FOUR MORE CUTS MADE AT CAMP

Four more players have been cut from Saint John Sea Dogs Training Camp. None of the four played in last night’s 2-0 pre-season win over the Acadie-Bathurst Titan.

Forwards Brock Morrison and Chuckie Schembri, defenseman Yohann Mathieu, and goaltender Ian O’Brien have all been released from the Sea Dogs’ Training Camp roster, announced Sea Dogs Director of Hockey Operations Mike Kelly today.

Morrison of the Cape Breton Tradesmen was selected in the eighth round, 120th overall by Saint John in the 2010 Quebec Major Junior Hockey League Entry Draft. The Howie Centre, Nova Scotia native netted 30 goals and dished out 31 assists for 61 points in the NSMMHL last year, finishing third on his team in scoring in the process.

In one pre-season game with Saint John, he recorded no points. Morrison will remain a Sea Dogs affiliate player according to SaintJohnSeaDogs.com. The forward will be attending Yarmouth Mariners Training Camp alongside fellow Sea Dogs prospects Colin Campbell and Alex Simpson.

Schembri, a 20-year old tough guy, was a bit of a surprise to last this long at camp. After being picked up by Saint John last season, Schembri appeared in 12 post-season games due to regular players hitting the disabled list. He recorded two goals and eight penalty minutes.

With QMJHL teams only allowed to carry three overage players, it was very unlikely that Schembri stuck around for any significant amount of time.

Mathieu, a free agent invite to camp, is second on the team with seven pre-season penalty minutes, according to the QMJHL website. The defenseman was originally picked up by the Baie-Comeau Drakkar in the fifth round, 90th overall in the 2007 QMJHL Entry Draft. He played eight games with the Drakkar in 2008-09, recording no points, nine penalty minutes, and a +3 rating. The 6’4”, 205 lbs backend was released by the Drakkar on May 31, 2010.

The 19-year old will remain Sea Dogs property and is expected to rejoin the MHL’s Amherst Ramblers.

Free agent goaltender Ian O’Brien – a Johnstown, Pennsylvania native - spent the 2008-09 season with the Ontario Junior “A” Hockey League’s Oakville Blades. In 19 games he had a record of 16-2 with 3.22 goals against average and 0.890 save percentage.

With O’Brien gone, there are only two goalies remaining on the Sea Dogs’ Training Camp roster in Karel St. Laurent and Frederic Piche. The QMJHL website has added net minder Brett Sinclair to the Dogs’ protected roster, but it is unclear if he his or will be attending camp.

The updated Training Camp roster, which now has 23 players on it, can be seen below in alphabetical order:

Anthony, Steven - LW
Beaulieu, Nathan - D
Bourret, Gabriel - D
Cameron, Jason - LW
Cloutier, Guillaume - D
Durepos, Pierre - D
Gagné, Kevin - D
Galiev, Stanislav - LW
Gauthier, Danick - RW
Huberdeau, Jonathan - C
Kelly, Aidan - LW
Kirkpatrick, Michael - C
MacAulay, Stephen - RW
MacDonald, Spencer - D
Morin, Christian - D
Oliver-Dares, Devon - RW
Oke, Scott - LW
Phillips, Zack - C
Piché, Frédéric - G
Sock, Tyrone - D
St-Laurent, Karel - G
Tesink, Ryan - LW
Thomas, Mike - LW