SEA DOGS NOTEBOOK

PREMIER PICK’EM
CHSJ News asked New Brunswick premier Shawn Graham who he thought was going to win the QMJHL Final series. In a shocking turn of events, Graham would not pick either team.

Premier Shawn Graham has been enjoying the Presidents Cup Final. Graham says Saint John and Moncton are really putting on a show for the fans but when asked to pick a winner, Graham said he wasn't taking that question.

HOOPING IT UP
The Premier Basketball League’s Manchester Millrats are very close to moving to Saint John according to today’s Telegraph-Journal. But how will this affect the Sea Dogs?

"We view it as complementary,'' Sea Dogs president Wayne Long said of the PBL possibility. "It doesn't change our schedule (for games and practices) or our leasing agreement. I'm sure there's a base in Saint John that would love to have a basketball team.''

If the Manchester franchise does land in Saint John, Long isn't concerned about competing for entertainment dollars.

"We can't be worried about that,'' he said, adding that different concerts at Harbour Station also represent entertainment options.

Millrats owner Ian McCarthy, who became a fan of Station Nation on Facebook, said yesterday that after seeing the building jumping for game one of the President’s Cup Final, he believes basketball will work in the city.

NEXT YEAR…
By this time next year, the Sea Dogs organization will have their fingers crossed about hosting the 2012 MasterCard Memorial Cup. In an article by Rogers Sportsnet columnist Patrick King, associate coach and hockey operations director Mike Kelly said that not dealing at the deadline was “probably part of it.”

"It's probably part of it, but there are no guarantees with who's going to host the Memorial Cup," he said. "The focus was that we had some outstanding young players that were only going to be getting better for us in years two, three, four in their development."

Kelly also had a great line about the success of his squad.

"They don't ask for a birth certificate when they're handing out trophies at the end of the year," Kelly said.

The host of 2011 Memorial Cup is reportedly going to be announced soon. But according to the Windsor Star, don’t expect the Spitfires to be getting it. After presenting the OHL Trophy to the Spits earlier this week, CHL commissioner David Branch left the ice quickly so the media could not ask him about the selection process.

SERIES OF A LIFETIME
The CBC has a story on the rivalry between the Sea Dogs and Wildcats on their website today. To check out the video that includes Karel St. Laurent having a beer poured on his head, click HERE.

The featured piece also asked one of the biggest questions – who do you cheer for if you live in Sussex?

TICKETS WENT RATE FAST
If you slept in, don’t have ticket getting skills, or you blinked, you probably don’t have a ticket for Saturday’s game at Harbour Station.

"People go out and they stand in line and they expect to get tickets and then, 15 minutes later they say there are only scattered seats and 10 minutes later they are sold out," said Bob 'don’t call me Bobby' Orr to the Telegraph-Journal.

"This is beyond our wildest dreams. A ticket for game five for Saturday night at Harbour Station is now the hottest ticket in Southern New Brunswick," team president Wayne Long said, not specifying what is so hot in the northern part of the province.

"This series has really taken on a life of its own. Our phones are ringing off the hook,” said Long to the Times & Transcript. “I think we could've sold 8,000 to 10,000 tickets for Saturday's game if we had a bigger building."

Fans attending Game Five are encouraged to wear their Bell Aliant FibreOP President’s Cup Finals t-shirt (five thousand of which were given out at last Friday’s series-opener) or any other Sea Dogs apparel as a show of support for the Port City’s major junior squad.

KIRKY TO THE BIG SHOW?
Saint John head coach Gerard Gallant feels that Michael Kirkpatrick has earned the right to be noticed by NHL scouts. The 19-year old currently leads all players in playoff scoring.

“He’s in the same boat (as Mike Hoffman and Nicholas Petersen a year ago) and if he’s not catching the eye of people, there’s something wrong,” Gallant said to Metro Halifax.

“Kirky’s picked it up to another level,” Gallant said last week. “He’s been consistent every game for us, he’s been a top player all season, and his power-play work and penalty-killing have been second to none. He’s been getting it done.”