SEA DOGS – TIGRES GAME AT A GLANCEFinal Score: Victoriaville 7, Saint John 1
Saint John Goals: Mike Hoffman (7, 8, 9), Simon Despres (2), Nicholas Petersen (5), Jonathan Huberdeau (11), Tomas Jurco (7)
Victoriaville Goals: Andrej Nestrasil (2)
Winning Goaltender: SJ – Marco Cousineau (12-3-0)
Losing Goaltender: VIC – Kevin Poulin (10-6-0)
News 88.9 Top Dog: Simon Despres
THE NUMBERS
Power Play: Tigres: 0/5, Sea Dogs: 3/6
Shots on Goal: Tigres: 11+12+9=32, Sea Dogs: 13+10+9=32
Attendance: 3,704
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 and Tyrone Sock were healthy scratches.
MOVING ON UP
Despite winning two-of-three of home ice, the Victoriaville Tigres ran out of gas in game six.
"We definitely capitalized on our chances early in the game and that really set the tone for us,'' Sea Dogs head coach Gerard Gallant said to the Telegraph-Journal. "I don't think we played a real good hockey game, but it was one of those games (where) we took advantage of our chances.''
Saint John took control early and never looked back. The Sea Dogs held period leads of 3-0 and 4-0 before defeating the Tigres 7-1 on Monday night at Harbour Station, winning the series 4-2.
Scoring first proved to be a big factor in the series. Despite blowing a 2-0 lead and 1-0 lead in game one and two, the Tigres bounced back to take leads in games three and five and went on to win those. Saint John jumped out to a lead in game three and last night with both proving to be W’s for the Dogs.
"What they did well in the last couple of games (before Monday) was coming out strong in the first period,'' Mike Hoffman said. "This time they took some early penalties and we capitalized and that was the difference tonight.''
Saint John did just that in the first. The Sea Dogs blasted out to a 2-0 lead before scoring a deflating goal in the final minute of the opening frame to take complete control.
Victoriaville bounced back in the second, taking the overall shots lead half way through. Despite their efforts, the Tigres allowed another goal to fall behind 4-0 after 40 minutes.
Andrej Nestrasil gave Victo some faint hope – but it wasn’t enough. Saint John exploded for three straight goals to close out the series in fine style.
A SOLID EFFORT
Victoriaville gave Saint John a run for their money, but in the end, the Tigres boat ran out of steam.
"I'm proud of the way we fought,'' Victoriaville head coach Yanick Jean said. "We had so many injuries on defence, but it was a positive experience for the team.''
The Tigres failed to advance to the league final for the first time since 2002. Victo just did not have it last night and certainly looked fatigued.
BIG NIGHT FOR THE HOFF
Mike Hoffman recorded a hat trick last night, scoring a goal in the first and two in the second. The 20-year also recorded another type of trick, scoring at even strength, shorthanded, and on the power play.
When Hoffman recorded his hat trick goal, only one hat and a rally towel were thrown on the ice.
CALL YOUR SHOT
The woman (whose name we always forget) that does the intermission events was back to her trash talking ways last night. But instead of the worst thing possible happening, it was a positive thing.
Just prior to Hoffman scoring his first goal in the opening period, the lady said something along the lines of ‘wouldn’t it be nice if Mike Hoffman scored on Kevin Poulin.’
AWFUL CROWD
It was a Monday, and it was a nice day, but a crowd of 3,704 for game six of the semi-finals is just unacceptable.
The crowd is the third worst in Sea Dogs playoff franchise history.
SOLID IN SIX
Saint John improved to 2-0 all-time in game six playoff games. There other win came in Bathurst in 2008.
CHANTING TIME
Halfway through the third period, the “We Want Moncton” chants began to make their rounds around Harbour Station. The same chants took place in game two at the Station.
We also managed to get the hash tag #WeWantMoncton trending a bit on Twitter.
As tradition would have it, the “Ole” chants began late in the third.
TWEET OF THE NIGHT
The T.O.T.N. comes from Hawkalicious, the unofficial chief of Station Nation.
I wonder how many people have redeemed their Sea Dogs ticket for a Big Mac this season, and how much they weigh vs September 09
WOOO… WAIT
At 9:55 of the third and the game already out of reach for Victoriaville, Marco Cousineau came out of the net in favour of Karel St. Laurent.
Most people thought St. Laurent was simply going in to get some ice time, so Cousineau was given a standing ovation. But seven seconds later, the man they call Couzy returned with a confused Harbour Station looking on.
SEADOGSTV HIGHLIGHTS
CHSJ HIGHLIGHTS
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