OUT WITH A BANG

SN RECAP
FINAL: Wildcats 0, Sea Dogs 4

SAINT JOHN – The Saint John Sea Dogs closed out 2010 with a shutout victory over the rival Moncton Wildcats at Harbour Station on Friday evening.

Jonathan Huberdeau, Steven Anthony, Zach Phillips, and Kevin Gagne all scored for the Sea Dogs in a 4-0 win over the Wildcats. Jacob DeSerres made 28 saves to earn the shutout, getting third star honours along the way as well.

Shane Owen made 43 stops for the ‘Cats who have now lost four straight matches.

After an uneventful first few minutes and the sold out crowd at Harbour Station dealing with the emotional effects of watching Canada’s loss to Sweden at the world juniors on the big screen, Huberdeau lightened the mood with an incredible goal at 10:10. The 18-year old made some nice fake moves, embarrassing a Moncton defender and beating Owen with a wrist shot that skimmed through the blue paint and in.

The Sea Dogs took a 2-0 lead at 13:35 when Phillips crossed the blue line and gave a cross ice feed to a streaking Anthony. The Vancouver Canucks prospect wristed a shot high blocker side to make it a two-goal game.

In the second, not a whole lot happened. DeSerres was kept busy in the Sea Dogs goal, making 13 saves in the frame. He made two big pad stops on the same play in the middle of the period to keep momentum going in Saint John’s favour.

Fast forward to the final stanza, Phillips was sent in alone at 3:55 on a short break and beat Owen with a low wrist shot to make it a 3-0 Sea Dogs lead. The marker would be the Dogs’ only man advantage goal of the game.

Saint John captain Mike Thomas and Wildcat Olivier Daoust dropped the gloves at 4:26 in a spirited tilt that saw both players land some shots. Daoust picked up a misconduct for not having his jersey tied down properly.

At 8:49, the main event took place as Alexandre Beauregard and Tyler Howe got into a scrap. Both players landed some good punches in a long tilt that was eventually ended by the officials separating the two combatants.

Gagne made it a 4-0 game at 9:04 when Stephen MacAulay gave a short pass to him. The New Brunswicker sat at the top of the circle and sent a low shot on goal that snuck under the pads of the Moncton goaltender.

The rough stuff continued at 12:34 of the third when Danick Gauthier absolutely leveled Scott Trask against the boards behind the Wildcats net. Trask got up following the hit, fell over, and then headed back to the bench after being looked at by a ‘Cats trainer.

Saint John outshot Moncton 47-28 in the game. Moncton went 0/2 on the power play while Saint John, despite not clicking much on the man advantage, went 1/5.

NOTES: See Sea Dogs Postscript tomorrow.

NEXT GAME: The Sea Dogs travel to Moncton on Sunday to face the Wildcats at the Moncton Coliesum. Please, please, please, note that this game starts at 2:00 pm and NOT the usual 4:00 pm.