POSTSCRIPT: Team Russia 4, QMJHL All-Stars 3

By Station Nation Staff

SUPER SERIES GAME AT A GLANCE
Final Score: Team Russia 4, QMJHL All-Stars 3
Team QMJHL Goals: Jonathan Brunelle, Ryan Kavanagh, and Brandon Gormley
Team Russia Goals: Vladimir Malinovskiy, Nikita Dvurechensky (2), and Artemiy Panarin
Winning Goaltender: Emil Garipov
Losing Goaltenders: Maxime Clermont and Louis Domingue

THE NUMBERS
Power Play: Russia: 1/2, QMJHL: 1/3
Shots on Goal: Russia: 6+13+3=22, QMJHL: 11+13+25=49
Length: 2:28
Attendance: 3,335

QMJHL SCRATCHES
Saint John Sea Dogs defenseman Simon Despres, as expected, missed this game due to a shoulder injury. The Pittsburgh Penguins prospect practiced with the Sea Dogs yesterday after missing both weekend games.

"I fully expect to be able to play this weekend," said the ‘Big Horse’ to the Sea Dogs’ official Twitter page yesterday.

Jerome Gauthier-Leduc was also out.

THE RECAP
Russia stunned the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League All-Stars for the second consecutive game, defeating the Canadians 4-3 in Game Two of the 2010 Subway Super Series last night in Drummondville, Quebec.

It was a similar game to the one played Monday at Harbour Station in Saint John. It was a back-and-forth, physical affair that saw neither team hold a two goal lead at any point in the match.

Team QMJHL opened the scoring at 4:08 when Drummondville Votigeur Jonathan Brunelle beat Emil Garipov to give the Canadians a 1-0 lead. But the Russians would respond at 5:48 when Vladimir Malinovskiy beat Maxime Clermont on a rebound to tie it at 1-1.

The QMJHL got their lead back in the second period when a point shot went wide and was picked up by Jonathan Huberdeau. He sent a beautiful pass to Ryan Kavanagh in front who had an open cage to make it a 2-1 game.

But the Russians just would not go away. Nikita Dvurechensky made a spin move in front while on the power play to tie the game at 6:47. Then at 9:44, Dvurechensky was at it again when he fired a wrist shot from the slot to give the visitors their first lead of the game.

In the third, Brandon Gormley fired a point shot that deflected off a Russian and in to tie the game once again. But the Russians would respond at 6:57 when Artemiy Panarin scored after some nice work by Denis Golubev to give the visitors a 4-3 lead and an eventual win.

YIKES
Given the dominance in which the Canadian Hockey League has had over the Russians in the Subway Super Series in the past, two straight losses just isn’t good for the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League.

It’s only the second time in the tournaments history that the Russians have swept the QMJHL All-Stars. The Russians have never won more than two games in this six game event.

No disrespect to the Russian team, but the QMJHL is surly a bit embarrassed by losing both games. There are only a handful of players on the Russian team who would be considered standouts as a hockey prospect. Then there is the QMJHL All-Stars, the majority of whom have or will be drafted into the National Hockey League.

Of course, travel has to come into play as the Russians typically struggle more as they move west. But if the OHL and WHL blowout the Russians by a wide margin, it will certainly give the 'Q' a bad image.

But, then again, maybe the Russians have sent over a much more talented team than in the past - or at least much strnger netminders. We shall see as the tournament shifts to London, Ontario tonight when the visitors take on the OHL ALL-Stars – a league they have never won a game against.

WHERE WAS GALIEV?
Before the game even started the Russians had everyone confused. Despite what everyone was led to believe, Saint John Sea Dogs forward Stanislav Galiev did not play for his home country last night.

“All joking aside, the games on Nov. 8 in Saint John and Nov. 11 in Drummondville are important for Galiev's bid to earn a spot on the Russian national team for the world junior championship in Buffalo, N.Y.,” wrote Scott Briggs in the Telegraph-Journal on October 21st.

“One of the top rookies in the Quebec league a year ago, Galiev will play for Russia in Saint John tonight and on Wednesday in Drummondville, Que.,” wrote Marty Klinkenberg in Monday’s Telegraph-Journal.

Then in some post-game audio posted on the Sea Dogs website, the interviewer asked Galiev what his goals were heading into Game Two of the Super Series.

Despite all this, Galiev did not play. According to the Rogers Sportsnet broadcast, it was simply a case of wanting to get Val-d’Or Foreurs defenseman Artem Sergeev into a game in the series. Going by the official Russian roster on the Super Series website, it would be assumed that both QMJHL Russians would play in each game since the players were not divided into categories like the OHL Russians are.

According to today’s Telegraph-Journal, “Galiev was expected to play in Wednesday's tilt as well, but the coaching staff changed its original plan.”

BOURNIVAL TRADED
Michael Bournival had an impressive Super Series, one that has put him on Hockey Canada’s radar.

Today, the Colorado Avalanche draft pick was traded to the Montreal Canadiens in exchange for defenseman Ryan O’Byrne.

Bournival, 18, leads the Shawinigan Cataractes with 24 points - 10 goals and 14 assists - in 17 games this season. In the two Super Series games, he had a goal, five shots, and two penalty minutes. He was a standout in Game One while playing on a line with Jonathan Huberdeau and Sean Couturier.

DANAULT BROKE HIS FACE

Victoriaville Tigres forward Phillip Danault broke his face in the first period while going hard to the net. Danault went through the crease and was clotheslined by the crossbar, knocking out three of his pearly whites. He went to dressing room immediately.

Later on in the game, Sea Dogs forward Zach Phillips appeared to hit a Russian in the face with his stick. He went to the bench with a bloody nose.

HIGH PRAISE FOR HUBERDEAU
Jonathan Huberdeau really stood-out in this game because of his chemistry with Drummondville Voltigeurs forward and soon-to-be-superstar Sean Couturier.

The two played excellent together in Game One and again last night in Couturier’s home building. Couturier, who many have pegged to be the first overall pick in this June’s NHL Draft, is a strong candidate to fill a forward roll on Canada’s world junior team this winter.

Huberdeau is a long shot to make Team Canada given his size when compared to other junior eligible forwards, but as Rogers Sportsnet pointed out during the broadcast, Huberdeau definitely helped his chances of earning an invite.

It’s also interesting to note that Couturier and Huberdeau could be teammates right now as Saint John drafted Huberdeau in 2009 with Drummondville’s draft pick. The pick was acquired by the Sea Dogs in the Chris DiDomenico trade.

HARD TIMES
The Russians have now won a total of eight games in this series since it began back in 2003 as the Re/Max Canada-Russia Challenge. They have 36 along the way and have been outscored 201-100, according to Wikipedia.

But against the QMJHL, the Russians have an impressive 7-9 record and have only been outscored 70-55. With seven of their eight wins coming against the QMJHL, their only other win came back in 2007 against the Western Hockey League.

THE TOTALS
How the four Sea Dogs faired in this event:

Zach Phillips: 2 GP – 0G – 0A – 0PTS – 0PIM – 5SOG

Jonathan Huberdeau: 2GP – 0G- 1A – 1PTS – 0PIM – 4SOG

Nathan Beaulieu: 2GP – 1G – 1A – 2PTS – 0PIM – 7SOG
*Tied for the team lead in points

Stanislav Galiev: 1GP – 0G – 0A – 0PYS – 0PIM – 1SOG

HIGHLIGHTS


SPORTSNET POST-GAME


QUICK HITS
All of the players from both teams were introduced again... the game was not sold-out but it was a bit better than most had expected. The rink has a total capacity of 4,000 and 3,335 spectators took in the match. There were quite a few empty seats… none of the four QMJHL goaltenders to play in this series were amazing… Sean Couturier was the player of the game for Team QMJHL… the QMJHL website has an interview with Couturier and QMJHL head coach Andre Tourigny after the game... Team QMJHL outshot Russia 25-3 in the third period.

NEXT GAME
The Russians head to London to face the OHL All-Stars tonight at 8:00 pm at the John Labatt Centre. The match can be seen live on the dreaded Rogers Sportsnet One channel.

BACK TO BUSINESS
The games that really matter for the Sea Dogs get going again this weekend. The Dogs host the Acadie-Bathurst Titan Saturday night at 7:00 pm at Harbour Station.

Photo Credits: Subway Super Series website, Marc Henwood/Station Nation, Rogers Sportsnet