POSTSCRIPT: Sea Dogs 2, Tigres 4

SEA DOGS – TIGRES GAME AT A GLANCE
Final Score: Saint John 2, Victoriaville 4
Victoriaville Goals: Joel Chouinard (3), Yannick Dube (1), Philip-Michael Devos (9), and Tomas Kubalik (4)
Saint John Goals: Stanislav Galiev (8), and Yann Sauve (3)
Winning Goaltender: VIC – Kevin Poulin (10-5-0)
Losing Goaltender: SJ – Marco Cousineau (11-3-0)
News 88.9 Top Dog: Marco Cousineau

THE NUMBERS
Power Play: Tigres: 0/4, Sea Dogs: 0/5
Shots on Goal: Tigres: 14+9+5=28, Sea Dogs: 15+17+13=45
Attendance: 2,132

SAINT JOHN SCRATCHES
Nicholas Pard was scratched with a bruised foot. The 19-year old blocked a Pierre Durepos slap shot in game four on Friday.

Steven Anthony and his groin were scratched along with Kevin Gagne and his knee. Aiden Kelly was a healthy scratch and Tyrone Sock did not make the trip.

FAILURE TO CLINCH
The Victoriaville Tigres lived to see another hockey game - but it certainly wasn't pretty.

The Tigres were outplayed for the most part by the Saint John Sea Dogs, who outshoot the home side 45-28. But because of goaltender Kevin Poulin, the Tigres weathered the storm and hung on for a 4-2 victory to force a game six on Monday.

Sea Dogs head coach Gerard Gallant acknowledged the Victoriaville goaltender stood on his head in La Nouvelle/L’Union, but also continued to preach that his team must play the pull 60 minutes.

Saint John was caught napping early, falling behind 2-0 in the first period before Stanislav Galiev registered a goal in the final minute of the frame.

The Dogs took control in the second period, outshooting the Tigres 17-9. But Poulin continued his hot play, stopping all 17 shots and three power play opportunities.

Yann Sauve tied the game early in the third on a penalty shot. But just when it looked like the Sea Dogs would had momentum, Philip-Michael Devos scored just over two minutes later. They would add an empty netter and take the tilt 4-2.

ROUGH STUFF
Following the horn, some rough stuff took place behind the Tigres’ goal. Yann Sauve, Stephen MacAulay, and Christian Morin were in the middle of it for the Sea Dogs. The tussle resulted in lots of penalties.

POULIN SOLID AND INJURED
Kevin Poulin’s magnificent performance in goal was overshadowed by some late game shenanigans. Following a loose puck, Simon Despres and Emmanuel Boudreau battled for it in front of the Tigres’ goal. The Victoriaville net minder stretched out to grab the disc, only to have Despres and Boudreau run over him on their way by.

Poulin lay on the ice in obvious pain for several minutes. He slowly got up and began stretching his upper leg area with the team’s trainer. Despite bending over and wincing in agony, he stayed in the game.

But following the Tigres’ empty net goal at 19:37, Poulin headed off in exchange for backup Antonio Mastropietro. Poulin came out for the three stars after the game but could hardly skate and limped back to the dressing room.

Following the game, La Nouvelle/L’Union said that Victoriaville head coach Yanick Jean would not disclose the nature of the injury. He is obviously questionable for game six.

Of course, Mike Thomas found some way to get involved in this. After Poulin’s helmet fell off just after the whistle blew, the Saint John captain threw the puck at his head.
TWEET OF THE NIGHT
Last night’s T.O.T.N. comes from scout rick1042:

if NYI scout here, Poulin is getting 3 yrs deal, or 15 as usual.

FLASHBACK
A year ago yesterday, Gerard Gallant and Mike Kelly were both sitting in the Alpine Room of Harbour Station and being introduced to Sea Dogs fans for the first time.

A year later, the two were behind the Saint John bench in game five of the semi-finals. It is certainly an impressive accomplishment.

WHAT UP WITH THE HUB?
There must have been a blue moon in Victoriaville last night, as Jonathan Huberdeau was stopped not once – but twice on a breakaway.

The rookie went 6/6 in the shootout during the regular season but has been stopped on a few breaks in the post-season.

DEVOS TAKES OVER
A two point night for Victoriaville’s Philip-Michael Devos means that he know owns the playoff scoring lead with 24 points, one better then the Sea Dogs’ Michael Kirkpatrick.
FINAL SALUTE?
The Victoriaville faithful gave a long and loud ovation to the Tigres as they left ice for possibly the final time as a team.

There were lots of loud Saint John fans at the game once again.

HIGHLIGHTS
Highlights from last night’s game can be found by clicking HERE.

QUICK HITS
No glass was broken in the making of this hockey game… last night (April 24) was the latest game in Sea Dogs franchise history… "rick1042" also said that there were quite a few scouts in the building… Marco Cousineau played a strong game despite picking up the loss… Michael Kirkpatrick and Mike Thomas were a team worst -2… Tomas Jurco was the only Saint John player with a plus rating. He was a plus-one… Olivier Jannard was hammered by Thomas in the first period and left the game. The Saint John captain did not receive a penalty… the Sea Dogs end their Victo’ road swing with a 1-2 record… in this series, the home team has won all but one game.

NEXT GAME
Game six is tomorrow at 7:00 pm at Harbour Station.