hits.

“I play a physical style,” said Schembri in the Sea Dogs Game Day program.

ODD MOVE
Saint John head coach Gerard Gallant has shown us this year that he isn’t afraid to use the bizarre. He did it again on Saturday. The Dogs pulled Marco Cousineau at 17:40 of the third period in exchange for Karel St. Laurent in order to squeeze in a mini time-out.

SEADOGSTV HIGHLIGHTS


QUICK HITS
Former Sea Dog forward Alexandre Leduc was in the house. Leduc was traded earlier this season due to Mike Hoffman and Nicholas Petersen returning to junior… Steven Anthony turns 19-years old today… this will be the first opening round series that has gone longer than four games for Saint John… the big line of Hoffman, Stanislav Galiev, and Nicholas Petersen were all -3 on the night… former Dog Chris DiDomenico is tied for the league lead in playoff scoring with two goals and five assists in two games... Cleve's Source For Sports has a nice Sea Dogs display in their window... Evam Mosher could be seen puting chalk on his hands in the first period. He didn't do the Lebron James chalk shower move though... the new intro video is one of the better ones.

TICKET INFO
Game five playoff tickets go on sale tomorrow morning at Harbour Station at 10:00 am.

NEXT GAME
Game three goes Tuesday as the series heads to PEI for the first of two games. Game time is 7:00 pm.