SEA DOGS FALL FOR FIRST TIME THIS SEASON

SN RECAP
FINAL: Sea Dogs 1, Junior 4

VERDUN, Que – An unfortunate bounce and two breakaway goals led to the demise of the Saint John Sea Dogs’ hopes of staying perfect in their 2010-11 Quebec Major Junior Hockey League campaign.

The Montreal Junior defeated the Sea Dogs 4-1 on Friday night at the Verdun Auditorium. Saint John falls to 4-1-0-0 on the season, ending their four game winning streak to open the season.

Steven Anthony scored the lone Saint John goal in the final minute of the first period. Goaltender Karel St. Laurent had a strong night, allowing four goals on 36 shots. Two of the goals came via breakaway while one other came after a strange bounce off the backboards.

Scoring for Montreal was David Rose, Trevor Parkes, Jean-Christophe Laflamme, and Philippe Fontaine.

Goaltender Etienne Marcoux stopped 24 of 25 shots in the home team’s crease.

Also, the Sea Dogs dropped to 0-4 all-time at the Verdun Auditorium.

FIRST PERIOD
Following some back-and-forth play, Xavier Ouellet chipped the puck off the glass in the Saint John zone and caught the Sea Dogs’ defense off guard. David Rose found the puck just inside the blue line and skated in alone, beating St. Laurent upstairs to make it 1-0 Junior at 4:47.

Montreal would keep the pressure going, but St. Laurent made some big pad saves to keep the deficit at just one goal.

Following a scrum above the crease, Aidan Kelly and Nicholas Chouinard headed off to serve roughing penalties. Then Trevor Parkes tripped Jason Cameron, giving the Dogs a four-on-three power play at 7:05.

Jonathan Huberdeau had a chance at the side of the net but the puck squirted away. It would be the only solid Saint John scoring chance.

Montreal almost had a great opportunity to double their lead but St. Laurent and the Saint John defense managed to recover in front from a lurking Philippe Fountaine.

Rose headed off to box for tripping at 12:24. But while shorthanded, a Saint John pass was intercepted by Parkes. The Detroit Red Wings prospect went in on a breakaway and beat St. Laurent with a backhand shot to make it a 2-0 lead for the home side at 13:30.

Huberdeau and Matt Provost engaged in a spirited fight behind the Saint John net at 13:46. Provost would pick up an extra instigator and misconduct on the play.

Francis Meilleur was sent to the box at 19:02 after leveling Cameron from behind. Steven Anthony, fresh off Vancouver Canucks training camp, sent a shot through the crease but stayed out during the man advantage.

At 19:46, Tomas Jurco hit the post but the puck came out to Anthony in front. The Halifax native riffled the puck top shelf by Etienne Marcoux to make it 2-1 heading into intermission.

Shots in the first were 12-9 Junior.

SECOND PERIOD
In the second, Saint John had a good scoring chance when Stanislav Galiev fed Jurco on a two-on-one. But Marcoux stood tall in his crease and stopped the flying rubber with his glove.

Rose had another great chance in front moments later. He one timed a pass that he received from behind the net but St. Laurent stopped him with the pad. Then, Montreal had another good chance in close but Nathan Beaulieu was able to push the pressure away.

The Junior made it a 3-1 game after a bad bounce behind the goal. St. Laurent stepped to the side of his crease and tried to bank the puck around the end boards. But the disc hit a bump and slipped out in front where Jean-Christophe Laflamme scored into the empty cage at 7:19.

Aidan Kelly headed off at 11:15 for slashing but the Sea Dogs produced an excellent penalty kill to end the threat.

After yet another unfortunate bounce, the puck found its way into the Saint John crease where a mad scramble ensued. St. Laurent had the puck underneath him at the goal line and, after a short review, it was declared no goal.

Saint John had a solid scoring opportunity to end the frame. A pass from the point hit Zach Phillips’ tape down low but the forward couldn’t handle the pass. By the time the Fredericton native could fire the puck, Marcoux was prepared to make the stop in the Junior crease.

Shots in the middle stanza were 10-6 Montreal.

THIRD PERIOD
In the third, Fontaine finished off a cross crease pass from Denis Kindl at 2:26 to give Montreal a commanding 4-1 lead.

While the goal was still being announced, Anthony ripped a wrist shot that beat Marcoux up high. But, unfortunately for the Sea Dogs, the officials' whistle signaled an offside that could not be heard over the announcement.

The Sea Dogs slowly started to gain some pressure in the middle parts of the third. Galiev made a nice move to get in close but couldn’t get a good shot off. Then, Beaulieu threw the puck in the crease down low but Marcoux was there to keep it out.

St. Laurent showed he still had confidence in his game later on by coming out to challenge a point shot.

The Sea Dogs would go to the power play at 13:35. Their only good scoring opportunity came when a Beaulieu point shot produced a big rebound for Michael Kirkpatrick. The Sea Dogs captain tossed the puck on the net but Marcoux was there to make the stop.

St. Laurent made the best save of the year so far in the later stages of the frame. After a cross crease pass, the Sea Dogs net minder dove above the blue paint and batted the puck down with his paddle. The Junior thought they had scored, the fans thought they had scored, and the person blowing the goal though it was good. The goal would be reviewed and it was awarded as a no goal.

At 17:56, Galiev was hauled down on a partial break, giving him a penalty shot chance. The Washington Capitals prospect appeared to be undecided on what to do and fired the puck and fired it way wide of the goal.

Shots in the final frame were 14-10 Montreal.

Saint John was 1/4 on the power play while the Junior were 0/1.

BOX SCORE
Saint John Sea Dogs 1 at Montreal Juniors 4 - Status: Final
Friday, September 24, 2010 - Auditorium - Verdun

Saint John 1 0 0 - 1
Montréal 2 1 1 - 4

1st Period-1, Montréal, Rose 3 (Ouellet), 4:47. 2, Montréal, Parkes 1 (Ouellet, Lefebvre), 13:30 (SH). 3, Saint John, Anthony 1 (Kirkpatrick, Jurco), 19:46 (PP). Penalties-Kelly Snb (roughing), 6:24; Chouinard Mtl (roughing), 6:24; Parkes Mtl (tripping), 7:05; Rose Mtl (tripping), 12:24; Huberdeau Snb (interference of a player or a goaltender, fighting), 13:46; Provost Mtl (instigator, fighting, instigator - misconduct), 13:46; Meilleur Mtl (checking from behind), 19:02.

2nd Period-4, Montréal, Laflamme 1 (Ouellet, Anderson), 7:19. Penalties-Kelly Snb (slashing), 11:15.

3rd Period-5, Montréal, Fontaine 2 (Kindl, Rose), 2:26. Penalties-Aubry Mtl (tripping), 13:35; Sock Snb (roughing), 16:08; Tesink Snb (roughing), 16:08; Fontaine Mtl (roughing), 16:08; Rose Mtl (roughing), 16:08; Narbonne Mtl (hooking), 16:28.

Shots on Goal-Saint John 24. Montréal 36.
Power Play Opportunities-Saint John 1 / 4; Montréal 0 / 1.
Goalies-Saint John, St-Laurent 2-0-0-0 (36 shots-32 saves). Montréal, Marcoux 0-1-1-0 (24 shots-23 saves).
A-2,412
Referees-Frédéric Leblanc (28), Eric Charron (2).
Linesmen-Guillaume Labonté (81), Benoit Vigeant-Sansoucy (85).

NEXT GAME
The Sea Dogs travel to Drummondville on Saturday to face the Voltigeurs at 8:00 pm.