SEA DOGS NOTEBOOK

ONE MORE SLEEP
Game four of the Saint John Sea Dogs – Victoriaville Tigres semi-final playoff series goes tomorrow at 8:00 pm. Saint John leads the best-of-seven event 2-1.

Entering the biggest game of the year, Saint John is focusing on not taking penalties.

“We just played a very undisciplined game and took a lot of bad penalties,” Saint John head coach Gerard Gallant said in the finally updated Telegraph-Journal recap. “The only guy who showed up was (goalie Marc) Cousineau… The difference was they wanted to win tonight and our team wasn’t as hungry."

“We need to learn we can’t take stupid penalties,’’ said Saint John centre Michael Kirkpatrick.

The Sea Dogs were expected to practice today following a day off, according to News 88.9.

DIDO, VOLTS ALMOST DONE
Following a disappointing 4-0 loss in Moncton last night, Drummondville Voltigeurs head coach Mario Duhamel put some of the blame on a former Sea Dog.

Duhamel told L’Express that he needs more from overager Chris DiDomenico, saying the Volts’ power play must be better. As has been stated by several folks on Twitter, DiDomenico has been trying to be more of a pest than an offensive weapon.

The Wildcats lead the series 3-1 with game five being held in Drummondville tomorrow.

PLAYS OF THE WEEK
Several plays from last weekend’s action at Harbour Station are in the Mazda QMJHL Plays of the Week.

Click HERE to view the video.

GRANT, PENGUINS DONE
Alex Grant and the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins have been swept out of the first round of the American Hockey League playoffs.

The former Sea Dogs captain finished the AHL season with three goals and two assists in 14 games. Before getting promoted to the baby Pens, Grant had seven goals and 20 assists with the Wheeling Nailers of the ECHL.

SCHUTZ, PIRATES DONE
Felix Schutz and the Portland Pirates have been swept out of the first round of the American Hockey League playoffs.

Schutz, who battled some injuries this season, had 13 goals and 14 assists in 67 games with the Pirates. His point total decreased by 15 from last season.

REDLINE CRITICAL OF GALIEV
Chronicle Herald Halifax Mooseheads reporter Willy Palov is now on Twitter. Prior to having a conversation with us about Betamax players, Palov sent out this tweet:

April Red Line Report has arrived. Q players ranked for 2010 draft: Gormley (7), Kabanov (31), Corbeil (34), Abeltshauser (42), Galiev (50)

Speaking of the Redline Report, they were quite critical about Stanislav Galiev’s Top Prospect game performance:

Stanislav Galiev/LW-R- St. John- Rangy winger showcased his explosive quickness but struggled to make things happen consistently, mainly due to a lack of hockey sense and finishing ability. Twice created glorious chances for himself in prime scoring zones but failed to hit the net either time.

QMJHL ‘11
Dhiren Mahiban, a British Columbia based video game reporter, sent out some epic news via Twitter yesterday:

EA Sports NHL 2011 will have a #CHL mode where you can play with teams from the #WHL , #OHL and #QMJHL

COUZY NAMED PLAYER OF THE WEEK
There was no official press release on the QMJHL website, but according to the CHL Newsletter Marco Cousineau has been named the QMJHL defensive player of the week. The Saint John goaltender was named CHL Goaltender of the Week on Tuesday.

Cousineau sparkled in the first two contests of the Sea Dogs’ best-of-seven series against the Victoriaville Tigres, making a total of 59 saves to lead Saint John to a 2-0 series lead. Cousineau didn’t fare as well in the third game as the Tigres roared back in game 3 with a 6-3 victory.

Moncton’s Kelsey Tessier was named offensive player of the week.

THE RUSSIAN FACTOR
Solid article in Tuesday’s Telegraph-Journal about drafting Russian born players and the so called “Russian Factor.”

The article also discussed how Stanislav Galiev became a Saint John Sea Dog.

"(Director of player personnel) Norm Gosselin was the first to see them both," said Mike Kelly, Saint John's associate coach and director of hockey operations. "He liked Gally for us for a number of reasons. When we pressed him on it, it had a lot to do with body language and the fact that he was playing in North America already.

"He showed a huge commitment coming over as a 16-year-old to - I don't know if this is the right word or not but - North Americanize himself," Kelly said.

BILLETS IN THE HOUSE
Marco Cousineau’s billets have made the trip to Victoriaville to support the Sea Dogs’ net minder.

"They (players) fit right into the family, my kids consider them their siblings, my daughter considers them her older brothers and so does my son," said Mary Thompson to News 88.9.

Mary and her husband, Daryl, also played host Chris DiDomenico during his Saint John playing days.

“Thompson will be in Victoriaville for Game four of the semi-finals tomorrow night, because she says she needs to be there to support and cheer on the newest member of her extended family,” reported the radio station."