FINAL: Sea Dogs 4, Remparts 2
QUEBEC CITY, Que. – What a way to end a road trip.
After playing two games in two nights, the Saint John Sea Dogs were forced to play in one of toughest buildings in the league this afternoon in Quebec City. With over 12,000 fans in attendance, the Sea Dogs were able to shutdown the Quebec Remparts and earn a 4-2 victory Sunday afternoon in Quebec Major Junior Hockey League action.
It was by far the team’s best game of the three-in-three road swing that saw the team beat Baie-Comeau 3-2 on Friday and win 4-3 last night in Chicoutimi. The battle tested Sea Dogs played a near perfect road game, never falling behind at any point in the match.
Stanislav Galiev, Michael Kirkpatrick, Zack Phillips, and Alexandre Beauregard all had goals for the winners. Phillips’ goal in the final seven seconds of the second period proved to be the winner and gave Saint John a nice boost going into the third period.
Goaltender Jacob DeSerres played a great game in the Sea Dogs crease, making 21 saves in the win. He made some very key stops that could have could hurt Saint John’s momentum moving forward if they had gone in. The 20-year old was named third star.
The Remparts had goals from Axel Rioux and Ryan Bourque. Louis Domingue made some big saves as well, making 30 stops in the loss.
The win certainly sends a statement as the Sea Dogs were able to beat the No. 3 ranked team in the Canadian Hockey League and second best team in the QMJHL on a tail end of a three-in-three. In the season series against Quebec, Saint John outscored them 10-2.
FIRST PERIOD
Just 55 seconds in, Stanislav Galiev opened the scoring. Galiev had the puck down low and simply worked himself around Remparts goaltender Louis Domingue to make it a 1-0 Sea Dogs lead.
Saint John kept the pressure going as Zack Phillips stood on the icing line and centered the disc for a streaking Kevin Gagne but just couldn’t get wood on it. Quebec started to surge a few minutes later as Joel Champagne picked up a rebound in the slot and fired it just wide of the cage.
The Remparts tied the tilt at 6:32. Alex Wall had the puck in front and patiently waited for Saint John goaltender Jacob DeSerres to make his move. Wall walked around the fallen DeSerres and threw the disc in the crease where Axel Rioux deposited the disc to make it a 1-1 affair.
The Sea Dogs got into penalty trouble as Galiev and Gagne sat in the box at 7:51. The league’s best power play went to work as Vincent Barnard had two good opportunities just inside the line but fired the one-timers both high and wide. Moments later, Alexandre Grenier tried to jam the disc past the pad of DeSerres but the Dogs netminder made a great stop. The officials would review the play but the call stood.
With the penalties over, DeSerres kept rolling as he robbed Ryan Bourque with a huge pad save.
The Sea Dogs retook the lead at 15:58 as Michael Kirkpatrick circled the net with the puck. The overage centre walked out in front and simply fired a backhand shot on goal, beating Domingue to make it a 2-1 game.
Shortly after Domingue robbed Kirkpatrick at the side of the goal, Galiev went back to the box at 18:18. But on the ensuing faceoff in the Sea Dogs zone, Bourque tripped up Stephen MacAulay to force some four-on-four play.
Shots in the first period were 13-11 Quebec.
SECOND PERIOD
50 seconds into the period, Bourque found the puck in the neutral zone and skated in alone. The Team USA forward went forehand-to-backhand and slid the disc past a stretched out DeSerres to tie the match at 2-2.
The Remparts kept the pressure going for a few minutes as the goal seemed to give the squad a bit of a spark. The team’s leading scorer, Jonathan Audy-Marchessault, had some great chances but just couldn’t connect.
Play slowed down a bit after that. Huberdeau made a slick little pass to Phillips who fired high. Then, Kirkpatrick let a shot go that was stopped by Domingue with Tomas Jurco sending the rebound wide. Quebec’s Tomas Filippi then let a one-time shot go from the circle that was kept out by DeSerres.
The Remparts went back to the power play at 12:11 as Huberdeau was called for roughing. But Quebec had a surprisingly quiet power play, not really getting any good pressure on during the span.
With the penalty over, Phillips and Jurco broke in on a two-on-one but the Sea Dogs import forward lost the puck before a shot could hit the net.
Saint John had their second man advantage of the match at 18:06 as Wall headed off. On the ensuing power play, a point shot was stopped by Domingue and then Galiev was denied as well. The puck found its way to Phillips down low who roofed it up-and-over Domingue at 19:53 to give the Sea Dogs a boost heading into the intermission.
Shots in the middle frame were minimal as Saint John bested Quebec 8-5.
THIRD PERIOD
The Sea Dogs had the best chance early in the third as a rebound in the crease area was scopped up by Jurco but stopped again by Domingue.
Quebec started to turn it on a few minutes into the stanza. Audy-Marchessault looked like he was going to score three goals during the span of pressure. Mirko Hoefflin had a great chance at the side of the net but the puck jumped up-and-over the blade of his stick as he tried to shoot. Joe Dube then closed out the frame of sustained pressure as he was denied by DeSerres.
Saint John then started to bounce back. Huberdeau had two good chances as he walked out front with the puck but couldn’t get a shot off. Then Huberdeau was robbed by the pad of Domingue as the Sea Dogs put the pedal down and were dominating the Remparts for several minutes.
Then at 12:12, a great passing play was finished off by Alexandre Beauregard. Danick Gauthier fed Beauregard down low and managed to beat Domingue and stun the Remparts, giving the Sea Dogs a 4-2 lead.
Barnard had a good opportunity to make it a one-goal game again for Quebec but he fired the disc high and may have gotten a piece of the crossbar. The Remparts pulled Domingue with over a minute left but couldn’t get anything going as the Sea Dogs went on to a 4-2 victory.
Saint John outshot Quebec 15-5 in the final stanza.
The Sea Dogs went 1/2 on the power play while the Remparts went a disappointing 0/4.
NOTES: See Sea Dogs Postscript tomorrow.
NEXT GAME: The Sea Dogs travel to Moncton on Thursday for a 7:00 pm date with the Wildcats.
Photo Credit: Thais Martel/Quebec Hebdo
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